Float bags-- light nylon versus vinyl
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:54 pm
I've owned a bunch of Voyageur light coated Nylon float bags, and they've been acceptably durable, though kinda costly.
I'll soon need some big float bags, and I'm wondering, are lightweight Nylon bags really much lighter than vinyl bags?!? And are they more durable than vinyl?
There's no doubt the best Nylon bags are lighter when they are inflated dry. But they don't stay dry, as we all know. The outer surface gets wet, and the side and under surfaces get wet and stay wet where they rest against the hull.
Water runs off vinyl bags, and the bag to boat interface should hold less water weight for vinyl bags than for Nylon bags. Maybe, once light Nylon bags are wet, they have little or no weight advantage over vinyl.
As for durability, the leaks I find developing in my lightweight Nylon bags are usually related to me forgetting to keep them properly blown up while driving, so that the fabric whips and rumples in the wind. Repetitive stress cuts through the fancy coating. Do people using vinyl bags have that kind of problem? (Don't ask me to take the bags out while driving. I don't need to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder.)
What do you think? Are lightweight Nylon bags really lighter, and really more durable?
I'll soon need some big float bags, and I'm wondering, are lightweight Nylon bags really much lighter than vinyl bags?!? And are they more durable than vinyl?
There's no doubt the best Nylon bags are lighter when they are inflated dry. But they don't stay dry, as we all know. The outer surface gets wet, and the side and under surfaces get wet and stay wet where they rest against the hull.
Water runs off vinyl bags, and the bag to boat interface should hold less water weight for vinyl bags than for Nylon bags. Maybe, once light Nylon bags are wet, they have little or no weight advantage over vinyl.
As for durability, the leaks I find developing in my lightweight Nylon bags are usually related to me forgetting to keep them properly blown up while driving, so that the fabric whips and rumples in the wind. Repetitive stress cuts through the fancy coating. Do people using vinyl bags have that kind of problem? (Don't ask me to take the bags out while driving. I don't need to develop obsessive-compulsive disorder.)
What do you think? Are lightweight Nylon bags really lighter, and really more durable?