Denier Ratings

Greywolf357 · 12-04-2007, 05:51 PM

I was asked to provide any information that I found pertaining to Denier ratings when someone was responding to a question that I had.

Here is what I found out about the 1680 Denier rating on gear compared to the 1050 Denier rating:

Ballistic nylon is a thick, tough, synthetic nylon fabric used for a variety of applications. Ballistic nylon was originally developed by the DuPont corporation as a material for flak jackets to be worn by World War II airmen. The term ballistic nylon takes its name from the fact that it was intended to protect its wearers from flying debris and shrapnel caused by bullet or artillery shell impacts. It was not an effective defense against most pistol or rifle rounds. Ballistic nylon was succeeded by Kevlar and other, more effective, bullet resistant fabrics.

Modern applications of ballistic nylon include luggage, cave packs, tool belts, police duty belts, motorcycle jackets, and skin-on-frame kayaks. Teams in the FIRST robotics competition also use this material for their bumpers.

Ballistic nylon is of a heavier weight than most nylons used in manufacturing: 18 oz (1050 denier). As it resists abrasion and tearing, it is typically used for luggage and in the bottom of bags made of a lighter nylon or other fabric.

URL: Ballistic nylon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

* What is Ballistic Nylon?

Originally developed for use in bulletproof vests, genuine American-made 1050 denier nylon is one of the toughest fabrics in the world. While some luggage manufacturers have tried to imitate this fabric, the american-made Allied Signal Fibers Tru-Ballistic 1050 denier fabric meets U.S. Military Specification #MIL-C-12369F-GL. Always know what you are buying!

* What is the Definition of "Denier" in Ballistic Nylon?

"Denier" refers to the weight, NOT the strength of an individual fiber that goes into making a fabric. Therefor, a higher denier count does not indicate a stronger fabric, it just means a heavier fabric. Strength and abrasion resistance are achieved through molecular manipulation, or how a fabric is stretched, spun, or woven. These characteristics are measured through tenacity (strength per denier), breaking strength (tenacity x denier) and toughness. Laboratory tests prove that the Tru-Ballistic 1050 denier fabric is the strongest and most durable fabric for its denier weight level.

There are two significant technical differences between cordura and ballistic nylon. First, ballistic is a "filament" yard, vs cordura which is texturized. This means ballistic nylon yarns are smooth & slick; cordura yarns are slightly fuzzy, actually discontinuous, more like a natural fiber. This gives cordura somewhat higher abrasion resistance, while the ballistic has higher tear strength. However, in both fabrics the tear strength and the abrasion resistance are so much higher than necessary, the end-user will seldom if ever experience any difference between cordura and ballistic. The other technical difference is that ballistic is two-ply weave, which means two 1050 denier yarns are woven as one. This mostly impacts the look of the fabric, not so much it's utility, but it pretty much is what people like about ballistic nylon.
Some other differences: ballistic is harder to dye, hence many manufacturers use only black; because cordura has more texture than ballistic, it frays less at the cut edge. With modern coatings on the backsides of the fabrics, this is typically not a problem these days, but it used to be.

The 1680 is woven from a really big 1680 denier single yarn, rather than two plies of 1050; this large yarn size makes if look like a two-ply fabric. The 1680 is made in asia and is about half the cost of 1050 ballistic, and though it may look very similar when brand new, it ages rather poorly, tending to fuzz out at any wear points.

URL: What's the difference between Cordura and Ballistic Nylon? - TOM BIHN Forums: All About TOM BIHN Bags

Any feedback would be great. I have attached the URL's to where I found the information below each section.

robert_s_hunter · 12-04-2007, 06:01 PM

This is a good read....

GConn · 12-05-2007, 04:59 AM

Nice info guys. Thanks for searching and posting!

kxl77 · 01-28-2008, 06:29 PM

These articles tend to contradict eachother. The first article says
"The 1680 is made in asia and is about half the cost of 1050 ballistic, and though it may look very similar when brand new, it ages rather poorly, tending to fuzz out at any wear points."

And when I pull up the PDF, it implies that the higher the denier, the better the strength. Can anyone give some clarity as to which is correct?

Then again, 1680 is not on the PDF, and I'm assuming there is a reason why, but as of right now it seems that 1000 denier is the best bet.

robert_s_hunter · 01-28-2008, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kxl77

These articles tend to contradict eachother. The first article says
"The 1680 is made in asia and is about half the cost of 1050 ballistic, and though it may look very similar when brand new, it ages rather poorly, tending to fuzz out at any wear points."

And when I pull up the PDF, it implies that the higher the denier, the better the strength. Can anyone give some clarity as to which is correct?

Then again, 1680 is not on the PDF, and I'm assuming there is a reason why, but as of right now it seems that 1000 denier is the best bet.

Perhaps this may help....

1000 Denier Cordura is a 100% nylon material that has its origins with the Dupont Rayon Company, which invented Rayon Cordura in the late 20s or early 30s. Rayon Cordura continued into the 50s when it was outplaced by Dupont’s nylon, which proved to be a superior material. Some years later Dupont transferred the Cordura name to their nylon product and for years it went through various improvements until in the 80s when it started to be used in sporting good accessories such as boots. Today Cordura® is a registered trademark for durable fabrics (Invista Corporation) and is used extensively for boot construction. Cordura is said to be 2 times more durable than standard nylon and 3 times more durable than polyester. It resists tears, scuffs and abrasions and is lightweight and breathable. The 1000 Denier part of the Cordura name refers to the toughness of the fabric. By definition denier is a unit of fitness for fabrics such as rayon, nylon and silk based on a standard mass per length of 1 gram per 9,000 meters of yarn. The higher the Denier rating the heavier/thicker the fabric and resulting strength/toughness.

Keep in mind that a given fiber (ie; Cordura ballistic nylon) will always have the same strength per given weight. The problem is using the Denier rating of a different fiber (ie; standard nylon, polyester, etc.) as a direct comparison. There is no direct comparison. It's a case of comparing a pound of apples to a pound of oranges, same weight, completely different properties.