Materials – Dispersed Bikepacking

ECOPAK – Our most popular option for bikepacking bags. ECOPAK is a recycled alternative to traditional X-Pac. This is a laminated fabric made from recycled polyester, a yard upcycles about 20 plastic water bottles. It weighs 6.4 oz/yd² (216 g/m²) and comes in many colors. The material itself is waterproof with a C0 DWR coating (though the sewn seams are not). See examples below.

ULTRA – An ultralight laminate featuring UHMWPE fibers (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) which are extremely strong. ULTRA is more durable than some other UHMWPE materials due to its laminate construction, making it very abrasion resistant. It weighs 3.9 oz/yd² (133 g/m²) and is more abrasion resistant than 1000d Cordura. It’s also difficult to cut, more expensive to purchase, and takes some care to sew it properly, so we charge a premium for it. ULTRA bags end up 10-20% lighter than an ECOPAK equivalent. The material itself is waterproof (though the sewn seams are not). See examples below.

X-Pac – We carry a few X-Pac materials that don’t have a good recycled alternative at the moment. We also have custom patterns printed on X-Pac. The physical properties are very similar to ECOPAK, aside from the Multicam Black which is a heavier duty laminated material (8.85oz/yd², 300 g/m²). See examples below.

UltraGrid – We’ve used a variety of materials for the internal fabric on our bags and settled on UltraGrid. It’s made from recycled nylon yarn from pre-consumer industrial waste along with a grid of UHMWPE fibers which makes it tough and tear resistant. It weighs 4.3 oz/yd² (146 g/m²) which was important to us to keep weight low. It’s more expensive than most fabrics we’ve tried for interior bag cloth, but it’s also lighter and more durable. It’s got a C0 DWR coating and a waterproof PU backing.

Recycled Cordura – Tough and abrasion resistant, we use Cordura wherever we expect to see wear on bags. This recycled Cordura uses recycled fibers and saves about one pound of carbon emission for every yard, compared to standard nylon or polyester bag fabrics. It’s not exactly light at 9.2 oz/yd² (312 g/m²), so we only use it where necessary. It has a C0 DWR coating and a water-resistant PU backing.