Greater strength equals greater safety. It is that simple. The stronger the fabric on your outer tent is, the less likely it is to tear because of bad weather, rough handling, or inadvertent mistakes.
And Hilleberg outer tent fabrics – the Kerlon family – are arguably the strongest, lightest tent fabrics available. Our Ultralight tent fabric, Kerlon 1200, has a minimum tear strength of 12 kg/26.5 lbs, and Kerlon SP, our unique polyester fabric, and our premier Kerlon 1800 have minimum tear strengths of 15 kg/33 lbs and 18 kg/40 lbs respectively. Yet all weigh less than 78 g/m2 / 2.3 oz/yd2. In real life – using the tent in the field – that strength (and light weight) translates into tents that, in our opinion, outperform those made with other fabrics. The Silicone Connection
In 1975, Bo Hilleberg received a sample of a new, lighter, more waterproof fabric. When Bo cut the edge of the sample and tried to tear it, he couldn’t. The fabric, Bo discovered, was coated with silicone, rather than the usual polyurethane. And while this new fabric was indeed very light and waterproof, it was also exceptionally strong. It was exactly what Bo had been looking for, and our Kerlon fabrics were born.
Not all silicone-coated fabrics are created equal, however. Our Kerlon fabrics are coated, on both sides, with a total of three layers of 100 percent silicone. Certainly they are completely waterproof and very light, but our process also imparts a strength to the base material that is an order of magnitude greater than is possible with the more common polyurethane coating process. Perhaps more importantly, our coated Kerlon fabrics are, far, far stronger than so-called “siliconized” materials, which typically employ a coating mixture of silicone and other compounds.
This means that we can start with a lighter weight base fabric and still produce a material – Kerlon 1200 – that is four to five times stronger than most so-called “expedition grade,” heavy duty tent materials. It also means that if your outer tent does suffer a puncture, our high tear strengths make it far less likely that the puncture will develop into a trip-ending rent.
Such high tear strength is like insurance: It is much better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it, especially since this “insurance” adds no extra weight, and also increases the durability and longevity of your tent.
