What Is The Best Lightweight Waterproof Tent Material?

Tent material is one of the most crucial factors to consider when buying your first tent. There are many options of materials which can become a little confusing for the first-time tent buyer, especially when you don’t know what the characteristics of the materials are and the benefits and downsides of each one.

The best lightweight waterproof tent material is nylon coated with a waterproofing layer of silicone and with the seams of the tent sealed with silicone. This tent material will serve the greater requirements of most camping tents, being lightweight, waterproof, and cheap. Regular extreme cold weather camping may require a more expensive material for insulation.

The type of tent material you choose will largely be determined by your needs and what you want to use the tent for. If you are simply camping and you drive with your car to the campsite, then your tent needs would be different than if you are out hiking on a mountain trail.

What Are The Available Tent Materials?

There are many different types of tent materials, and each manufacturer gives its own spin on why its tents are the best. The actual plain truth of the matter is that there is no one magic all-purpose perfect tent material that is suitable for all occasions.

When you select a tent, you need to know what you will be using it for and what conditions the tent will need to handle to keep you sheltered for your adventure in the outdoors.

If we examine the materials that tents are being made from, you can establish which material will most suit your needs and make a tent selection based on this knowledge.

Canvas Tent Material

Canvas or cotton is actually a great material for a tent, but only for a tent with a particular purpose. Canvas, if treated properly, is waterproof, breathable, and a good insulator. These attributes make it a great tent material.

Before a canvas tent reaches its full waterproofing capability, it needs to undergo a weathering process, which is basically being exposed to the elements and rain. This makes the fibers swell and lock together, improving their waterproofing ability. Canvas tents may need to be weathered every few years to retain their waterproof characteristics.

The downside is that canvas is heavy and bulky, and you will not be able to fold it into a small, compact, easy to carry package. Canvas tents are great for tents that are transported by vehicle and for tents that will be set up long term on a site for a more semi-permanent shelter.

Polyester Tents

Polyester is a lightweight material that has similar properties to nylon. It is fairly durable but not as strong as nylon. It is water-resistant but not waterproof, so many tent manufacturers who use this material will coat it with another material such as silicone, polyurethane, or a blend of these two materials.

Polyester does not breathe well, which will result in the formation of condensation on the inside of the tent overnight from the moisture in your breath. This problem can be relieved by having adequate ventilation in the tent.

Polyester is a flammable material, so it is dangerous to use an open flame in this type of tent or locate it near a campfire.

The type of coating used on the polyester material can increase the price of the tent. Polyester has similar characteristics to nylon but is more expensive than nylon, especially if an expensive coating is used. So if you have a constrained budget, nylon would be a better choice.

Poly-Cotton Tents

Poly-cotton or poly-canvas is a blend material using canvas or cotton mixed with polyester. This makes the material a little lighter than canvas and improves its resistance to mildew, but it significantly increases these tents’ price tag.

These tents will usually have a waterproof coating, which will make the fabric not only waterproof but water repellant. These tents are very durable, but their bulkiness, weight, and price tag normally deter weekend campers from tents of this material.

Nylon Tents

Nylon is a synthetic material that many people mistakenly consider to be waterproof. Nylon is not waterproof; water will soak into the material and eventually come through the nylon material.

The benefit of nylon for camping is that it is extremely lightweight and cheap, making tents made from this material very affordable. Nylon is cheaper than polyester, which is why nylon is the most popular material for lightweight tents.

Nylon is also a stronger and more durable material than polyester, but polyester has the edge over nylon in its resistance to UV damage. Coatings are often added to nylon tents to improve their resistance to UV damage.

Unless coated with another material, tents made from nylon will not be waterproof. For this reason, many hiking tents that are made from nylon will be coated with either silicone, polyurethane, or sometimes a blend of the two.

Nylon is a flammable material, so no open flames should be used in the tent, and it should be placed well away from a campfire.

Nylon is not a great insulator, so for cold weather, such as camping in the snow, this type of lightweight tent material does not offer much heat retention.

Nylon Tent

Polyethylene Tents

Polyethylene is a type of plastic that is similar in characteristics to polyurethane and nylon. It is a durable, water-resistant material, but like the other two, it needs a coating to make it a waterproof tent material.

The downside to polyethylene is that it is heavier than nylon and polyurethane, and it is a poor insulator, which makes it not great for colder climates.

Gore-Tex

Gore-Tex is another modern fabric that makes for a very lightweight tent material that is also waterproof and breathable. Gore-Tex is a proprietary product made from expanded PTFE and is famed for its all-weather use.

While this is a great material for making tents, it is extremely expensive, and it is therefore usually only used by mountaineers that will be overnighting on the frozen slopes of a mountain top. The ones made from Gore-Tex are, therefore, normally solo or, at the most, two-person tents.

Vapex

Vapex is another synthetic tent material that is sometimes used for tents, but it is not a common material used for tents. Vapex is waterproof and breathable, which eliminates the condensation issue on the inside of the tent.

Vapex is an excellent insulator and is fire resistant, which is why it is mostly used for the application of making tents for extreme cold camping, such as winter camping in Alaska.

The material is made from a special type of polyurethane, which is hydrophilic and gives it waterproof but breathable characteristics.

This tent material, although lightweight and waterproof, is very expensive and is therefore not recommended for the casual camper unless you go camping in extremely cold conditions.

Dyneema

Dyneema is actually a brand that makes lightweight, waterproof tent material from a material called cuben fiber. This is a very strong material, stronger than nylon and any of the poly fabrics. Dyneema is also extremely lightweight and is used to manufacture many different hiking and backpacking items such as backpacks and tarps.

This material does not stretch, and the elasticity is not affected by moisture, which makes it great for tents and tarps. The problem with using this material for a tent is that it is not breathable. You will therefore get condensation on the inside of the tent unless you have good ventilation.

When used to make tents, it is often used in combination with polyester material to create a hybrid, lightweight, and waterproof tent material.

The main downside of Dyneema is that it is very expensive, and there are much cheaper lightweight tent materials such as nylon, which can be treated to make it a waterproof tent material.

The price of this material puts it out of the reach of most general campers.

What Is Ripstop?

Ripstop is a way of laying down the material in a pattern that gives the material a better resistance to ripping. Most tent materials, including canvas, can be produced in a woven, layering manner, giving them additional strength and preventing small tears in the material from ripping easily.

There are many materials that are marketed as ripstop or look like ripstop but are simply made with a pattern that looks like ripstop but actually adds no benefit to the material.

Best Waterproof Tent Material

Most nylon and polyester tents will have a waterproof coating that is either silicone-based, polyurethane-based, or a blend of the two. The seams can also be taped or sealed to waterproof the tent.

Between silicone and polyurethane, the silicone coating is the better coating since it not only adds waterproofing but also increases the strength of the material. Polyurethane is also not completely waterproof; the water will eventually soak through the coating and the material.

Polyurethane also degrades over time, especially after long periods of storage and produces an unpleasant odor, and begins to peel off. In this regard to waterproof tent material, silicone is the better choice.

The third option is a blend of silicone and polyurethane, which is cheaper, but allows the best qualities of both materials to make an acceptable, more affordable waterproof tent material.

Seam taping is normally done on heavier material tents and on polyethylene tent materials. Seam sealing is used more frequently on lightweight tent materials with a silicone waterproof treatment.

Best Lightweight Tent Material

The best lightweight tent material for most general-purpose camping is, without a doubt, nylon. Preferably nylon that is coated with a silicone waterproofing material to strengthen the nylon and add the necessary waterproofing to the material.

Modern nylon materials are very lightweight, and expensive nylon is still substantially cheaper than some of the other specialty products such as Vapex, Dyneema, or Gore-Tex.

This makes nylon the best material for most outdoor tent applications and why it is the most commonly used material for lightweight tent material.

Best Lightweight Waterproof Tent Material | Conclusion

Considering all the factors, a nylon tent fabric coated with a silicone or poly-silicone blend waterproof coating is the best value for money lightweight and waterproof tent material.

Extreme cold temperature camping is a different scenario and will require a more specialist, expensive material for a suitable tent.

Best Tent Material Tents

The Best Tent Material

With the hundreds of different tents available on the market and the variety of materials they are made of, it is difficult to determine which one to buy. The most common and popular materials for tents to made of are cotton and polyester. Both materials are excellent and make for some high-quality tents, but which is better? It is up for interpretation. Cotton has some significant advantages over polyester and vice versa. This article is meant to be a guide to help you decide which tent material is best suited for you and your needs.

Polyester

Let’s start with polyester. One major advantage that polyester has over cotton is that it is usually less expensive. Polyester and other man-made fabrics are also typically less bulky and easier to carry than cotton and other natural-based materials. This makes polyester a very attractive option for those who must trek to a campsite or those going backpacking. As well as being lighter, polyester can dry out much quicker than cotton when it gets wet, making polyester the ideal material for a quick weekend camping trip. It is also a lot easier to maintain than most cotton, as it doesn’t accumulate mildew or rot and it doesn’t tear as easily. Polyester tents are often coated to be resistant to water and UV rays, as the material itself isn’t resistant. These tents are often the best ones to use for a quick and easy weekend camping trip and are the best option for backpacking adventures.

Polyester isn’t without its downsides, however. It cannot insulate quite as well as cotton, meaning it can’t keep out heat or cold as effectively. Therefore, if you do use a polyester tent for a summer reunion, make sure you allow for ventilation wherever possible by opening windows, doors, and screens. It also isn’t naturally breathable, and therefore can often have condensation issues which can lead to puddles building up on the bottom of the tent. However, you can look for a coating that will be able to let air in while keeping out moisture. Enough exposure to the sun can cause the material to weaken and lose its color. The downside to polyester being so lightweight means that it will flap around more in the wind, which can create a lot of annoying noise.

Cotton Tents

Cotton tents (often referred to as canvas tents) have their advantages and disadvantages. It has stood the test of time, as the oldest tents were made from cotton, and it is still quite popular today. One major upside to cotton is that it insulates much better than polyester, keeping extreme heat or extreme cold from getting inside the tent. It is also breathable and can absorb water, which keeps it from having the condensation issues common in polyester tents. Its insulation, as well as its heaviness, keeps it from flapping and making noise in the wind. It typically lasts much longer than polyester, partially because it is more naturally resistant to UV rays. Cotton tents usually smell better than polyester, since the man-made material can sometimes carry a chemical smell, while cotton retains a fresh smell for quite a while. These tents shouldn’t be coated the same way that polyester tents often are, but some manufacturers treat the tents to be somewhat waterproof. This can help light rainfall and morning dew to just bead off the tent, rather than being absorbed, which in turn helps the material to dry faster. Cotton tents are often the best tents to use for campouts in large groups, summer reunions, and fun get-togethers, or when you anticipate extreme weather.

One major downside to cotton tents is the price. The natural material is usually a lot more expensive than polyester. Cotton is also much heavier and bulkier than polyester, which makes it difficult to carry from place to place if you must hike to your campsite, and can make the tent much harder to set up. Another thing that can be a drawback to cotton is that it often requires weathering. This means that you need to leave it out in the rain to allow the material to expand and fill itself in. It wouldn’t hurt to do this a few times to make sure all the fibers have nestled into each other sufficiently. If it isn’t going to rain anytime soon you can also run water over it with a hose. If you don’t do this there could be leaking when you first use it. There are cotton tents that have a weatherproof coating, which does not require weathering. Some larger frame cotton tents are treated heavily with Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) to make them more water-resistant as well as a lot tougher, but they also have added weight and can be more at risk of condensation. These treated tents are usually not as breathable as typical cotton tents. In that regard, there is also more that you must do to maintain the material, such as allowing it to dry after it has absorbed water. Failing to do that can cause the tent to start accumulating mildew. Because cotton is so firm it can tear more easily than polyester, and one small tear can quickly evolve into a larger one.

Tent Material Blends

While these are the two most common tent materials, there are other options as well. One of these is a blend of polyester and cotton blend, appropriately called poly-cotton. It has all the advantages of cotton as well as several good qualities more commonly found in polyester, such as being more resistant to ripping or tearing as well as being less likely to acquire mildew. Be aware that it also features a few of the downsides of cotton, particularly regarding weight, price, and maintenance.

Nylon Tents

Another common material is nylon, which has a lot of similar qualities to polyester. Like polyester, it is man-made. It doesn’t absorb water which allows it to stay light and easy to carry. Nylon material is often found in the cheaper tents that you find, but you will sometimes find a more expensive tent made of nylon, which usually means that it is coated with something to make it a higher quality, usually silicone. Cheaper tents are typically coated with acrylic. Nylon tents are usually made in a fine weave with a “rip-stop” pattern, which allows for thin and lightweight parts of the fabric as well as thicker areas that will prevent a tear from laddering across the material. The fabric does lose shape when it gets wet, so when you pitch your tent, make sure the guy lines are tight to prevent this from happening. The biggest disadvantage of nylon tents is that UV rays will damage the material relatively quickly, and the tent may not last a long time. There are certain coatings you can get to filter the light and increase the tent’s life span a little longer, but you shouldn’t count on being able to use a nylon tent in the long-term.

Most major brands use some form of polyester, cotton, nylon, or poly-cotton, while many have their unique qualities. A lot of brands that use polyester treat it to make it more resistant to water, such as Kampa, Coleman, and Outwell. Robens has several different options for material, including breathable poly-cotton that is given treatment for water resistance.

Elk Mountain Tents

Elk Mountain Tents has a unique material they use for their canvas wall tents. It is polyester-based, but they have used scientific advancements to make it the best it can be and avoid many of the downsides of polyester. This material is made to be much more breathable so that you won’t have any problems with condensation building up. It is made to be lightweight but strong (the 13 x 16 option only weighs 60 lbs.) and it won’t accumulate mold or mildew like traditional canvas will. The fabric is waterproof and has sealed seams, so there is no need for a rainfly like there is with a lot of other polyester tents. It is also made to be much more durable than most canvas, as it will last longer, will not shrink, and is even better at withstanding UV rays. Its tear strength is 40 lbs. (fill direction) and 67 lbs. (warp direction), which is about twice as strong as the popular Sunforger canvas. Its breaking strength is also significantly higher than other types of canvas, with a strength of 449 lbs. (warp) and 382 lbs. (fill), compared to traditional canvas’ strength of 382 lbs. (warp) and 241 lbs. (fill).

There are many great options out there for tent material, all with different upsides and downsides. It is up to you what kind of tent would work best in your situation. Maybe you want something cheap that you can take camping occasionally or maybe you are in the market to invest in something a little more expensive that you can use for years to come. Hopefully, this article has helped you to get an idea of what direction you are looking to go into purchasing a tent.

Sources:

https://www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk/family-tents/

https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/gettingstarted/newtotents/tentfabrics/

Tent Fabric 101: Nylon vs Polyester vs Dyneema/Cuben

Tent Fabric 101: Nylon vs Polyester vs Dyneema/Cuben

by Tim Hunt

As in all aspects of tent design, fabric selection is a balancing act.

Different materials have unique strengths and weaknesses and selecting the “right” fabric is really about choosing which compromises to make. Do you want it to be light, strong, or inexpensive? You can pick two, but you sure as hell can’t have all three. A common assumption is that by buying an expensive product, you’re automatically getting the “best”, most durable product. This may be true for hammers, but for fabrics and tents, there is no “best” option. You could pretty quickly trash a fancy sports car on a dirt road that your late 90s station wagon could handle with ease. It’s the same thing with tents. A top of the line tent for thru-hikers would probably implode in winds that even a basic four-season tent would shrug off. Fabric selection is similar in that before designers make a choice, they have to explicitly decide on the goals for the product. The same is true of people who are purchasing tents. Are you going to be on exposed mountains where you’ll die if your tent fails in a storm? Are you going to retreat to your van as soon as it starts drizzling? Once the parameters have been established, the optimal fabric choice is often clear.

It’s unlikely that you’ll be confronted with a decision between two identical designs with different fabric choices. In fact, your fabric of choice will almost certainly be pre-determined by the kind of shelter you plan on buying. Rather than serving as a buying guide, this article is intended to provide users a very basic level of understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the most common fabrics used in tent and tarp design: nylon, polyester, and DCF (Dyneema Composite Fabric, formerly known as Cuben Fiber).

Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series aimed at providing users with detailed information about design, materials, and construction, so you can make informed purchasing decisions to best suit your needs. If there’s a topic that you’d like to know more about, let us know at thebeta@slingfin.com. Header image is compliments of Rainy Pass Repairs. Thanks!  

Nylon

Nylon is by far the most common material used in tents. It was originally developed by DuPont in the 1930s and was used extensively for parachute production during WWII. It is the standard for the majority of outdoor products, from tents to apparel. This is largely due to its good strength to weight ratio, good abrasion resistance, and relatively low price. 

Strength 

Nylon has a much better strength-to-weight ratio than polyester, which is the main reason it is usually the fabric of choice for tents. Much of nylon’s strength comes from its inherent stretchiness, which can be a blessing and a curse. Because nylon stretches, it distributes stress over a larger area than less stretchy (we say more “stable”) fabric would. For example, if a guy point were attached in the center of a fabric panel on a tent’s fly on a 1” x 1” reinforcement, the surrounding fabric would stretch, and the stress of the guy line being pulled would be distributed over a much larger area than just the 1” x 1” reinforcement. If, however, the fabric does not stretch, all the force is concentrated at the reinforcement, leading to much higher stress on the fabric and a higher likelihood of tearing. Another benefit of fabric stretch when designing a tent is that it works better for shaped 3-dimensional panels.

Nylon’s stretchiness has a downside, however. A fly made of less stretchy fabric (e.g. polyester) can achieve a more aesthetically pleasing pitch, as much of the wrinkliness in the fly is caused by nylon stretching along its bias (diagonal with respect to the way the fabric was woven). Fabric that does not stretch as much reduces that issue.

Abrasion Resistance 

Nylon is the most abrasion resistant of these fabrics. This is generally more of a consideration in apparel design, but parts of your tent will likely be exposed to abrasion (think floor, pole ends and clips). These can become failure points if the fabric abraids enough to weaken it.

UV Damage 

Nylon is susceptible to degradation from UV exposure. This is primarily an issue for mountaineers who use their gear at high elevations where the UV index is very high. It also creates long-term durability issues for core users who use their tents several weeks out of the year for many years. Polyester and DCF do not degrade as much as nylon when exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time. However, any lightweight fabric will be more susceptible to UV damage than a heavier equivalent. Thicker diameter fibers mean much of the inner part of the fiber is protected from the sun. Even as the outside degrades, the inside will remain intact longer. UV radiation penetrates farther (as a percentage of total fiber thickness) into smaller diameter fibers. There are fabric coatings designed to lessen the effects of UV radiation on nylon (Our ET70 fabric, for example), but for users who treat and store their tent with care, UV damage will still probably be the limiting factor in a tent’s lifespan.

Water Absorption 

Nylon absorbs water, which poses several problems. In addition to weighing more, wet nylon will expand. In the field, this means that a nylon fly will sag when exposed to moisture (from precipitation or high humidity) which translates to late-night trips outside to tension the fly to keep it from sagging onto the tent body. Again, coatings can help mitigate this issue (look for both side silicone coated fabrics instead of PU; more on this in future articles). While polyester also absorbs some water, it absorbs much less than nylon, and will maintain tension better when wet.

Polyester

Once relegated to the realm of price point and car-camping tents due to scarcity of high quality formulations, polyester has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance recently, as advancements in high-end polyesters, especially on the lightweight end of the spectrum, have significantly improved its once abysmal strength to weight ratio. While we still primarily use nylon in our tents, poly has several advantages that make it an appealing option for some applications, and its use is certainly becoming more widespread. 

Tear Strength 

Polyester generally has a lower tear strength when compared to similar weight nylons. To achieve comparable strength to nylon, designers often elect to use heavier, thicker polyester. However, newer polyester textiles have much improved strength over their older counterparts, and they’re popping up more and more on lightweight tents. Polyester has become especially popular in lightweight tarp and mid-style shelters, where the fabric is not under as much stress as it is in traditional tents. We’ll be testing some lightweight polys in our lab to determine just how big of a difference to expect between nylons and polyesters of the same weight.

Stability 

Polyester has much less stretch than nylon, and flies made of polyester pitch well due to its stability. This is especially true in humid or wet conditions, where nylon’s absorption can lead to a saggy flysheet and difficulty pitching the tent. In our anecdotal experience, we haven’t found this positive characteristic to outweigh lower strength to weight ratio of lightweight polys, but again, we’ll hopefully have some real data soon to verify this one way or the other.

UV Resistance 

It is generally believed that polyester is more UV-resistant than nylon. There haven’t been many studies done directly comparing the lightweight polyester and nylon textiles used in tents, so although studies indicate that polyester in general is indeed significantly more UV-resistant than nylon, we’re waiting until we conduct an apples-to-apples comparison of lightweight coated textiles like those used in tents.

Across all fabrics, however, including polyester, fabric thickness and color play major roles in determining UV resistance. Especially for lightweight fabrics, the color and denier of the fabric may make more difference in the fabric’s long-term UV resistance than the composition of the fibers.

Poly is a popular fabric for sails and other applications where low stretch is a priority, and while its resistance to UV damage and low water absorption make it a theoretically desirable material for use in shelters, it hasn’t been until recently that lightweight polyester can achieve adequate strength at the low weights consumers demand in most high-performance tents. Polyester shows significant promise for tents, but we’ll continue to predominantly use nylon until we’ve done enough testing to be confident that the advantages of poly outweigh its drawbacks.

Dyneema Composite Fabric

Dyneema Composite Fabric, or DCF, is the new kid on the block when it comes to tent fabrics. It used to be called Cuben Fiber, but the name was changed to Dyneema Composite Fabric when Dyneema acquired Cubic Tech,