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Are they waterproof and good to use as a ligthweight shelter?
Although they're not exactly waterproof if you pitch them steep enough they will keep off most of the rain.
They're certainly not lightweight though and not something you'd want to carry by foot over any great distance.
Nice idea, but chutes tend to be quite large to carry.
I suppose there may be a solution in making a four panel pyramid from parasilk and washing it in something like TX10. The problems that I can see with that though would be getting the neccesary width in the first place.
harryhaller
01-09-2009, 11:40
Nice idea, but chutes tend to be quite large to carry.
My parachute with an 8m diameter weighs on my not-very-accurate bathroom scales about 3kg. I can just get it into a gymn bag - so that's about 35x30x20cm. Better off carrying a tarp or tent.
My parachute with an 8m diameter weighs on my not-very-accurate bathroom scales about 3kg. I can just get it into a gymn bag - so that's about 35x30x20cm. Better off carrying a tarp or tent.
Yeah, in full agreement with the better off carrying a tarp statement due to size and weight of a full canopy.
However what about creating a 4m canopy with fewer bits of paracord running through it and less material. Make it like a four sided teepee was what I started to think about, then I started to think about how many panels it would take to make such a beast, hence the statement about "widths". I was talking about parasilk on the roll, what is the maximum width you can buy it in?
harryhaller
01-09-2009, 13:32
However what about creating a 4m canopy with fewer bits of paracord running through it and less material. Make it like a four sided teepee was what I started to think about, then I started to think about how many panels it would take to make such a beast, hence the statement about "widths". I was talking about parasilk on the roll, what is the maximum width you can buy it in?
Genuine parachute nylon as required from one U.S. Federal procurement agency (https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=b88121b41ecab999da5bbf57c21 bda34&tab=core&_cview=0&cck=1&au=&ck=) has to be 58 and 1/2 inch wide.
Someone on e-bay is offering (http://cgi.ebay.nl/PARACHUTE-RIPSTOP-NYLON-5yds-OLIVE-GREEN-CAMP-MILITARY_W0QQitemZ380101901967 QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Fabric?h ash=item587fd6be8f&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14) "parachute nylon" at 38 inches wide.
Just for interest, here (http://www.everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL+SPECS+(MIL-C)/download.php?spec=MIL-C-7350G.007630.PDF) is a pdf documents with the specs for official parachute nylon - or at least one type of it.
Genuine parachute nylon as required from one U.S. Federal procurement agency (https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=b88121b41ecab999da5bbf57c21 bda34&tab=core&_cview=0&cck=1&au=&ck=) has to be 58 and 1/2 inch wide.
Someone on e-bay is offering (http://cgi.ebay.nl/PARACHUTE-RIPSTOP-NYLON-5yds-OLIVE-GREEN-CAMP-MILITARY_W0QQitemZ380101901967 QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Fabric?h ash=item587fd6be8f&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14) "parachute nylon" at 38 inches wide.
Just for interest, here (http://www.everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL+SPECS+%28MIL-C%29/download.php?spec=MIL-C-7350G.007630.PDF) is a pdf documents with the specs for official parachute nylon - or at least one type of it.
Thanks, that'll be handy:)