Fact & Fiction

Most of the current industry opinions concerning the best fabrics for inflatable boats
were formulated at a time when the only alternative to rubber was non durable PVC
fabrics.

Recent scientific developments have brought surprisingly high performing products
to the market. Your choice of fabric depends upon your final application:


PVC
PVC inflatable boat fabric offers light weight and economical solutions to leisure boat
manufacturing. However due to their lack of resistance to prolonged exposure to UV
rays and chemicals they are not adapted for high end Ribs and work boats.
Only a limited number of specialized suppliers offer marine grade qualities.


Hypalon®
Hypalon inflatable boat fabric has been traditionally used in high quality boats
because of their resistance to weather and chemicals, longevity, suppleness and
ease of repair. Among all fabrics they are the least subject to wicking (air loss
through the weave). However, their weaker abrasion resistance makes them 2nd
choice for RIB WorkBoats and WhiteWater rafts. Hypalon fabrics can only be glued
after pre-sanding. There are various qualities of so called Hypalon fabrics, some of
them being only generic CSM (Hypalon is a registered DUPONT trademark).


Polyurethane
These fabrics are by far the 1st choice where abrasion is a concern. However, their
lack of color stability (noted even in the aliphatic grades) and their stiffness renders
them inappropriate to most leisure markets.


Evaloy®
With good suppleness, very high abrasion resistance, perfect color stability and good
general properties, Elvaloy® inflatable boat fabric is poised to capture a growing
share of the inflatable boat market. They can be both welded and glued.
 
PVC
Hypalon®
Polyurethane
Elvaloy®
Foldable Tenders
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Not adapted
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Foldable
SportBoats
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Not adapted
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Foldable
WorkBoats
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Not adapted
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RIB Tenders
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RIB SportBoats
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RIB WorkBoats
Not adapted
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Whitewater Rafts
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InflatableBoatFabrics.com
High quality fabrics & adhesives for Inflatable Boats
Clifton
Adhesives
technicalcoatedfabrics.com
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