Sewing tyvek - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

i was wondering if its possible to sew tyvek. i thougt about making a bivy sack to go under my silshelter.

jigsaw

#2

Sounds posible using some sort of seam reinforcement like a 3/8 or 1/2" facing ( white heavy duty cloth “tape” that goes in a seam to stiffen it). That stuff tears way to easy doen’t it?

Bramble

#3

I’ve made a wind-shirt out of the lighter 1.2 oz. tyvek (vs. the 1.5 oz. housewrap variety) bought a painter jump-suit and went from there. The factory stitching on the shirt is about 14 per inch approx from my recollection with a poly/nylon thread. and about 1/2 in. in from the edge. Surprisingly, that holds pretty well. I mimiced the stiching. I think it’s adequate relative to the overall strngth of the fabric which is a little less durable than frogg toggs to give an idea. PS, the wind-shirt does not breath well-enough…

Sweeper

#4

sweeper are you using a tarp. and if so do you use a ground cloth or bivy. i havent bought the sil shelter yet but it seems to be the best option to a tarptent. im just not sure what to do about the floor. any ideas ? jigsaw.

jigsaw

#5

I used TYVEK as a ground cloth under my tarp during my AT thur hike. My wife sewed a foot pocket(about 1 1/2’)on to mimic Lynne Wheldon’s(lwgear.com)version. The stiches held well enough but when it is used on already wet ground, guess what? You get wet. TYVEK is light but it does not appear to be waterproof. 6 mil plastic is heavier but is waterproof and has worked much better in the past as a ground cover. Good luck.MNS

Mother Nature’s Son

#6

Mother Nature’s Son is right about tyvek’s moisture permeability. The different varieties of tyvek perform differently. Housewrap is popular as a groundcloth cause you can get it for free usually by talking to a contractor where a house is being put up and asking for scraps. Washing it a couple times breaks down the starches or what ever makes the material rigid.

I’ve used it as a ground cloth before and found it to perform OK. Keep in mind that when using a tarp (or some tents for that matter) it’s all about location location location. You set up in a pool, you’ll get wet. You set up on hard ground, run-off area in deluge, you’ll get wet (probably). Best is level soft earth and lofty grass. Tyvek housewrap can soak thru in certain situations, but keeps gear clean and dry in most cases I’ve encountered. Don’t try the lighter weight tyvek- it’s much less water repellant.

My biggest grudge with tyvek is its annoying feature of picking up leaves and twigs in the loosened spunbonded material-- not unlike frogg toggs (this is also the rain gear’s most annoying trait to me). You can avoid this problem by getting a run of the mill contractor trash bag and cutting it along the sides making it into a less durable, but effective ground cloth.

I am building a Roy Robinson 9.5’x5’ Poncho-tarp. At 9 oz. and $30 for materials, I really look forward to testing it out. It’s not as roomy as the silshelter or other larger tarps, but has better dimensions than manufactured poncho-tarps, dimmensions and set-up techniques that will make it work as a shelter as well as rain gear. I am also building a bivy sack, a waterproof floor and wind-proof, water repellant top lightweight bivy (equinox makes such a bivy for $50 which weighs only 6 oz.) is a great thing to have for tarping. When not using the bivy, my ground-cloth of choice tends to be a trimmed plastic sheet.

Sweeper