Siliconised Nylon Vs Polyester Tent Fly

[Giddy_up]

Hi all,

Just doing a little tent research and I am interested in what peoples thoughts are on a Nylon Vs Polyester tent fly. Nylon is lighter and In some reports more tear resistant but sags in the wet, polyester might be better in high rainfall as it seems to sag less and dry quicker but has a weight penalty. OP tents are all polyester i think? and then the Scarps etc.. are all nylon but don't seem to sag at least in the pictures? One thing I have also noticed was that exped make tents with both types of fly but do not offer the nylon versions in the USA because of their weather, to wet but here in Oz we can get both. Where I live it just wont stop raining, 1300mm for January and February 2013 and over the last few years we have been measuring our rain in metres so a dry tent is a difficult thing to find at the moment.

What have been peoples experience with both products in varying weather conditions.
Any advice on what is suitable would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
G_U

[Mark F]

Polyester is a bit more UV resistant and sags less but not as strong as the same weight of nylon. PU coatings reduce the tear resistance of fabrics compared to silcone - this is why sil-nylon works at 1.1 oz/sq yd (1.4 finished cloth weight) while 1.9 oz/ sq yd (base cloth weight - 2.2 oz finished) tends to be the weight of PU coated nylon used in tent flys. The Scandinavian tent makers are the one who have specialised in polyester fabrics - originally Fjallraven? and Bergen and now Hilleberg. There are two main nylons nylon 6 and nylon 6-6 which stronger. There is no right answer to which is best. Also consider cuben which doesn't absorb water, doesn't stretch when wet, quite UV resistant, works at .5 to .75 oz/ sq yd (lighter) but much more expensive and has its own special requirements for seam construction.

[Giddy_up]

Thanks Mark F, cuben sounds interesting and may just fit our climate.
Do you have any knowledge as to why the Tarp tents do not seem to sag, is it due to their pole configuration or something else.

[ULWalkingPhil]

As an owner of both a cuben tent and a cuben tarp for my hammock, I think there brilliant.

[Franco]

Do you have any knowledge as to why the Tarp tents do not seem to sag ?
I do...
Tarptents sag just like all nylon and in particular silnylon tents, it just that they are easier than some to pull taut (once they sag) and I have spent years telling owners off for not setting up their tents correctly.
"If your tent does not look as it does on the TT web site , it isn't the tent fault..." is my typical irritating to some but nevertheless true comment.
Here is a good example :

this has been posted in various forums to show how bad Tarptents are.
Problem is that owners like me that know how to set them up can spot immediately that it is just a badly set up shelter....
BTW, tent poles will tend to keep the shelter taut a bit longer than trekking poles because of the bend in them keeps them in tension.
However a Scarp will sag and remain sad looking if you let it be.

Sad Scarp :

Happy Scarp :


it would take a typical TT owner 30 sec to go from sad mode to happy mode.
Note that there is frost on top of the happy Scarp.

[Giddy_up]

Hi Franco, thanks for the pictures you never see, I've always wondered. The other reviews I have seen on nylon tents have largely been dome or tunnel tents and i thought the sagging could be from people being tardy in their setting up and not guying out because those tents support the fly better without guys until it rains in the middle of the night.

The TT product sure is impressive, I would love to see one in the flesh are there any up QLD way I could get a peak at?

[Franco]

hi Giddy Up
The good side of selling directly is that, by bypassing importers and retailers, the shelters are a lot more affordable, the down side is that there are no retailers to show you the product.
It just happens that I know Henry Shires , use and like his products and have some input into them so I sort of look after the brand as a hobby here in Melbourne, but apart from that you either look at photos and video clips on the net or you need to bump into someone that has one.
Not by accident , there are areas where TT sales here are out of proportion with the population, for example the ACT , and that is simply because users in those areas are promoting the product to their mates (typically club members)
You can contact me at franco@tarptent.com

[Giddy_up]

Thanks everyone, good food for thought. More research needed on my requirements i think before i commit to new tent.
G-U