What's the difference between Cordura and Ballistic Nylon?

[marytattoo]

As a woman with a cat phobia I suggest getting rid of the cats!

[patkohln]

My dream is to replace both fabrics with "ballistic-weave cordura": 1000 denier cordura yarns woven two-ply like ballistic. Sort of the best of both worlds.

Did your dream come true?

[rydude87]

I have been patiently waiting for years for a Brain Bag in ballistic nylon. Maybe, just maybe, one day the wait will be over!!

Ballistic would be awesome! I will be waiting just like you

[Carolina]

I wonder if they will make the Brain bag sometime soon in something other than 1000 cordura

I have been patiently waiting for years for a Brain Bag in ballistic nylon. Maybe, just maybe, one day the wait will be over!!

[rydude87]

I wonder if they will make the Brain bag sometime soon in something other than 1000 cordura

[Mulligan]

So far so good.
There are two significant technical differences between cordura and ballistic nylon. First, ballistic is a "filament" yard, vs cordura which is texturized. This means ballistic nylon yarns are smooth & slick; cordura yarns are slightly fuzzy, actually discontinuous, more like a natural fiber. This gives cordura somewhat higher abrasion resistance, while the ballistic has higher tear strength. However, in both fabrics the tear strength and the abrasion resistance are so much higher than necessary, the end-user will seldom if ever experience any difference between cordura and ballistic. The other technical difference is that ballistic is two-ply weave, which means two 1050 denier yarns are woven as one. This mostly impacts the look of the fabric, not so much it's utility, but it pretty much is what people like about ballistic nylon.
Some other differences: ballistic is harder to dye, hence many manufacturers use only black (we reject a lot of ballistic nylon because of bad color, streaks, etc.); because cordura has more texture than ballistic, it frays less at the cut edge. With modern coatings on the backsides of the fabrics, this is typically not a problem these days, but it used to be. We finish 100% of any exposed internal seams on all of our bags, ballistic or cordura, so don't sweat that on with a TOM BIHN bag.
Aesthetically, cordura has a more natural, cotton-canvas sort of feel; ballistic has decidedly synthetic feel and look, more techy for sure.
Also important to note here is that many of our competitors have switched to 1680 ballistic nylon. The 1680 is woven (as I understand it) from a really big 1680 denier single yarn, rather than two plies of 1050; this large yarn size makes if look like a two-ply fabric. The 1680 is made in asia and is about half the cost of 1050 ballistic, and though it may look very similar when brand new, it ages rather poorly, tending to fuzz out at any wear points. I've seen messenger bags made from 1680 ballistic that look pretty bad after only a few months of use.
For me, while I appreciate the esthetic of the 1050 ballistic, I prefer 1000 denier cordura. My dream is to replace both fabrics with "ballistic-weave cordura": 1000 denier cordura yarns woven two-ply like ballistic. Sort of the best of both worlds. But it's super hard to find, so I wait . . .
(Ask me what time it is and I'll tell you how to build a watch.)

The above description is excellent.

Regarding the proposed "ballistic-weave cordura," I believe that the now-defunct Andiamo luggage company used something similar to this on their higher-end Valoroso line of bags. I used their wheeled 22-inch carry-on for many years, until switching to the Tom Bihn Aeronaut a few years ago as my primary carry-on bag.

[Mike]

I wasn't either, but I ended up getting a steel/wasabi Synapse 25 and I'm growing to really like the fabric. It's flexible and, well... distinct. I admit that it's appearance is more casual, however.

[rydude87]

Why not order the Synapse 25 in 400d Dyneema? I have one of these (in Steel/Wasabi), and it's very nice, as well as being resistant to lint and pet hair.

That does look like a good option, but I personally am not a huge fan of the design of the Dyneema and would much prefer the 1050D

[moriond]

I know I'm a couple months too slow, but the one thing holding me back from a brain bag or synapse 25 is that they are in cordura. I would totally consider buying one if they have it in ballistic to prevent lint and pet hair.

Why not order the Synapse 25 in 400d Dyneema? I have one of these (in Steel/Wasabi), and it's very nice, as well as being resistant to lint and pet hair.

[rydude87]

Thanks!

As a proud owner of a Tri-Star, I can certainly attest to the awesomeness of the ballistic that you use.

What do you think are the odds that you would produce a run of Synapses in ballistic? That is my Grail bag.

What about a group buy -- if we could arrange a group that could guarantee a certain number of units.

Thanks.

I know I'm a couple months too slow, but the one thing holding me back from a brain bag or synapse 25 is that they are in cordura. I would totally consider buying one if they have it in ballistic to prevent lint and pet hair.

[Illum]

Thanks!

As a proud owner of a Tri-Star, I can certainly attest to the awesomeness of the ballistic that you use.

What do you think are the odds that you would produce a run of Synapses in ballistic? That is my Grail bag.

What about a group buy -- if we could arrange a group that could guarantee a certain number of units.

Thanks.

[Darcy]

Have you looked at "CORDURA® Ballistic Fabric"? CORDURA® Brand - CORDURA® Ballistic Fabric

Tom's dream has evolved over time: the ballistic-weave Cordura he mentioned before turns out, in use, to be about the best collector of pet hair, lint and snow one could ever want. We are gradually tending away from using texturized nylon in preference to filament fabrics like our U.S. 1050d high tenacity ballistic nylon.

[Pocketz]

The other difference! If Hamish cat sleeps on my ballistic Aeronaut and Dougle cat sleeps on my cocoa cordura Ristretto, only the Ballistic Aeronaut will be fit for use in the morning without the application of copious quantities of parcel tape to remove the fur! Cordura is a much nicer feeling, 'natural' almost, fabric, but it is a fur magnet. Of course, I could just keep the boys off the bags

That's my biggest (real world) issue also. I end up having to roller them, which leaves some glue residue behind making it even worse (parcel tape is the same way). For that reason, I much prefer the ballistic nylon although many of the packs in my gear bunker are 1000D Cordura. Maybe the cats just need to go.. ;-)

[Illum]

My dream is to replace both fabrics with "ballistic-weave cordura": 1000 denier cordura yarns woven two-ply like ballistic. Sort of the best of both worlds. But it's super hard to find, so I wait . . .

Have you looked at "CORDURA® Ballistic Fabric"? CORDURA® Brand - CORDURA® Ballistic Fabric

[Fat Crip]

The other difference! If Hamish cat sleeps on my ballistic Aeronaut and Dougle cat sleeps on my cocoa cordura Ristretto, only the Ballistic Aeronaut will be fit for use in the morning without the application of copious quantities of parcel tape to remove the fur! Cordura is a much nicer feeling, 'natural' almost, fabric, but it is a fur magnet. Of course, I could just keep the boys off the bags