Tent Materials & General Terms
General Terms
You may come across some of the following terms while reading through product descriptions and specification information for EXPED tents:
Minimal Weight
The Minimal Weight is the combined weight of rainfly, canopy and pole set.
Maximum Weight
The Maximum Weight refers to total packaged weight including rainfly, canopy, pole set, stuffsacks and complete accessory bag with pegs, guylines and repair kit.
Denier
Denier is a unit of measure used to describe thread strength. Denier is the weight in grams of 9000 m of yarn.
Thread Count
Thread count refers to the number of vertical and horizontal threads per square inch.
Water Column
Water column or hydrostatic pressure is a unit of measure used to describe the waterproofness of fabrics. A 10 cm2 fabric sample is tensioned under a water cylinder. The point under which droplets are pressed through the fabric indicates the water column.
Materials
Nylon
Nylon (Polyamid): Lightweight synthetic fabric with high tear and abrasion resistance. Compared to Polyester, Nylon expands when wet and offers less UV-resistance. Nylon is marginally lighter than Polyester.
Silicone
Silicone is a high grade, elastic and durable coating used on rainfly fabrics. A silicone coating increases tear and UV resistance of the fabrics. Multiple coats of silicone are applied to both sides of the fabrics in most cases.
Polyurethan
PU is durable and cold resistant. A thin PU layer is applied to the fabrics and the ticker the coating the higher the waterproof rating of the fabric. Thicker coatings increase the weight of the fabric. PU coatings allow water column ratings of 800 - 10,000 mm.
TH72M Aluminum
TH72M is an extremely high grade 7000 series Alcoa aluminium alloy. Created especially for DAC tent and trekking poles.
Dyneema
Our tent guylines feature a Dyneema (UHPE) core. This creates extremely strong and cold resistant cords. The breaking point of our 1.8 mm cords is 200 kg. To warrant visibility at night 3M reflective stripes are woven into the mantle.
Ripstop
Ripstop fabrics feature special reinforcing treads woven in regular intervals to create a crosshatch pattern that increase tear resistance of the fabric.
Taffeta
Taffeta is a smooth plain weave nylon with water repelling, quick drying, wind and down-proof characteristics.