[pct-l] Spinnaker Gear

[maurer at earthlink.net (maurer@earthlink.net)]

Rosaleen wrote:

Hi, All-


BPL.com has recently added Spinnaker material, in 5 yard lengths to its 
offerings.  Just the Spinnaker could eat up the gift certificate, or I could go 
nuts and order all sorts of things, from PossumDown gloves to titanium stakes to 
books.

Spinnaker is lighter than silnylon, and the stuff at BPL.com is first 
quality, and spec'd to be waterproof.  Spinnaker is also more "delicate."  Even with 
care, I wonder about the longevity of items made from Spinnaker such as 
poncho/tarps and stuff sacks.  I REALLY wonder about ripping out the seams should 
(WHEN?) they are stressed. I am willing to and capable of sewing my own gear, so 
I could get a lot of mileage from 5 yards of Spinnaker, but, for a limited 
budget backpacker, is the weight saved V cost, and longevity worth it?  (I'd 
factor in time, except I plan to make a poncho/tarp and stuff sacks from silnylon 
anyway.  I need some loaner/backups for family members and selected friends.)

BackpackGearTest has some Gossamer Gear Spinshelters in Field Testing, so I 
might get some feel for how Spinnaker is holding up as a shelter, but 2 months 
of some weekends still leaves room for unforeseen failures.  (Yes, that is one 
reason BGT requires a long term report at 6 months.)

So, folks, weigh in with your ideas.

TIA,

Rosaleen

.............................................

Rosaleen,

There are several weights (or thickness') of Spinnaker fabric emerging onto the lightweight market. The weight of Spinn fabric we use here at Gossamer Gear is different and slightly heavier from the standard Spinn fabric used at BPL, so a comparison cannot be made. I reviewed the fabric available at BPL before writing this reply and, based on the weight, I would recommend using the fabric for stuff sacks, maybe a floor, but I'd shy away from using it as a poncho or tarp. The cloth is water resistant but not quite waterproof, and using it as a poncho may result in wetting out in the shoulder area where it rests against your body. I have used Spinn fabric for stuff sacks with good success. The ones I made are still in use after two pretty hard seasons. I also have a Spinn/Quantum Bivy I made (with the Spinn as the floor of course) and it has held up well so far, with about 6 months use on it. Spinn fabric use is still in it's infancy so you might want to err on the side of con
servativity when considering it. I did extensive searching and testing to find the fabric we use so I can assure you not all Spinn is created equal. If there comes a time when BPL offers their new "Super" Spinn fabric, I can assure you it will be completely waterproof. Unfortunately, in my tests, the 0.7 oz fabric was only waterproof to about 1 PSI. What this means is that for poncho's it will wet out at the shoulders, and for tarps you might get a fine mist inside the tarp in heavy rains. If you can live with that you can't beat the weight of the fabric. Also, keep in mind this fabric is manufactured to sail maker specs, so the roll width is shorter than most fabric (roughly 55" vs 60" typically). One final thing - I get these massages as a digest so won't be able to respond right away if you write back.

I hope this helps.

Mike Maurer
Gossamer Gear