Tyvek horror story request

[tour-kid]

Why does tyvek suck?
What has been your experience with it?

I decided to put the full tent aside and start tarping.
I ordered a MLD grace duo silnylon tarp. I'm looking to put together my own ground cover/bug bivy situation.
I ordered a some kite tyvek and some silpoly window film.
My lightest option will be the silpoly and a bug head net.
I want to use the tyvek as a mock up for the base of an a-frame zip top bug net similar to the MLD serenity.
I figured I would use it a few times this spring and then switch the base to something else later this year.
I can sew and fabricate most anything, but I'm new to gear making.

What are my problems going to be with Tyvek?
I know it won't be water tight, so the silpoly will go along.
Can I sew it?
Can bug net be sewed to it?

Im nutty with research on little projects like this, so feel free to share and helpful links.

Thanks

[tour-kid]

Polycryo window film, not silpoly

[blw2]

I used to work as a maintenance engineer in paper mills. Occasionally I'd wear tyvek coveralls. Hot and nasty....and nasty work.
Whenever i see the stuff, i think of those suits. That's what's wrong with it for me.... I know that doesn't really answer your question...sorry.

Only a guess, but I'd suppose it wouldn't sew all that great. maybe not durable enough for that to hold up at stress points?? I remember getting punctures and tears in those old suits
maybe good for your mock-up though....

[G-FOURce]

I sew UL stuff sacks with Tyvek 1443R (kite) and it works great. There is a noticeably different feel b/w the two sides of the material. One side feels coated and is smooth/slick. The other side feels uncoated and more like a raw fabric. I have had zero issues sewing it and it has held up well as stuff sack material. I also use it as a footprint for my tents b/c its more durable than polycro and lighter than the footprint Big Agnes makes for their tents or Tyvek homewrap. Personally, I like the stuff.

I have some scrap Tyvek 1443R if you'd like to try some and see what you think. PM me if you do and I'll get some shipped out to you for free.

[tour-kid]

I have had zero issues sewing it and it has held up well as stuff sack material.

We have a normal sewing machine. I assume I can use it like any other fabric, yes?
What thread do you use?

Thanks for the offer. I ordered a big piece already so I assume I'll be fine. I may take you up in the offer if I mess it all up.

[Slo-go'en]

You can sew Tyvek just fine. Tyvek isn't 100% waterproof since it's breathable, but it's fine for a ground cloth. When used as a tarp you can get a little misting through it in heavy rain, but so does sil nylon.

[G-FOURce]

We have a normal sewing machine. I assume I can use it like any other fabric, yes?
What thread do you use?

Thanks for the offer. I ordered a big piece already so I assume I'll be fine. I may take you up in the offer if I mess it all up.

I do have a normal, household machine. I have no idea what thread I use as it was on the machine when it was given to me. Yes, you can use it just like you do any other fabric.

[blw2]

so not the house wrap stuff then.... is 1443R different?

[Another Kevin]

I've never tried to sew the stuff. I have a Tyvek sheet that I use as a footprint under my tarp (or as a ground sheet on a shelter floor, a door mat in my tent vestibule, a bath mat, or just a dry place to sit).

Cutting Tyvek requires extremely sharp tools or the edge will curl. I'd probably try to slit it with a razor blade lubricated with silicone spray. The slightest dullness in the blade will result in the cut edge curling.

Stitching introduces stress concentrations that are points for tears to start (ordinarily, the fiber is extremely tear resistant, and therefore doesn't require hemming, particularly if the edge is heat fused). Since Tyvek doesn't change dimensions much with humidity, if I were to try to stitch it, I'd use Gutermann thread, since I'd figure that ordinary cotton will pull out if it shrinks.

Heat welding, while it bonds many plastics well, destroys the fiber structure of Tyvek, reducing flexibility and tear resistance.

Ultrasonic welding is supposed to work, but there's no way that I'm going to be tooled for that in the foreseeable future.

What Du Pont recommends for bonding Tyvek is glue. Either ethylene/vinyl acetate adhesives, acrylic pressure adhesives, or silvent-based single-component polyurethane. What that means for the home shop is that hot glue sticks are probably th best stuff available. If I had to bond the stuff, I'd try lap jointing with hot glue and working the glue into the seam with a wallpaper roller. Maybe lay out a small section on a 200 °F or so hot plate to keep the glue flowing until it's well rolled into the seam.

I haven't actually tried any of this.

[MuddyWaters]

Several mfgs have offered tarp and tent products in tyvek

[skylark]

Tyvek doesn't suck, it is a good ground cloth. However, it is extremely loud when moved or folded, and it makes bizarre unnatural noises. Tyvek is also slippery, if you camp on even a slight incline, you will slide down through the night.

[RangerZ]

I have a piece with grommets and lines that I use as a tarp to extend the vestibule area in front of my tent. It allows me to keep the rain fly open and even cook out there (that's a cross over to another thread). Folded up it's my welcome mat or sit upon.

[Another Kevin]

Tyvek doesn't suck, it is a good ground cloth. However, it is extremely loud when moved or folded, and it makes bizarre unnatural noises. Tyvek is also slippery, if you camp on even a slight incline, you will slide down through the night.

It's a lot quieter after a couple of washings. It is indeed slippery.

[Dogwood]

Polycro/window film is taped. Sewing Tyvek either big box home stores or kite versions 1443R elongates the holes ie: Another Kevin's statements. Yes, the sewn seams can be sealed or taped over but this adds to the wt. OK for DIY sewn stuff sacks or small projects not requiring much sewn seams IMO but since you're going the shelter direction you are(done and still will do it the same myself) the added wt made me question that as my and your approach. Lets face it you're thinking kit/shelter wt, lowered costs, DIY, and modularization. Lots of work in making a tyvek or polycro bug bivy with integrated(attached netting) for the wt and/or very questionable durability. The approach I went with is separating the polycro or Tyvek groundsheet possibly making a bathtub groundsheet floor combined with a separate Nanoseeum or Tulle fabric bug netting hung from an apex like a pyramid. This allows for MUCH less work, throwing a new piece of polycro or Tyvek into the mix as it wears out. I still have two Tulle fabric(bought from JoAnn's Fabrics) bug nets I DIY from 10 yrs ago. The other option I've used successfully in various tarp apps is using a c2S Nano bug net hung from the enclosed integrated inner fabric loops located on the ridgelines of such tarps as the MLD Grace ones. Ron Bell at MLD or http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?...=0&o2=0&o3=131 Dave Olsen at Oware will even integrate the loops for you during construction of tarps if you tell them where exactly you want them when ordering.

[Dogwood]

Taking this route also gets you to play with polycro or Tyvek or silny or Dyneema Composite scraps making groundsheet bathtub floors....which if wanted to at a later date could be amended to include attached netting making a true bug bivy/net tent w/attached floor...if the separated approach is found to not be to your liking.

[coachhahn]

I made a 8x9' tarp out of the home wrap. Bought some Tyvek tape and hemmed the edges and reinforced the pullout points. Worked great. I have also used the cloth stuff as a ground sheet below my bivy. Fun to use and learn on.

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[MuddyWaters]

I made a 8x9' tarp out of the home wrap. Bought some Tyvek tape and hemmed the edges and reinforced the pullout points. Worked great. I have also used the cloth stuff as a ground sheet below my bivy. Fun to use and learn on.

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ssshhhh.
if you dont spend $300 on a tarp, you cant be doing it right . Whats the fun in $10 or free at construction site?

tyvek tape is just packing tape with tyvek printed on it.

[Dogwood]

You might want to paint that a cuben grey or clear blue and throw a Zpacks logo on that nice looking tarp set up CoachHahn.

There was a guy, David Gardener, on backpacking light making window film tarps. He did a nice how to write up. He was using thin mil material, 1.5 mil but not the most common even thinner .7 mil, and tape, window film shrink wrap. Gardener inspired me to try my DIY hand at making the same but improving on it making it even lighter wt. Works OK for short term MYOG in the right environs. Pretty flimsy and not good for windy and hot environs(shrinks) IMO. But window film, just like other materials, silny, Dyneema Composite, Tyvek, polyethelene sheeting, aluminized mylar, etc, come in different thicknesses. There's a 4 mil polyolefin/polycro/window film. I have 1, 2, and 4 mil aluminized mylar groundsheets/over sheets for example. That's why I don't get it when general comparisons are made between different categorized materials lumping all polyolefin or Tyvek under one category.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/...-a-frame-tarp/

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/99034/

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/59450/

[coachhahn]

You might want to paint that a cuben grey or clear blue and throw a Zpacks logo on that nice looking tarp set up CoachHahn.

There was a guy, David Gardener, on backpacking light making window film tarps. He did a nice how to write up. He was using thin mil material, 1.5 mil but not the most common even thinner .7 mil, and tape, window film shrink wrap. Gardener inspired me to try my DIY hand at making the same but improving on it making it even lighter wt. Works OK for short term MYOG in the right environs. Pretty flimsy and not good for windy and hot environs(shrinks) IMO. But window film, just like other materials, silny, Dyneema Composite, Tyvek, polyethelene sheeting, aluminized mylar, etc, come in different thicknesses. There's a 4 mil polyolefin/polycro/window film. I have 1, 2, and 4 mil aluminized mylar groundsheets/over sheets for example. That's why I don't get it when general comparisons are made between different categorized materials lumping all polyolefin or Tyvek under one category.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/...-a-frame-tarp/

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/99034/

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/59450/

Hahaha. Thanks, Dogwood. It really did turn out nicer then I thought. Bought some plastic d-rings from Dutch for the tie outs. All in all I think it came in at 18 oz.

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[methodman]

Which type of gutermann thread is best. Silk,cotton,rpet?