What is X-Pac? Which X-Pac bag should you choose?
X-Pac bags are becoming so popular, but what is X-Pac? Why they are different from other diamond grid rip-stop fabric?
X-Pac is a fabric developed by a German sailcloth company called Dimension Polyant. With their experience of developing sailcloths, which have to be extremely durable and waterproof to withstand the harsh environment on the sea, Dimension Polyant developed X-Pac as a fabric to be used in technical bags by making it more flexible.
X-PAC™ FABRIC
X-Pac is a series of fabrics, like VX21, X21, X50, etc. All of them are designed to exceptional abrasion resistant, permanently waterproof (waterproof layers Like DWR used on most fabrics decay over time) and tear resistant.
X-Pac™ VX21 is the high performance fabric for outdoor gear with a focus on lightweight (6oz/sq yd) and durability. It is constructed of three layers: a 210 denier nylon face which gives the abrasion resistance to the fabric, a black polyester X-Ply™ on a 0.25 PET film which add the tear resistant and waterproof ability, and a 50 denier polyester taffeta backing for additional durability. The exterior 210D Nylon face is then treated with a durable water repellant finish (DWR-6).
The fabric is manufactured in their own US factory. Then, shipped directly to bag factories like our manufacturing partner in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam by air after we ordered directly from them.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT BAG
As X-Pac is becoming more popular, which bag should be chosen? First of all, you should make sure the bag is using X-Pac™ fabric as there are more and more similar fabrics which may look the same, but their performances varies. All X-Pac bags should have a tag from Dimension Polyant (dp) either inside or outside the bag to distinguish them.
Secondly, many bags manufactures may only use the X-Pac fabrics on certain areas like front panel for appearance attraction. However, that means the bag do not have the features of X-Pac in all the other parts. That’s why some X-Pac bags out there can get wet or broken easily. Make sure the whole bag is using X-Pac fabric. For Instinct Pro Camera Sling Bag, the whole bag, including the back panel, which is covered by a black Coolmax & EVA padding, is also made of the same X-Pac fabric.
Last but not least, the constructions and other design may also affect the performance. Therefore, Instinct Pro Camera Sling Bag (Including 420D version) is using water-repellent webbing to make sure the water cannot get in the bag easily through lines of stitchings. To sew the webbing, a special waterproof thread is used to fill up the sewing hole to avoid water gets in through the holes and along the threads.