I see luggage, handbags, purses, shoes, and jackets made out of ballistic nylon. But other times I hear the term Kevlar®, and I was wondering if Kevlar is a brand name type of ballistic nylon. My Tumi wallet, while more expensive than I would have liked was said to be able to stop a bullet. It certainly is extremely tough and I use the term ballistic nylon, but is that necessarily Kevlar, or vice versa?
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Fashionistas, what is ballistic nylon and/or kevlar?
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These days ballistic nylon is just a tougher-thicker weave that has some degree of impact resistance.
Doesn't mean it protects anything inside, just more resistant to the fabric itself tearing.
Of course this doesn't mean luggage made of this won't fall apart at the seams if it tips over.
Edit: aka, a pair of jeans made out of this might prevent rips and tears if you fall down a hill, but won't stop a bullet.
Doesn't mean it protects anything inside, just more resistant to the fabric itself tearing.
Of course this doesn't mean luggage made of this won't fall apart at the seams if it tips over.
Edit: aka, a pair of jeans made out of this might prevent rips and tears if you fall down a hill, but won't stop a bullet.
I looked at the weaves of Kevlar® and the ballistic nylon and they both look similar. The Kevlar gloves I see online definitely look like my Tumi wallet's very thick woven material. I can't believe it, they even have Kevlar socks. All Tumi says is that their stuff is from their signature ballistic nylon.
And then there's thinner Kevlar sail cloth with a smaller weave and different appearance, but still DuPont's fabric. It doesn't appear that the DuPont Kevlar is necessarily more expensive, but it seems to be the bulletproof variety which they have ported to all types of clothing manufacturers. The bulletproof vests seem to rely on several layers of Kevlar where the Kevlar clothing and accessories are usually a single sheet of fabric which seems to be easy enough to sew into clothing. I can't see it being comfortable, but this fabric is intriguing in its properties. It seems to be a real alternative to leather in its price and toughness. I went "green" and got this wallet as this one of Tumi's big selling points. Originally, I just thought this may be an overpriced nylon wallet that would tear but this thing is, well, bulletproof for lack of a better word.
And then there's thinner Kevlar sail cloth with a smaller weave and different appearance, but still DuPont's fabric. It doesn't appear that the DuPont Kevlar is necessarily more expensive, but it seems to be the bulletproof variety which they have ported to all types of clothing manufacturers. The bulletproof vests seem to rely on several layers of Kevlar where the Kevlar clothing and accessories are usually a single sheet of fabric which seems to be easy enough to sew into clothing. I can't see it being comfortable, but this fabric is intriguing in its properties. It seems to be a real alternative to leather in its price and toughness. I went "green" and got this wallet as this one of Tumi's big selling points. Originally, I just thought this may be an overpriced nylon wallet that would tear but this thing is, well, bulletproof for lack of a better word.
Ballistic nylon isn't even close to the same thing as kevlar, so no need for anymore comparisons.
You know when you have spent too much on a wallet when the wallet cost more than the total cash you put in the wallet.
Yeah, $98 is a little much, but I'm sure they can be found at a discount place like Loehmans, Nordstrom Rack, etc for a more reasonable price. There certainly are more expensive wallets out there, but I don't usually spend more than $30 (of course mine only last 2 years or so).
A Kevlar wallet isn't going to stop a bullet because it's not woven in the right way and there's not enough of it.
Kevlar is technically a brand name of a really strong synthetic fiber, but like Kleenex, Xerox and iPod, it's kind of become a generic name for other similar fibers. Kevlar, Spectra and the like have some really cool properties.
Ballistic nylon is more familiar to people as Cordura. It's not nearly as strong as kevlar but is a lot cheaper and in some ways, a lot more durable.
You do NOT want ballistic nylon in your clothes. Well, maybe to hold the kevlar patches together on your motorcycle jacket, but that's about it. It's hot and it's heavy.
I have a pair of pants with kevlar knee patches. Very tough.
Kevlar is technically a brand name of a really strong synthetic fiber, but like Kleenex, Xerox and iPod, it's kind of become a generic name for other similar fibers. Kevlar, Spectra and the like have some really cool properties.
Ballistic nylon is more familiar to people as Cordura. It's not nearly as strong as kevlar but is a lot cheaper and in some ways, a lot more durable.
You do NOT want ballistic nylon in your clothes. Well, maybe to hold the kevlar patches together on your motorcycle jacket, but that's about it. It's hot and it's heavy.
I have a pair of pants with kevlar knee patches. Very tough.
Nah, I just spend a lot of time on my knees. The locals in the places I used to work favored machetes for that kind thing.