Fabric Definitions — definitions of fabrics, cloths, laces and textile materials from Apparel Search
Rip-stop nylon is a light-weight nylon fabric with inter-woven ripstop reinforcement threads in a crosshatch pattern, so the material resists ripping or tearing. It is produced in a range of weights and textures — waterproof, water resistant or fire resistant versions exist — with textures from soft and silk-like to crisp or stiff, and it was originally developed as an inexpensive synthetic replacement for silk in the production of parachutes during World War II.
Rip-stop nylon is a light-weight nylon fabric with inter-woven ripstop reinforcement threads in a crosshatch pattern, so the material resists ripping or tearing.
It's produced in a range of weights and textures, waterproof, water resistant, fire resistant, zero porosity (will not allow air or water through), light ,medium and heavy weight. Textures range from soft, silk like to crisp or stiff ones that sound like a paper bag when they are moved.
Rip-stop nylon is often used in yachts for sails and spinnakers hot air balloons, kites, parachutes (parachute pants), camping equipment such as lightweight tents and sleeping bags, flags, banners, and many other applications which require a strong lightweight fabric. Rip-stop reinforcement can also be incorporated into heavier fabrics which require extreme durability, such as those used in the manufacture of luggage and Nomex protective clothing for riot police.
Ejector seat parachutes made with ripstop are woven with an elastic like fabric so that they stretch to allow more air to pass through them at high speed, then as they slow up the weave closes and acts like a normal parachute. This allows the seat with the pilot in it to slow down gently, otherwise the compression caused could result in injuries to the spine.
Originally developed as an inexpensive synthetic replacement for silk in the production of parachutes during World War II.
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Ripstop is an insurance policy woven into cloth. Plain lightweight nylon has a dangerous failure mode: once nicked, a tear can run across the whole piece under load, because nothing interrupts its path. The ripstop weave interrupts it by construction — at regular intervals, in both warp and weft, a thicker reinforcement yarn is woven in, and the resulting crosshatch grid means any tear that starts is fenced into a single small square of base cloth. The fabric does not become untearable; it becomes tear-limiting, which for a parachute, sail or tent is the difference between a repairable hole and a catastrophic failure. The grid is usually visible as a faint squared pattern in the cloth, the signature of the construction. Because the reinforcement is a weave feature rather than a coating, it adds almost no weight, preserving the quality that made nylon attractive in the first place: high strength in a fabric light enough for flight and packable gear.
The definition stresses range: ripstop nylon comes in light, medium and heavy weights, in textures from soft and silk-like to a crisp stiffness that sounds like a paper bag when moved, and with waterproof, water-resistant or fire-resistant properties and, in coated versions, zero porosity to air and water. That spread is tuned per use — a spinnaker wants the lightest, softest hand; a tent fly wants coating and water resistance; a banner wants body; luggage wants the ripstop idea translated into a much heavier cloth. The origin explains the versatility: the fabric was developed in World War II to replace silk in parachutes, an application demanding light weight, high strength and controlled behavior under sudden load, all at a price and supply scale silk could not meet. Every later use — kites, balloons, flags, camping gear — inherits that specification. Care follows the nylon base: strong and quick-drying, weakened gradually by prolonged ultraviolet exposure, and repaired easily with patches precisely because its tears stay small.
The reinforcement threads woven in a crosshatch pattern are stronger than the base cloth and divide it into a grid of small squares. A tear starting inside one square runs only until it reaches a reinforcement thread, which resists it — so damage stays local instead of running the length of the fabric, which is the entire point of the construction.
Uses named in the definition include yacht sails and spinnakers, hot air balloons, kites, parachutes, camping equipment such as lightweight tents and sleeping bags, flags and banners. Rip-stop reinforcement is also incorporated into heavier fabrics needing extreme durability, such as luggage fabrics and Nomex protective clothing.
Ejector seat parachutes made with ripstop are woven with an elastic-like fabric so they stretch to let more air pass at high speed, then, as they slow, the weave closes and acts like a normal parachute. The controlled porosity lets the seat and pilot slow gently instead of taking a damaging compression jolt.