How to - 3F UL GEAR Ultralight Outdoor Gears

How to assemble Tianshan backpack

3FULGEAR — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 08:04:48 +0000

How to

3FULGEAR, December 2024

This is a pack designed for all our expeditions in 2024-2025, and although we’ve equipped it with a strong hipbelt and aluminium frame, it’s still very lightweight.

All parts of the Tianshan Backpack can be disassembled, and you will receive a Tianshan Backpack disassembled into parts, which reduces the shipping cost by $30, so you can get this backpack at a great price.

The entire assembly process takes 5-10 minutes.

We use the Tianshan Ultra as an example to show how to assemble the backpack, the same applies to other versions.

WHAT YOU GET IN BOX:

A: Backpack Main Body

B: Hipbelt

C: Shoulder Straps

D: Waist Pad

E: Frame F: Load Lifters G: UHMWPE Cord(Option 1 for backpanel) H: Mesh Backpanel(Option 2 for backpanel)

STEPS:

1.Assemble the top half of the frame(E) and insert it into the section indicated by the arrows on both sides in the middle of the pack.

2. Assemble the lower part of the frame(E) and insert it into the black cloth tube hipbelt(B) as instructed.

3. Insert the frame tightly.

4. Assemble the upper and lower parts of the frame.

5. Tuck the top part of the frame inside the cloth.

6. With a little force, push the top of the frame to the very top.

7. Tuck one of the bottom corners of the frame into the triangle of cloth. This takes a little bit of strength. Handle the other side in the same way. The frame is secured, but this does not mean that the frame will not fall off and will need to be further secured with cord(G) or mesh backpanel(H).

8. Installation of waist pads (D)

9.Two backing options are available, UHMWPE is lighter and more reliable and mesh backing is more traditional.

VERY IMPORTANT: The cord must be tightened or the aluminium frame may fall off.

10. Press the Velcro of the hipbelt and the Velcro of the waist pad together.

11. Measure the length of the torso and select the corresponding height to install the shoulder straps.

12. To install the shoulder straps, run the cord through the plastic fastener (if the positions overlap)

13. Install the plastic fasteners under the shoulder straps as shown.

14. Installation of Load Lifters.

15. To further secure the hipbelt, the black webbing on both sides of the hipbelt needs to be attached to the body of the bag, please link the webbing and plastic fasteners as shown.

The installation is complete and you can now use the Tianshan backpack.

The Tianshan Ultra uses a trampoline suspension system, which must be properly tensioned to function correctly. To set it up:

Press the backpack against a wall with your body
Bend the aluminum frame into a curved shape
Tighten the cords to maintain this optimal curvature

The post How to assemble Tianshan backpack first appeared on 3F UL GEAR Ultralight Outdoor Gears.

How to Prepare Outdoor Food Using the 5-Step Principle.

3FULGEAR — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 07:36:54 +0000

HOW TO PREPARE OUTDOOR FOOD USING THE 5-STEP PRINCIPLE.

About Author: Yu Liu – 3FULGEAR Brand and Design Manager

I can’t go hiking in the mountains this year due to personal reasons, but I still want to write some practical knowledge and hopefully give some help to hikers who are planning an adventure.

I am a very picky eater, and I don’t want to repeat myself every day in the mountains, so I like to use basic ingredients to cook. I was often asked by other people in the mountains if I came from a “chef school”, and thus earned the trail name of “big chef”.

That’s exactly why I’ve had a lot of people ask me how to prepare food in the mountains, but it’s hard for me to answer specifically, eating and drinking in the mountains is a systematic project and varies from person to person, and my personal list of food isn’t necessarily suitable for everyone, so I’d like to write about something that is generalized.

Be forewarned, this article is dry and hard and as boring as reading a toolkit, but I promise it will be well worth the read and helpful if you have a trip planned.

We often go to two extremes with food carrying:

1, If you don’t carry an adequate amount of food, you may be faced with trying unpalatable foods because you have no options, or no appetite, you are malnourished and physically exhausted.

2, If you carry too much food, you may be overwhelmed by the pack weight.

These two scenarios happen all the time, and while exprienced mountaineers to be able to do good job, most of us can’t, so we need some sort of “tool” to figure out how much of food we carry is good.

Before introducing this tool, let’s first understand some basics, such as the types of ingredients, which ingredients are suitable for you.

Basic Ingredients, Ready-to-eat Foods, Freeze-dried Foods

Ready-to-eat food is very convenient, but the taste is not necessarily suitable as a main food in a complex outdoor environment. In addition, ready-to-eat food purchased from supermarkets generates a large amount of garbage, which is difficult to be disposed of properly in the field.

Freeze-dried food is a product of modern industrialization, it is very lightweight and nutritionally, but very expensive and has a single taste.

Basic ingredients refer to unprocessed raw materials such as flour, salt, oil, milk powder, etc. These ingredients can be cooked to make delicious meals; they are cheap, lightweight, and ready-to-eat food will be more flavorful and delicious, but cooking a good meal outdoors requires certain outdoor cooking skills.

How much food to prepare?

Different outdoor activities consume different amount of calories; the longer the duration of the same outdoor activity, the higher the amount of calories consumed.

For normal trekking activities, according to the weight of food, prepare 500 grams of food per day for activities under 5 days. 600-700 grams of food per day for 5-11 days. For high intensity adventures, prepare up to 1,000 grams of food per day. The exact amount of food to prepare can be found in the five-step food plan to be described.

Food Planning Tools: 5 Steps to Food Planning

For a novice outdoor traveler on a simple route, outdoor food may not seem to be a problem, but as the level increases and the difficulty of the route increases, how to prepare outdoor food slowly starts to become a tricky problem. In this article I recommend using the “Five Steps to Outdoor Food Planning”, which is quite different from our daily meals, and may be difficult to implement at first, but once mastered, this method will allow you to plan your outdoor meals in a more effective way.

This tool takes into account most people’s preference for team meal preparation and is suitable for small groups of multiple people, just adjust the number of people to 1 when using it solo.

Before doing so, you will need to gather the following information:

1.Team mumbers	2.Length of Trail	3.Expedition Goal
4.Intense	5.Weather	6.Altitude
7.Personal taste	8.Preferences	9.Balanced nutrition
10.Budget	11.Feasibility	12.Storability
13.Weight	14.Allergic

Once all of the above information has been gathered, it’s time to start preparing your food plan.

Step 1: Calculate how much to eat per day

In this step, you need to determine how much to eat per person per day by using five factors: intensity of activity, length of trip, duration of activity, weather, and altitude, which will be referred to as the per person per day amount below.

To determine the amount per person per day you can refer to the table below:

Activity Type	Food weight per day	energy
leisure camping	500-650g	2000Kcal
Warm environment 2-5 day light hiking	650-800g	2500-3000Kcal
Cool environment 5-10 day heavy weight hike	800-900g	3000-3500Kcal
Cool environment 10 day+ heavy weight hike	900-1000g	3500-4000Kcal
Winter hiking or expedition	1100g	4000-4500Kcal

*The weight of food indicated in this table includes the water of the food itself, which is about 30%, if you bring all-dry food, then 30% of the weight will be deducted from the table.

*The above weights are made based on the consumption of an adult male. Since female have a low basal metabolic consumption, they can reduce the food weight by 100 grams/day.

Step 2: Calculate the total amount

The total weight of food can be calculated using the following formula:

*Total weight = number of people in the team × number of days of activity × food weight per person per day

Step 3: Categorize your food

Knowing the total weight of the food, you now need to categorize the food into more detailed categories such as breakfast, dinner, trail food, etc.

You can refer to the table below:

Type of food	Per person per day
Type of food	550g	700g	800g	900g	1000g	1100g
Breakfast	92	112	128	149	156	152
Dinner	101	126	146	158	165	160
Meat	66	89	101	108	169	172
Trail food	123	149	160	167	200	196
Flour	40	51	59	72	40	40
Suger/drink	44	47	55	63	67	72
Soup/dessert	18	28	41	59	67	76
Milk/egg/oil	66	98	110	126	138	132

In this table, the flour ratios for the 1000-1100g class (winter camping, heavy-weight trekking for 10 days or more) are only equivalent to the 550g class (recreational camping), which is lowered because flour-based ingredients are very difficult to cook in cold and very difficult conditions.

Step 4: Calculate the weight of each food item

For example, for a team of 6 people on a 4 day early summer mountain hike with moderate daily activity, the weight of flour I need to prepare is:

51g x 6 people x 4 days = 1224g ≈ 1.2kg

Step 5: Choose the type of food

Based on the above results, personal taste, food preference, budget, storage resistance and other information to choose your favorite food, the weight of these foods can be matched according to your taste and habits, the total weight of each type is the same as your calculations on the line. Continuing with the above example, the type/weight of flour you prepare could be:

1.2 kg = 800 g of flour(It can be flour or bread.) + 200 g of muffin mix + 200 g of frying flour.

Finally, you can summarize the various results, make a table and go to the market to purchase according to the table. I strongly recommend that teams planning to cook as a group take time out in advance to make food plans together and divide up the purchases, to some extent you can hone the team ahead of time.

Give examples of each type of food:

Trail food: candy bars, chocolate, energy bars, dried fruit, preserved fruit

Dinner: noodles, rice, potatoes, millet, corn, pancakes

Breakfast: oatmeal, corn mush, instant porridge

Eggs and milk: eggs, milk powder, cocoa powder

Meat: ham, sausage, cheese

Flours: flour, bread, various baking mixes

Sugar/Drinks: powdered drinks, brown sugar, white sugar, glucose

Soup: freeze-dried soup mixes, instant soup mixes, various flavorings and sauces

Addendum: Critical Outdoor Nutrition Knowledge

For a successful adventure, outdoor food nutrition is the key of keys, and at its most fundamental level, it determines whether or not you can survive in a hostile environment. It also determines how quickly your body recovers as you are active for longer periods of time, which means that your body will be able to stay energized for longer periods of time.

Because our physical and mental states can change in dangerous, high-pressure, and hostile environments, we need to carefully and deliberately consider these bodily responses before doing a nutritional program.

For example, you may want to consider the following:

1.Familiarize yourself with the nutritional components, water content, and caloric content of various foods.

2.During an expedition, the frequency of our diet will increase.

3.Outdoor diets will have more protein than everyday life because muscles will grow and repair.

4.In high altitude/high intensity activities/hot environment, appetite and thirst will be reduced, following the appetite to eat will not satisfy the body’s needs.

Energy

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories a person burns per day when they are inactive in a warm environment, BMR varies from person to person, a 70kg 17 year old male has a BMR equal to approximately 1900 kcal while a 60kg 25 year old female has a BMR equal to approximately 1300 kcal.

The number of calories we need for an activity is approximately equal to the exercise exertion plus the BMR. By doing this calculation, we can approximate the number of calories from food needed for a particular activity.

Water

Water makes up about two-thirds of the body’s weight, and although it does not provide calories, it provides the environment necessary for cellular biochemical processes.

In the wild, all water is not driect drinkable and must be treated before drinking, I will described this in the article “Purification of Natural Outdoor Water”. When dehydrated, we experience fatigue, lethargy, irritability, muscle weakness and various gastrointestinal disturbances. Depending on the intensity of the activity and the environment, we need to drink 2-4 liters of water per day. However, it is important to drink the right amount of water. Drinking too much water can lead to hyponatremia, which is similar to the symptoms of dehydration.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate is the main source of energy, it can be stored as liver glycogen in the liver after absorption to provide continuous energy for the brain and muscles, but the storage of liver glycogen is limited, so we recommend eating 30-60g of carbohydrates per hour during activities over 90 minutes. In the outdoors, you can eat trail food at each hourly break.

Eating carbohydrates and protein 15-30 minutes after the end of the day’s activity is extremely helpful for recovery, as this is when the body utilizes protein most efficiently, and the carbohydrates taken with the protein protect it from being degraded for energy.

Proteins

Proteins form the basic structure of cells and are the foundation of life. Proteins are made up of amino acids. There are 20 amino acids present in our body, of which 11 can be synthesized in the body and 9 cannot be synthesized on their own but can only be ingested through food; we call these 9 amino acids essential amino acids.

In outdoor activities, we have to estimate how much protein to carry according to different intensity of activities. You can use the following formula to calculate:

Protein requirement (dry weight grams) = body weight (kg) x activity factor

*For hiking, the activity factor is 1.1-1.6

Animal proteins tend to contain all the essential amino acids, but many plant proteins will be deficient in a specific essential amino acid. When there is a single source of protein, certain essential amino acids that are low in content become limiting amino acids, and just as building a house with enough bricks but no cement, limiting amino acids can interfere with protein synthesis. This is why it is important not to have a single source of amino acids in our food.

Fats

Fat can be burn for energy, but it takes a lot of oxygen to burn, and it also needs carbohydrates to provide some energy for its breakdown, so it is only valuable for energy supply during low-intensity activities or after hiking in camp ground. So trail snacks shouldn’t contain too much fat.

Fat is extremely calorie dense, 2-3 times more than carbohydrates and protein. During outdoor activities, foods should have a slightly higher fat content than the daily diet in city because the body needs more calories than usual. If we rely only on carbohydrates, we may face hypoglycemia, a condition in which the brain, in order to maintain normal functioning, urges the body to break down proteins (muscle, bone) and stored fats, and a large amount of degradation of the former can affect our health.

When designing an outdoor diet, we recommend 15-30% of total calories from fat, with no more than 10% of total calories from saturated fatty acids.

Vitamins and minerals

Vitamins and minerals do not make up the structure of cells, but are necessary for cellular biochemical reactions. We recommend that food should be diversified to avoid mineral deficiencies to some extent, and some vitamin tablets and mineral supplements can also be used as dietary supplements for outdoor activities.

To summarize, food preparation is an important project for adventure activities, which determines the quality of your life in the mountains, and a well-fed mood is good, which can indirectly avoid a lot of conflicts in team.

In the new hikers lack of experience, with this introduction to the food preparation method can be scientific and fast food program, the exprienced hikers can also use this method to simplify the preparation process.

I have been using food preparation five-step method for many years, after verification personally feel very simple and practical, so this method will be written out recommended to you, I hope to help you in trail.

Of course, at home in advance to practice good cooking level is crucial, food preparation and then well prepared, made into dark cuisine is also regrettable.

Finally, I wish you will all become a master of outdoor cooking soon.

How to Make Ultralight Hiking Sandals at Home

3FULGEAR — Wed, 24 May 2023 06:31:40 +0000

HOW TO MAKE ULTRALIGHT HIKING SANDALS AT HOME

By Yu Liu

Sandals are very important in long distance hiking, you can’t wear hiking shoes or boots all the time after arriving at the camp, putting on sandals can make your feet feel incredibly relaxed, and sandals are even more important when crossing rivers and bathing, the normal sandals are heavy, at least 200 grams a piece, wet sandals are also very slippery, not safe for use when crossing rivers. This is when we need to prepare a pair of hiking sandals.

I was deeply influenced by the idea of born to run when I contacted barefoot running in 2017, and I walked hundreds of kilometers in a pair of luna sandal at that time, but I was very dissatisfied with the luna, it was heavy, the sole and the upper would slip when wet, and it was especially easy to stink my feet, so I decided to DIY a pair myself.

It probably costs about $20 to make a pair of hiking sandals, and can take an afternoon to do by hand.

Before that, you’ll need to get a piece of foam rubber sole, which is easily available on Amazon Japan for about $15. In addition you need some rope or webbing, if you can buy buckle on the better, can not buy it does not matter, with knots can also be.

Vibram foam rubber sole:

Vibram 8338 Yamada Vibram Sheet, Black, Pack of 2, Shoe Polishing, Shoe Care Supplies, Sole Adhesive, black

Let’s see the finished product:

After you prepare all the materials, please prepare 2-3 hours to do the handiwork.

1. draw the outline of your own feet on a piece of paper.

2. Draw the outline of the sole according to the outline of your foot.

3. Determine the location of the 3 holes, the first one is the hole next to your big toe, use a pen to point a dot. The second and third holes should be determined according to the position of the very front of your calf shin, draw a line on the paper flush with the front of the shin, move 1 cm inside the sole according to this line, this is the location of the string, determine the size of the holes according to the width of the webbing you use.

4. Plate making: Cut down the cardboard with a hobby knife, draw the final sole shape on a piece of heavy cardboard and cut it out. put the cardboard on the rubber sole and draw the outline on the rubber.

5. Cut down the rubber bottom with a hobby knife and punch holes with a hand drill. If you use webbing, then you need to cut a long strip-type mouth, which is very simple: Using a drill no more than 3mm, drill two holes spaced 1.5cm apart, and then cut the middle part of the two holes with a blade.

6. There are many ways to put on the band/webbing or cords, you can refer to my way of putting on the tape. Or create one for yourself, there is no principle to follow, as long as you think it looks good. The strap on toe side is not easy to fix, I use fire to melt the top, solidify it into a T-shaped top, which can prevent the webbing from falling off.

This way an ultra-light sandal is made and you can run a few miles in it to try if it suits you.

For the record, we don’t mass produce these sandals, I just wanted to share a DIY process.

11MarMarch 11, 2025

The No Man’s Wilderness : White Lake Loop in Altai Mountains.

← BACK TO ADVENTURE PAGE

Team member: Liu Yu, Zi Long, Jun Dao, Kuai Le, Cha Ye

Time: October 2016

Length: 250km...

25FebFebruary 25, 2025

Is 3FULGEAR’s New Tianshan 45 the Best Budget Ultralight Pack?

We at 3FULGEAR are truly honored that Outside Backpacker and Nathan... read more

14FebFebruary 14, 2025

Adventure Report: Everest East Face and Kama Valley

← BACK TO ADVENTURE PAGE

Team member: Liu Yu, Mingyue, Jundao, Ruguo,Tusheng, etc.

Time: August 2014

Length: 140km 10 days

Location: Tibet

Difficulty:...

12DecDecember 12, 2024

How to assemble Tianshan backpack

3FULGEAR, December 2024This is a pack designed for all our expeditions in 2024-2025, and although we've equipped it with a... read more

26NovNovember 26, 2024

Adventure Report: Aotai Trek

← BACK TO ADVENTURE PAGE

WHO: Yu Liu, Liang XueYan, Jumper(JiangPu/Li Tao)

WHEN: July 2019

LENGTH: 80km 4days

WHERE: Qinling Mountain, Shanxi

DIFFICULTY: 5.5/10

This... read more

16AugAugust 16, 2024

Adventure Report: North of the Southern Tian Shan Trek

← BACK TO ADVENTURE PAGE

Team member: Liang Xueyan, Liu Yu, Liu Yinxi, Chen Xiaofen, Yan Nan, Psnake, XiaoLongNv

Time: August...

13SepSeptember 13, 2023

How to Prepare Outdoor Food Using the 5-Step Principle.

HOW TO PREPARE OUTDOOR FOOD USING THE 5-STEP PRINCIPLE.

About Author: Yu Liu - 3FULGEAR Brand and Design Manager I can't go hiking... read more

24MayMay 24, 2023

How to Make Ultralight Hiking Sandals at Home

HOW TO MAKE ULTRALIGHT HIKING SANDALS AT HOME

By Yu LiuSandals are very important in long distance hiking, you can't wear... read more

The post How to Make Ultralight Hiking Sandals at Home first appeared on 3F UL GEAR Ultralight Outdoor Gears.

How to increase the protection of Lanshan tent in windy days.

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 07:40:54 +0000

How to increase the protection of Lanshan tent in windy days.

3FULGEAR

Today we received a letter from a friend.The letter shared with us his first bad experience with Lanshan.

I bought the Lanshan 2 Pro (3-season). I used it for the first time the other day in mid-October in a mountainous area in cold temperatures (perhaps 5 degrees celsius) and windy conditions (up to 70 km/h gusts). Since it was not snowy, or below 0 degrees Celsius and the winds were high but not extreme, I thought the tent should be good enough given it is marketed as a 3-season. However, I was very cold whilst sleeping in the tent as the wind was blowing under the outer sheet and into the inside with virtually no protection from the wind.

I sympathize with this friend’s experience, so I think it is time to share my experience with you how to make your trekking pole tent give you better protection in harsh conditions.

Unlike a free standing tent which has a fixed height, a trekking pole tent has the unparalleled advantage of a normal tent, it can be changed to meet your needs, in a sense, it is like a tarp, only not as flexible as a tarp.

I have used Lanshan 2/lanshan 1 pro 3 season version to spend 20-30 nights in the Himalayas at an altitude of 5000m at -20 degrees Celsius, so I would like to share with you how to use Lanshan /Lanshan pro tent in windy days.

There are many youtubers making videos on how to set up your Lanshan tent, you can also refer to the article I wrote, but those methods above are the standard set up method, that is, the method used for general environment.

ARTICLE: HOW TO PITCHING YOUR LANSHAN TENT PERFECTLY – OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION

In windy day, the tent pitched with the above method will be like a bridge hole, the wind will keep pouring in and you will not feel any warmth. Therefore, we have to lower the height of the tent, so that the tent as close to the ground as possible. This is done to reduce the possibility of letting the wind blow into the tent.

To start with, we lay the tent on the ground and, if necessary, let the backpack press against it. Adjust the length of the pegs holding cords in the four corners of the tent, about 5-6 cm will do.

Fixing the 4 pegs at the four corners.

Setting the trekking poles to about 115 cm and pitch up the tent so that the height of the tent will be lowered by 10 cm down to make it almost close to the ground.

Secure the cords of the doors on both sides, but instead of using hooks to link the doors, use a separate peg to hold the doors in place. Make the lower edge of the door close to the ground.

At this point, if you are not an experienced user of Lanshan, you will likely need to adjust the length of the peg cords again to make the tent completely full and tight.

This will give you a shelter with better wind proof performance, but we don’t recommend completely fitting the tent to the ground, as maintaining some ventilation is necessary for sleep quality and condensation mitigation.

Don’t forget to make sure all guy lines are tightened.

How to pitching your Lanshan tent perfectly – official recommendation

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 09:14:26 +0000

HOW TO PITCHING YOUR LANSHAN TENT PERFECTLY – OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION

By Yu

The Lanshan series is a non-free standing tent supported by trekking poles. Since there is no tent pole support, the Lanshan tent can be set up in many different forms by changing the position of the stakes. You can raise or lower the tent according to your own situation, but this also brings a problem, how to set up a ” standard ” form of tent?

In order to solve the problem of standard construction, we designed the Lanshan tent with four positioning cords, which can be found in the four corners of the interior floor and are not elastic. You can find the four non-stretch yellow ropes at the corners of the interior floor. Using the cords to determine the location of the stakes is the key to setting up the Lanshan tent.

Next I will demonstrate how to set up the Lanshan 2 Pro tent, this method is also applicable to Lanshan 2, Lanshan 1 and Lanshan 1 Pro.

First we will lay the tent on the ground, the tent is hexagonal, in order to make it look rectangular, you can temporarily stack the Fly’s vestibule on the Interior, this will make it easier for you to observe whether the set up is standard.

It should be noted that the positioning rope should be straightened and on the extension line of the long side of the interior floor, which is about 90 degrees from the short side of the interior floor.

The one shown in red is the positioning cord.

This is based on the four positioning cords to lay down four stakes. Then hang the four corners of Fly on the four stakes.

Both Fly and Interior have been linked to four ground stakes.

The stakes of the vestibule are at the midpoint of the long side of the Interior (you can see a ring here), a distance of 1.2 meters/47inch, which the same as the width of the Interior, and according to this distance you lay two stakes on each side of the tent.

Anywhere between 1 meter and 1.5 meters is fine, no need to measure precisely.

The rest is easy, adjust your trekking poles to between 115cm-125cm, install the poles, fix the guy line on both sides of the vestibule to the stakes and tighten them.

You can see that by doing this, even if you don’t make any adjustments, the tent is in perfect shape.

Finally, don’t forget to fix the guy line at the head and tail of the tent before you enjoy camping. As you can see, the interior of Lanshan 2 Pro is very spacious.

The post How to pitching your Lanshan tent perfectly – official recommendation first appeared on 3F UL GEAR Ultralight Outdoor Gears.

Tent Fabric: SilNylon vs PU Nylon vs Polyester

3FULGEAR — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 19:05:17 +0000

HOW TO CHOOSE TENT FABRIC: SILNYLON VS PU NYLON VS POLYESTER

Different materials have unique pros and cons, and choosing the “right” fabric is really a matter of choosing which compromises to make. Do you want it to be lightweight, sturdy, or cheap? You can choose both, but you certainly can’t have all three at the same time.

A common assumption is that by buying an expensive product, you automatically get the “best” product in every way. This may be true for some products, but for tents, there is no “best” choice. It’s like going off-road with a sports car you paid a lot of money for, only to find out it’s not as good as a pickup truck. The same is true for tents. A top tent designed for campers can break in high winds, while a starter tent designed for adventure can easily handle storms. The same is true of fabric selection. Before we design a product, we first assume the environment faced by the user of that product, and then we choose the fabric to make it. The same is true for tent purchasers. Are you going to camp on an exposed ridge, at which point if your tent fails in a storm, you may have to die. We can only assume who the users of our products are before we go about making a tent, so we also want you to be clear about what you want before you buy a tent and then choose a tent made of a specific fabric for your needs.

There’s really nothing complicated about it. The common tent fabrics are nylon, polyester, DCF and even cotton. These fabrics are often used to make tents for different purposes, and they have distinct advantages and disadvantages. Next I will analyze the characteristics of these fabrics.

Nylon and Polyester

Nylon fabric is one of the most common fabrics used in outdoor products, it is very hard-wearing and has a good resistance to tearing. It was used to make parachutes in World War II, which shows that it is very strong and lightweight.

Polyester is a cheap material compared to nylon and we also make some polyester tents, mainly for car camping users who are more sensitive to price than to material performance.

Strength

Nylon is much stronger than polyester. In addition to the strength of the material itself, this comes from the fact that it has a certain amount of elasticity. When nylon is impacted or stretched, the fibres elongate, creating a cushion that keeps the material from breaking, as you might imagine if you couldn’t break a sponge with your fist. But this elasticity can also cause some problems, it can make non-freestanding tents more difficult to pitch and more difficult to produce.

Polyester is a cheap material compared to nylon and we also make some polyester tents, mainly for car camping users who are more sensitive to price than to material performance.

The strength of nylon fabrics can vary greatly from one post-treatment to another. If treated with PU, called PU Nylon, the strength of that nylon will be greatly reduced as the water resistance increases, which is why most manufacturers do not apply a thick PU layer, the thicker the PU layer the more fragile the strength will be and the thinner the PU layer the lower the life expectancy. As you can see, it’s a compromise either way.

The thicker the silicone, the more water and tear resistant it will be, but it will become more slippery and difficult to work with on a normal sewing machine, which means higher costs. Also, nylon that has been treated with double-sided silicone, or SilNylon, cannot be factory taped as PU Nylon tents.

This data is derived from our experiment on one-way tearing of single-ply fabrics with incisions. SilNylon will not be torn apart like paper under the force that exceeds its tearing strength. The slippy fibers will go together and lines up into a strong anti-tear force, and although the tent is damaged at this point, it will not collapse and can continue to provide protection for the user.

Strength : Polyester < PU Nylon < SilNylon

Abrasion Resistance

Nylon is the most abrasion resistant of all fabrics, even better than DCF, which is why it is so widely used in military uniforms.

Abrasion: Polyester < PU Nylon < SilNylon

UV damage

The most significant cause of tent life is UV, which breaks down fabric fibre molecules and subsequently pulverises and breaks them. It is generally believed that nylon is not as resistant to UV as polyester, but according to our tests, polyester is only slightly stronger than nylon, unless the fabric is thickened, no 15D material of the same thickness will last 90 days continuously under strong UV exposure, but this does not mean that the cumulative use is only 90 days, in intermittent use it will last longer, we were also surprised by this result, a possible explanation is The decomposition of the fabric molecules is not linear in relation to the duration of UV exposure, but exponential.

It is worth noting that nylon is far more resistant to ageing than PU coatings, which tend to be the first to decompose under humidity and UV (which happen to be the most common factors in outdoor environments), manifesting themselves in the peeling of the waterproof tent tape and the internal coating becoming sticky, followed by turning white and peeling off. At a waterproofing index of 1500mm, the PU layer is thin and it tends to have a lifespan of only 2 years (under the standard 30-40 days of use per year) or 3-4 years (around 20 days of use per year and stored at a humidity level above 40%).

To eliminate this, there is the option of SilNyon, a method of treating the fabric fibres without a PU coating and only with silicone oil, which will reduce the stretch of the material when soaked in water and increase the life span, but tents made from this fabric cannot be sealed by applying adhesive strips at the factory and have to be bought home to seal the pinholes themselves with silicone.

This is one of the reasons why we use 20DSilNylon rather than 15DPU Nylon in our Lanshan Pro tents. The thicker the fibre, the more resistant it is to ageing. But you will need to seal the tent yourself.

The aging performance of Silicon-PU Nylon in this data is based on our years of repairing tents in the Chinese market, including PU Nylon of brands such as MSR\BigAgnes\3FULGEAR, etc.

Since we haven’t repaired the aging SilNylon tent, the aging performance of SilNylon is based on feedback from our customers and users of backpackinglight.com

Water Absorption

The nylon fabric absorbs water, which can cause problems, the tent can become heavy and the fabric go saggy when it absorbs water, sometimes you have to go out in the rain to adjust the tent to keep the fabric tight. This is particularly the case with PU coated nylons, especially those with a water pressure resistance of no more than 3000mm. This problem is not as serious with nylon coated on both sides with silicon, also known as SilNylon. Because the silicone on both side will prevent nylon from absorbing water.

Polyester fibres have a low water absorption rate and although they do absorb water, they do not experience it as badly as nylon.

Water Absorption: Polyester < SilNylon < PU Nylon

Price

Of the three fabrics themselves, SilNylon is the most expensive, costing US$7-10 per square metre, followed by PU Nylon, which costs US$3-5 per square metre, and polyester, which is the least expensive at just US$2-3. The difficulty of processing also affects the cost. SilNylon is the most difficult fabric to process in the world, being far more difficult than other fabrics, including the expensive DCF. china has the largest textile industry in the world, but few workers are able to work on this fabric. PU nylon and pyrethrum are similarly difficult to process as they are not as elastic and not as slippery.

Polyester fibres have a low water absorption rate and although they do absorb water, they do not experience it as badly as nylon.

Price: Polyester < PU Nylon < SilNylon

Final words

My motivation for writing this article came from a misunderstood experience, once I showed photos of sealing a SilNylon tent, someone told me he was disappointed that 3F UL GEAR tents were not sealed, it was clear that this friend was completely unaware of the properties of the SilNylon fabric and wished he hadn’t bought this type of tent on a whim.

There are no factories in the world that can seal SilNylon tents for now, and if someone suggested that we set up such a factory, my answer would be that it is almost impossible, the tents need at least an hour to apply the glue, 2 hours to dry, and 12-24 hours before they can be packed, which is almost certainly impossible to produce on a large scale, otherwise it would be extremely expensive for warehouse rent.

If you are not prepared to put in the time and effort to get a strong SilNylon tent, or if you simply don’t have the opportunity to use it for hiking in rough conditions, then I suggest go for a tent made of PU Nylon.

The post Tent Fabric: SilNylon vs PU Nylon vs Polyester first appeared on 3F UL GEAR Ultralight Outdoor Gears.

How to seam seal your Lanshan Pro tent

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 15:58:37 +0000

How to seam seal your Lanshan Pro tent

Many people asked me whether seam seal the Lanshan tent with silicone glue is must. My answer is that it depends on the situation. If you buy a non PRO version, you don’t need to apply glue, because it has been taped in the factory and has high-performance waterproof ability. If you buy the PRO version which is made by 2 side silicone coated Nylon, Congratulations, you will get a new skill!

This method works for any silicone ultralight tent. Not limited to Lanshan tent.

You can find something like a syringe in the package go from the Lanshan Pro, which is the best gluing tool for ordinary people we can find. Although it does not necessarily have the simplest operation, but the result must be the nicest looking.

If you are in North America, you can easily buy GearAid SeamGrip at Amazon:

This is a reliable glue. Although it doesn’t dry fast, it’s easy to buy. If you have a better choice, please tell us and we will recommend it to other hikers.

In this official instruction of glue, the way they apply glue is to use a small brush to smear the seam, which is also done by most people, but we do not recommend this method because it is very difficult to operate, in the end your beautiful tent will become like this:

I believe it will ruin your good mood all day and curse our tent.

Our suggestion is to use the syringe we sent with the tent. The specific operation method is shown in the video below:

Similarly, you can see the video captured by Justin Whiting:

First of all, you should set up the tent in your backyard. It must be full pitched and tighten.

After that, squeeze the glue into the syringe. According to experience, if your handicraft is good, half a tube of glue is enough. We don’t recommend applying a lot of glue, because it will increase the tent weight.

Before sealing, firstly is to make sure where need sealing. The positions that must be sealing marked with red, the optional sealing area marked with yellow, and the area that no need seam sealing showing as black. We do not recommend seal all seams, because that will increase the weight.

The operation can be carried out from top to bottom. Hold the syringe in one hand, the other hand hold waist for stability. Apply the glue evenly along the seam. In the black UHMWPE patch area, apply it with your fingers after coating to form a thin layer of glue. Remember wipe your finger with papers after that.

If you are a DIYer, it not a big thing! If not, this DIY experience will open up a new world for you.

After all seams are sealed, don’t hurry to package the tent. According to the performance of different glue, you need to let it dry for 1-12 hours.

In conclusion, If you feel that you are not good at DIY or a perfectionist, you can choose to seal only the red area, so that Lanshan Pro can also withstand in the storm.

Finally, if you have a better seam sealing method, please tell us to benefit more people.

The photo below is our sealed standard, you can go DIY yourself as shown in the picture below.

Yu Liu

Outdoor educator
CMA Instructor
Manager in 3FULGAER

The post How to seam seal your Lanshan Pro tent first appeared on 3F UL GEAR Ultralight Outdoor Gears.

How to - 3F UL GEAR Ultralight Outdoor Gears

How to assemble Tianshan backpack

How to

WHAT YOU GET IN BOX:

STEPS:

How to Prepare Outdoor Food Using the 5-Step Principle.

HOW TO PREPARE OUTDOOR FOOD USING THE 5-STEP PRINCIPLE.

Basic Ingredients, Ready-to-eat Foods, Freeze-dried Foods

How much food to prepare?

Food Planning Tools: 5 Steps to Food Planning

Step 1: Calculate how much to eat per day

Step 2: Calculate the total amount

Step 3: Categorize your food

Step 4: Calculate the weight of each food item

Step 5: Choose the type of food

Addendum: Critical Outdoor Nutrition Knowledge

Energy

Water

Carbohydrates

Proteins

Fats

Vitamins and minerals

Recent Posts

How to Make Ultralight Hiking Sandals at Home

HOW TO MAKE ULTRALIGHT HIKING SANDALS AT HOME

Team member: Liu Yu, Zi Long, Jun Dao, Kuai Le, Cha Ye

Time: October 2016

Length: 250km...

Is 3FULGEAR’s New Tianshan 45 the Best Budget Ultralight Pack?

Team member: Liu Yu, Mingyue, Jundao, Ruguo,Tusheng, etc.

Time: August 2014

Length: 140km 10 days

Location: Tibet

Difficulty:...

WHO: Yu Liu, Liang XueYan, Jumper(JiangPu/Li Tao)

WHEN: July 2019

LENGTH: 80km 4days

WHERE: Qinling Mountain, Shanxi

DIFFICULTY: 5.5/10

Team member: Liang Xueyan, Liu Yu, Liu Yinxi, Chen Xiaofen, Yan Nan, Psnake, XiaoLongNv

Time: August...

HOW TO PREPARE OUTDOOR FOOD USING THE 5-STEP PRINCIPLE.

HOW TO MAKE ULTRALIGHT HIKING SANDALS AT HOME

How to increase the protection of Lanshan tent in windy days.

How to increase the protection of Lanshan tent in windy days.

3FULGEAR

Recent Posts

How to pitching your Lanshan tent perfectly – official recommendation

HOW TO PITCHING YOUR LANSHAN TENT PERFECTLY – OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION

Tent Fabric: SilNylon vs PU Nylon vs Polyester

HOW TO CHOOSE TENT FABRIC: SILNYLON VS PU NYLON VS POLYESTER

Nylon and Polyester

Strength

Strength : Polyester < PU Nylon < SilNylon

Abrasion Resistance

Abrasion: Polyester < PU Nylon < SilNylon

UV damage

Water Absorption

Water Absorption: Polyester < SilNylon < PU Nylon

Price

Price: Polyester < PU Nylon < SilNylon

Final words

How to seam seal your Lanshan Pro tent

How to seam seal your Lanshan Pro tent

Yu Liu

More to explorer