Fabric used as sheathing.

[Amber H.]

M.-
Call Rose City Textiles in Portland Oregon (They should have a white page listing) and see if they still carry a heavy duty rip-stop nylon shell fabric often used in tents and parkas. They are an overstock type firm that specializes in outdoor and sports fabrics. I used the as a resource for tent making some years ago.
P.M. Me if you need some solid instructions on how to give extra strength when attatching loops or grommetts

Dont bother with canvas or denim. Go straight for the rip-stop. It is designed to resist the punctures and tears you are talking about. trust me on this. I have designed children's clothing and outdoor equipment for many years.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Amber H.

M.-
Call Rose City Textiles in Portland Oregon

Thank you, Amber. That sounds like exactly what I had in mind and Portland is reasonably close. If I had a car out here, I'd drive down there and pick up the stuff myself.

By any chance, do you know how much it may cost, approximately? We're a bit poor as a check we were waiting on hasn't yet arrived, to my knowledge.

[GregT]

Something I've always wanted to try is using layered HDPE as a shell. Collect old shopping bags (the thin noisy ones you get at the grocery store) and layer them to create a protective barrier. This would be a very cheap option, as most people have lots of these bags laying around, would be lighter, and may stop must blunt objects like balls or goals (anything sharp will cut through it).

I really have no idea how this would work, but it's probably worth at least a test.

Greg

[Amber H.]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Thank you, Amber. That sounds like exactly what I had in mind and Portland is reasonably close. If I had a car out here, I'd drive down there and pick up the stuff myself.

By any chance, do you know how much it may cost, approximately? We're a bit poor as a check we were waiting on hasn't yet arrived, to my knowledge.

Rip-stop usually comes on rolls in widths of 54" to 60" and at RCT can cost anywhere from 50 cents to $10.00 a yard. You should be able to purchase it by the yard. If they give you a catalog to look at, start with the blue pages first (if they still do that) and they will have the cheapest closeout stuff there. Generally though, it's all cheap compared to most fabric stores,.....plus, you can't find that stuff in most fabric stores. It's an independant (cheap) outerwear designer's dream.

Oh and they also deliver nationwide since they are a mail-order oufit.
Ask for samples of "HEAVYWEIGHT, RIP-STOP, NYLON" sometimes they will have the word "MACHO" in the description to indicate strength. I worked with some a few years back and it was like a nylon version of canvas that put regular canvas to shame in a paper thin sheet. You call them, they send you swatches for free, then you order and they ship it to you. You don't have to drive.