Different Types Of Party Tent Fabrics: What Are Tents Made Of?

What material is a tent made out of, you ask?

Well, there are plenty of materials available, and it can be helpful to know the differences when planning an event with a commercial tent. All have different qualities, and all serve different functions suited for various applications. Here are some of the pros and cons of different types of material so you can find the best fit for your occasion.

Nylon

Nylon is a lightweight fabric popular for backpacking tents. While nylon can be susceptible to rips from wind and debris, backpacking tents are small enough to maintain strength. Nylon offers enough stretch to allow for stress distribution on the small tent panel, making it less likely to tear. Overall, nylon is a good material for small tents but is not a strong choice for larger commercial tents.

Polyester (PVC)

Like nylon, polyester has a slight stretch; however, it is a stronger material. This strengthened ability to stretch makes it more resistant to the outdoor elements. While polyester is relatively durable, you will still want to think about waterproofing and thread count options based on your planned use. Luckily, these setbacks can easily be solved by coating polyester in PVC (also known as polyvinyl chloride), a protective layer that increases the tent’s protective capabilities.

Ripstop PVC

Ripstop PVC is typically seen in commercial tents because it is one of the toughest materials on the market. The scrim fabric is woven together, creating material reinforcement and making ripstop PVC a reliable party tent fabric that will keep everybody at your event protected.

Additionally, the polyvinyl chloride coating increases weather resistance and creates a nice shiny seal, more so than polyethylene tent material. Polyethylene (PE), while a common tent material coating, is lighter weight and does not protect against UV rays as well; that being said, PE is considered a safer plastic environmentally.

Coated Vinyl

Vinyl is probably the most commonly used commercial tent material. Coated vinyl results from dip molding, which forms the protective layer over the vinyl with corrosion resistance and greater stability. Vinyl is most often coated in either PVC or PE. Compared to other fabrics, it is the most waterproof option making it ideal for tents to stand strong through inclement weather. While coated vinyl is a pricier option, it can be worth it if your tent will be exposed to the outdoor elements for the long term.

Laminated Vinyl

Laminated vinyl is exactly what it sounds like —  vinyl covered in a laminate. The scrim is placed between layers of PVC film then fused together in a laminating machine through heat and pressure. This lamination process increases material weight, UV protection, abrasion resistance, and glossiness. It is fire retardant, water-resistant, and is less costly than coated vinyl. Because of these incredible qualities, laminated vinyl is the most common material you will see used at American Tent.

Cotton Canvas

While cotton canvas was relevant years ago, it is far less common to find this material being used in commercial tents today. Cotton is natural and more environmentally friendly than other synthetic materials. The thickness of the cotton creates insulation against outside sounds; however, untreated cotton is not weather resistant, requiring additional precautions. Untreated cotton is a dense, heavy option that can make your set-up and transportation process a bit more difficult than lighter fabrics, but if that is not an issue for you, then the rustic charm of the cotton canvas could do the trick.

Coated Cotton

Coated cotton, also known as polycotton, has a lot of the same qualities as regular cotton. It is thick and durable, with added insulation and waterproofing capabilities from the coating. Woven cotton is coated with a protective layer either during the creation of this material or afterward. This is a heavy-duty tent fabric, making it much heavier (like untreated cotton) and, though the coating offers weather protection, it is still less water-resistant than other options.

Which Fabric Is Better For Your Tent?

It is important to do your research when thinking about what material will best suit your tent needs. The lifespan of tents can depend on the materials used to create them, so knowing the options can be crucial! If you are looking for a good backpacking tent fabric, nylon will be just fine!

However, if you are looking for a commercial-sized tent, you will want stronger material for its larger size. Though strong, uncoated fabric, like cotton canvas, is more susceptible to weather damage. So, if you need your tent to withstand wind and rain, you are definitely going to be best off choosing a coated or laminated material.

At American Tent, we are partial to laminated vinyl due to its trustworthy weather and fire-resistant capabilities, and its beautiful finish; you can’t go wrong!

How To Take Care Of Your Tent Fabric?

Of course, you want to keep your tent in tip-top shape. Make sure you save the box in which your tent came for easy and safe storage later on. At American Tent, we send tents in a special bag for this very purpose!

When you are setting up your tent, lay down a drop cloth to avoid rips from dragging on the ground. Once your tent is up, check the panels for any pinholes or snags. If you notice one, don’t fret! American Tent will send a free patch kit for any blemishes that catch your eye.

Keep your event tent fabric looking meticulous by keeping it clean. Lay your tent down on the dropcloth to brush off dirt and debris, and then simply hose it off! You can create a DIY cleaning solution by mixing four parts warm water, one part vinegar, and light soap as needed.

When your tent is out of commission for a period of time, roll it up like a sleeping bag to slide right back into the protective bag in which it arrived — easy as that! Make sure your tent is completely dry before putting it away for safekeeping, and you are sure to see positive impacts on the longevity of your tent fabric.

Why Choose American Tent?

Quality is of utmost importance when you invest in an event tent. The materials used for your tent will determine how well your tent works, how it looks, and how long you will be able to use it for events. At American Tent, we use the highest-quality fabrics to ensure our party tents are the perfect choice for whatever event you are planning. Buying your event tent from American Tent means you will be getting a high-quality tent that will last years, and you will be able to work with our team to find or create your perfect, custom event tent.

Conclusion

Now that you know more about what a tent is made of, you’ll want to keep your options in mind when purchasing for your next event. If you want to know more about the material offered by American Tent, visit our website and get in touch with us! We can send a Sample Material Kit of our vinyl, colors, graphics, and finishes so you can see for yourself!

P.S. Stay tuned...American Tent will be offering more options soon!

"There are so many tent fabrics...what are the differences, which is best, and why?"

These are questions we get asked often, and it's a reasonable question considering the desired lifespan and expected hard usage that backpacking tents see. 

At Seek Outside we take fabric seriously, while knowing that intended use, construction, and design also play key roles in performance.  A great fabric in a poor design will never live up to its' potential.

This post will be a deep dive into the most commonly used fabrics for backpacking tents.  We will not directly compare to other manufacturers, rather focusing on best fits for uses, and providing facts to educate all tent consumers.

Why isn't tent fabric both waterproof and breathable? 

Well, we would love a strong, light, fairly priced waterproof / breathable hot tent fabric. However, this is about as likely to happen as you bringing home a live Unicorn for a kids birthday. 

There are various reasons.  First, many fabric manufacturers will not sell waterproof / breathable fabrics for use in tents (a bivy being the exception). Second, what makes it waterproof and breathable usually makes it heavier and weaker. Third, the cost of these fabrics is very high, and a comfortably sized winter camping hot tent uses a LOT of fabric, which would drastically increase the cost.  If a top end waterproof breathable jacket costs a few hundred dollars, imagine the cost of a tent. 

In the end, it's easier, lighter and less expensive to do things the way they have been done which is single wall or double wall tent designs with good ventilation. If properly ventilated, then waterproof / breathable fabric is obsoleted due to cost.  

Quick Takeaway:

Waterproof / Breathable fabrics are unlikely to gain traction in tents for a myriad of reasons.

What is Fabric Denier? 

Fabric Denier was originally a rating for how thick a fabric was in comparison to a single strand of silk (which was 1 denier and weighed one gram for 9000 Meters of thread. Over time, this has morphed and meanings may be mixed a bit however in general it is a rating of how thick a fabric is. Thus a 30 Denier fabric is thicker than a 20 denier. Heavier denier fabrics are often thought to be stronger and tougher but the toughness can be misleading because a lot of the toughness is determined by other details such as the type of thread / yarn used. 

Heavier denier fabrics do weigh more but heavier does not necessarily mean better quality or more durable. In our experience, fabrics below a high quality 30 Denier start to become pretty whispy and likely not suitable for sustained hard use. In addition, the lower denier fabrics do not start to save much weight for example a 7 Denier Nylon weighs more than half what a 30 Denier Nylon does. 

Quick Takeaway: 

Heavier Deniers are stronger if everything else is equal. Below 30 Denier, the weight saved is not that much in relation to denier. 

What is the difference in Nylon and Polyester? 

These are both synthetic fabrics, and polyester does have some subtle advantages in UV performance but Nylon is ounce for ounce tougher. Therefore a shelter made of Nylon can be lighter than one made of Polyester. Nylon is also more supple and packs smaller. Polyester is usually a lot cheaper and more common in lower end products.

Quick Takeaway:  

Nylon is Stronger than Polyester.  Polyester is cheaper and generally heavier.

What is ripstop fabric and is it an advantage? 

Ripstop is a reinforcement pattern in the fabrics that adds extra strength to help stop tears from propagating thus "ripstop". 

Ripstop is used in better products however there are some cheap fabrics that "look" like ripstop so buyer beware. The knock offs are probably worse than no ripstop at all because they give the illusion of quality or ruggedness. 

In the real world, where this will show up in a tent is if you get a hole or slight tear in the fabric. This can happen for many reasons like a branch falling, an excited dog, a bear..... the ripstop is supposed to stop the tear from ripping further (think ripping a sheet). 

A non ripstop fabric, or a cheap ripstop knock off will just tear. This is not something you want happening on an extended trip. 

Quick Takeaway:

A good ripstop adds strength but beware of knock offs. 

What are the different types of Nylon like Nylon 6 or Nylon 6.6 ? 

Basically there is Nylon 6, Nylon 6.6 , Robic Nylon and Cordura Nylon which is a nylon 6.6 "high tenacity nylon". Nylon 6 is the least expensive and weakest but still stronger than Polyester.  Robic nylon is an improvement in strength and abrasion but it is still not as good as nylon 6.6.  Nylon 6.6 is considered "high tenacity nylon" and offers far better strength and tear resistance than Nylon 6. 

Cordura Nylon (based on nylon 6.6) in our usage and testing performs a bit different than Nylon 6.6.  The differences are subtle and are in how they tear.  In our opinion, Cordura Nylon resists tearing better than Nylon 6.6.  We suspect the difference is that Cordura looks like it uses an overlapped long fiber where some of the generic nylon 6.6 seem to tear far more cleanly when forced. For us, we decide to use fabric from a trusted source like Cordura with a long track record of durable fabrics. 

Takeaway: 

Cordura or Nylon 6.6 are both High Tenacity Nylons that are stronger than the rest. We choose to use Cordura due to their long standing reputation for quality. 

How do waterproof fabric coatings work like PU and Silicone ? 

Most backpacking tent fabrics are Silicone or PU, or a blend of both. 

PU (Polyurethane) coating is common, and has been used a long time. This is a heavier coating and PU coatings actually weaken the fabric so they tear more easily. PU also hydrolyzes over time, which causes a foul odor and peeling of the waterproof coating.  If you've ever taken a tent out of the closet after long storage and noticed a bad smell, this is what happened.

Silicone coatings on the other hand strengthen the fabrics they are applied to, so they make the fabric harder to rip or tear. Silicone coatings also do not hydrolyze, and are more durable than PU coatings.  

A third category are blend coatings, where a bit of PU is mixed into a Silicone coating on one or both sides of the fabric.  The advantages here are various, but the main reason we prefer these coatings is decreased tackiness which is desirable in sandy environments.  Our Nylon shelters use either a pure silicone or a silicone PU blend. 

Put in real world terms, I doubt most users would notice a difference between straight silicone coating and Sil/PU blend coatings, and in many cases a person could argue the the blend may be a better coating despite not being quite as strong. However, at the more extreme range of performance the pure silicone coating will result in a moderately stronger fabric. 

From a manufacturing perspective, PU coatings can be seam taped while silicone coatings require seam sealing.  This drives the cost of PU fabrics down further compared to silicone.

Quick Takeaway: 

A silicone or silicone blend coating creates a stronger lighter fabric than a PU coated fabric. 

What is Dyneema or Cuben Fiber? 

When talking materials commonly used for tents, Dyneema will offer the best strength to weight - and likely the highest cost. Dyneema is incredibly strong for it's weight and the tent material is basically a ripstop pattern of dyneema fibers sandwiched between mylar film layers. 

Dyneema is incredibly waterproof due to the impermeable laminated layers, and has an out of this world strength to weight ratio.  It also has zero stretch, which makes it easy to get a good tight pitch, but will also stress stakes, stake loops, and poles more than a silnylon in heavy wind due to the shock absorbing stretch that silnylon has.

Dyneema has a lower melting point than silnylon, so in a hot tent application ember holes will be bigger.  We recommend a longer stove pipe for dyneema tents to combat this.  On the plus side, dyneema is easier to patch than silnylon, so if you do get a hole or tear it is easy and quick to use a mylar tape to patch it, and the tape is a permanent fix.

Quick Takeaway: 

No fabric will provide the strength to weight of dyneema however it will lighten your wallet a fair amount to. 

How does UV effect these fabrics? 

This is complex, UV really does not effect Dyneema fabrics. UV does impact nylon fabrics however color is very very important. Bright nylon colors like pink, yellow etc can degrade very quickly in high UV environments. However, muted colors like our green, or brown or gray are not impacted near as much. The difference in color is substantial. 

Quick Takeaway: 

Color matters a lot. Muted colors are far less impacted. 

Summary: 

Nylon is stronger than polyester, and nylon 6.6 is stronger than nylon 6. Several coatings exist, but at the top end a silicone coating  will be the strongest followed by a silicone blend. The weakest will be a PU coating. Put simply, when you are depending on your tent for shelter, in remote places, or in extended severe weather these are the attributes to look for. When you are looking for the combination, of light , small pack size , and strong look at these fabrics. 

Here is a quick video comparison

By Brad Brooks

When it comes to tent fabrics for backpacking and backpack hunting products there are a lot of different options on the market. Coatings, weights, tear strength, abrasion resistance, and material options can create a tangled web of options making it hard to compare and know whether the tent you buy is up for the use you intend to use it for. And while there are better options than others, it is important as the consumer to understand why a particular fabric is used so you can make an informed decision on whether a tent will perform as advertised.

You can't have the lightest and the strongest fabric at the same time. Not all nylon or all polyester fabrics are the same. The waterproof coatings on fabrics can vary widely in terms of quality, which will effect the longevity of your tent. And that is just the beginning. For a backpacking or backpack hunting tent you want the best fabric for the application, and to understand why we use a 20D ripstop polyester fabric on our rain fly's, we'll need to first do a deep dive on fabrics, coatings and waterproofness.

Full warning, this is a deep dive on tents, fabrics and coatings, and is not for the faint of heart. But, reading it will make you a more informed consumer and help you make better choices on tents.

Polyester vs. Nylon

The vast majority of tents are made from nylon or polyester fabric. The exception is dyneema or HDPE laminated fabric tents, which is a great fabric but it is very pricey, in a category all its' own and the topic of another article. The traditional dogma in the backpacking tent world is that nylon is a superior fabric over polyester because nylon has better abrasion resistance, better tear strength, and therefore is a stronger fabric that can withstand abuse, especially in lighter weight fabrics. Polyester has been branded as an inferior, cheaper fabric by some. However, this simply is not true. Not even a little bit, but there is a good reason for this myth to be carried on today. 

50 years ago when backpacking tents first started hitting the market, nylon fabrics, especially in lightweight tent fabric options, were superior to polyester due to technology in the fabric world at the time. And because they were the best option, demand for the fabric by backpacking tent companies fueled increases in technology and product development to make lightweight nylon fabrics better. It was a self-fulfilling cycle as fabric mills knew the demand was higher from tent companies for nylon. So, what do you do if you own a fabric mill when you know companies want lightweight nylon? You make more nylon and put your R&D into nylon. 

But times change, and technology does as well. Fabric mills today can make lightweight, durable polyester fabrics, and to prove it, we can look at tensile and tear strength, which are two common tests done to compare tent fabrics for durability and strength. Tensile strength measures how much you can stretch a fabric before it breaks, and tear strength measures how much force is required to tear a fabric by moving a piece of it in opposite directions. The traditional refrain in the backpacking world is that nylon has better tensile and tear strength than polyester, but that that isn't what the data says.

Not all nylon or poly fabrics are created equally, and there are some great nylon fabrics out there such as nylon 6.6, which is a tough fabric with great tear strength. But is it better than a comparable high quality poly fabric? No. Take a look at this strength test conducted by DuPont comparing thread tensile strength:

You will notice there is a small difference in the tensile strength of nylon 6.6 vs. a high quality poly fiber and nylon has the tiniest of advantages over poly in the the lab. This difference is incredibly small however, and the difference would be imperceptible in all real world applications when you are actually using the tent outside for a couple of very important reasons. 

It is important to remember that nylon absorbs water unlike polyester, and once it gets wet its' tensile strength is compromised, meaning wet nylon will lose 10-15% of it's tensile strength and becomes substantially weaker than poly. So, in any type of field condition where you have wet, windy weather nylon is actually weaker than poly assuming the fabric weights are the same. And wet windy weather is usually when a tent's tear strength is put to the test. 

The second factor that impacts tensile strength, and thereby fabric durability, is the sun. UV rays can significantly impact the durability of tent fabric, and nylon is much more susceptible to UV degradation. Even a week of intense sun on a nylon tent can reduce the tear strength of nylon by a fair margin. Polyester on the other hand hand is much less susceptible to UV degradation. The takeaway here is that a nylon fabric out of the box could be slightly "stronger" over a comparable weight poly tent, but after a little use in the sun and in any stormy weather that superiority is flipped. 

Tent Sag

One of the most important reasons we do not use nylon is because it is a water absorbing fabric. If you've ever used a nylon tent and there is a lot of condensation during the night, and it snows or rains, you will notice that the tent will sag significantly. This sciency article explains how nylon absorbs water, which I can't do since I'm not a chemist. The very nature of nylon makes it impossible to not absorb water, even when it is coated with a waterproof material like silicone, as silicone is incredibly porous to water vapor. Yes, you read that correctly. Nylon, even after it is coated with silicone, still absorbs water. And the amount of tent sag gets worse the larger the tent as the amount of fabric increases. 

Nylon will strectch as much as 3.5%. That may not sound like a lot, but it is once you do the math. On a tent that is 130" long, such as our 4P is, that is 5" of sag. And when you add in the sag from the other tent panels, you have a serious loss of space inside the tent.

Polyester on the other hand, is naturally hydrophobic, meaning it does not absorb nearly as much water. Polyester's absorption rate is in the tenths of a percent. The result is that polyester doesn't sag when wet nearly as much as nylon. Some polyester tent fabric evangelists say it doesn't sag at all, but I would call it a very negligible amount of sag, especially for a floorless shelter. The result is that a polyester tent maintains it's usable space much better than a nylon tent. And maintaining usable space is important. If you have ever experienced the tent-collapsing feel of nylon fabric absorbing water you'll understand what I'm talking about. And because poly doesn't absorb water, your tent will be lighter in any condition where there is moisture and it will dry out more quickly.

Now, I need to make sure it is clear that even though we use polyester for a reason, nylon is not a bad fabric and does have a place for use in the tent world. In fact, we use nylon 6.6 in our bathtub floors because I like it better than a poly fabric where it will be constantly ground into the dirt, rocks and whatever else is beneath your sleeping pad. But when it comes to rain fly's, it just isn't a superior fabric for lightweight backpack tents.

Denier

Tent fabrics are nearly always described in terms of their weight, usually with a number ranging from "7D" up to 70D or higher. These numbers refer to the weight of the yarn used in the fabric, not necessarily the fabric itself, as fabrics are made from combining yarns. The number is based on the weight of 10,000 yards of a particular yarn. So a lower number will mean a lighter weight fabric. What really matters, and what is important to understand with denier, is that fabric deniers create a way to measure fabrics against fabrics.

We use a 20 denier (20D) fabric in our tents because we believe it provides a balance between durability and weight. 20D is on the lighter end of what you will see used in lightweight tents, but there are some tents using fabric as light as 10D. In our opinion, you want a tent that will hold up to some abuse so it has a long usable life, but it also needs to be light, especially for mountain use. We aren't suggesting 20D is a magic unicorn of fabric weights, but it strikes a balance we think is best suited to the application for 4 season backpack shelters, and particularly for backpack hunting where gear will get used and abused.

Waterproof Coatings

When a tent fabric comes out of the mill, it is typically coated with one of two materials: silicone (sil) and/or polyurethane (PU). There is also a new material called Polyethylene (referred to as PEU or PE) that is also being used, but its' application is not as broad. Each side of the tent fabric is coated separately which is why most tent fabrics will tell you what coating is on the outside vs. the inside (i.e. sil/sil or sil/PU).

PU is widely used on the inside of tents because you can use seam tape over it to tape seams, whereas silicone cannot be seam taped and usually requires someone manually seam taping the tent. PU is also used because it is considered a fire-retardant material (more on that later) and is compliant with seven states that have laws requiring tents to be made with an fire-retardant "FR" coating. The problem with PU is that it degrades over time and it actually decreases the tear strength of the fabric, making it weaker and less durable. Using PU also requires layering on more material to get the same amount of waterproofing as you do with silicone, which makes a tent heavier and bulkier. 

Silicone actually penetrates into the tent fabric and increases the strength of the fabric. Silicone also requires less material to achieve a given waterproofness, and will therefore be lighter in weight. It is hands down a superior treatment for lightweight rain fly fabrics because it increases the tear strength of the fabric, less material is required to get the desired water repellency and it won't degrade over time like PU. 

We use a sil/sil treatment on our tents because of the aforementioned advantages. However, because we use a silicone coated thread and four layers of fabric in our seams, our seams are naturally waterproof. There are some applications where PU has it's advantages, and we do use it on our bathtub floors where we want to have our seams taped to ensure no water will seep through even when you are laying on the fabric and pushing it against water/ground.

But how Waterproof is Waterproof?

The most important question about coatings that will drive a person insane is how waterproof is waterproof enough.  A company can layer as much silicone or PU onto a fabric as they desire to increase the waterproofness of a tent. As a person that uses a tent, all you really care about is not having water come through your tent in a storm. So how much water-proofing do you really need?

The waterproof rating for a tent will typically be reflected by a number next to the coating. For example, for our rain fly's we use a 20D sil/sil fabric with a 2000mm coating on both sides. The 2000mm refers to the "hydrostatic head" rating of the fabric, which is a measurement of how much water pressure a fabric can withstand before water starts seeping through. 2000mm means that a column of water 2000mm high, or 2 meters high, would need to form before the water created enough pressure for it to start to seep through the fabric. Multiply that times 2 since the fabric is coated to 2000mm on both sides for an aggregate of 4000mm, and you would need a 4 meter column of water to break through. That's a lot of water and one hell of a storm. You could argue that a really windy, wet storm will press water against your tent creating a lot of pressure. But the amount of pressure created by a 2 meter column of water is significant and would never be reached (not even close), not even by the biggest rain storm.

Some companies will use a 3000mm, 5000mm or even higher coatings claiming it makes their tents more waterproof. The reality is while tents with those coatings are technically more waterproof, there is no real need to have that much coating on a tent in our humble opinion. If the coating is a PU coating, it can degrade the strength of the fabric as you add on more material, and importantly for backpacking tents, it makes them heavier unnecessarily. 

Realistically, if you buy a backpacking tent from a reputable company, the fabric is not going to leak. Seams are where you will see your tent leak as the needles used to sew the fabric poke holes that allow water to get in. But I can't think of a single high end tent company that is making a tent with a fabric that would even come close to leaking. I would wager you are more likely to get small holes in your tent or rub it against a sharp rock and tear it before water will get through the coating.

We use double 2000mm coating on our rain fly's, as it is plenty waterproof for any rain, snow or other wet weather likely to be experienced in the mountains or desert, yet it doesn't add on unnecessary silicone that will increase the weight of the fabric. Couple that with our silicone coated thread to seal up the seams, and you have a naturally waterproof tent. We see it as a balance for durability and weight.

Tying it all Together

If you made it this far, congratulations. You likely know more than most people that use tents. Next time you're researching a tent, take a look at the specifications and don't be afraid to ask questions of the manufacturer. The details will impact the quality of the tent, and transparency is important for us when it comes to communication with our products and our customers. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below.