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I was at a local shop when I saw an Alpinestar T-Armstrong jacket and it fit well but I was wondering about something. It says that it uses 500 denier polyester with a polyurethane coating instead of ballistic nylon.

The sales rep said that it was because nylon can heat up and burn you or melt to your skin. But that didn't quite sound right to me because I thought polyester was flammable. Have you guys heard about this stuff?

I thought it was polyester that'd heat up and melt to you in the event of an accident.

Kitty wrote:I was at a local shop when I saw an Alpinestar T-Armstrong jacket and it fit well but I was wondering about something. It says that it uses 500 denier polyester with a polyurethane coating instead of ballistic nylon.

The sales rep said that it was because nylon can heat up and burn you or melt to your skin. But that didn't quite sound right to me because I thought polyester was flammable. Have you guys heard about this stuff?

Leather doesn't melt.

Nylon and Polyester will both melt and burn if heated.

Just take a look at the cut ends of nylon or polyester webbing - they will look melted because they will have been cut with a hot knife. cut them with regular scissors and they will fray and unravel.

Kitty wrote:I was at a local shop when I saw an Alpinestar T-Armstrong jacket and it fit well but I was wondering about something. It says that it uses 500 denier polyester with a polyurethane coating instead of ballistic nylon.

The sales rep said that it was because nylon can heat up and burn you or melt to your skin. But that didn't quite sound right to me because I thought polyester was flammable. Have you guys heard about this stuff?

Ballistic nylon is used in body armor, polyster is used in 70's clothing. Go for actuall body armor.

HarleyW wrote:

Kitty wrote:I was at a local shop when I saw an Alpinestar T-Armstrong jacket and it fit well but I was wondering about something. It says that it uses 500 denier polyester with a polyurethane coating instead of ballistic nylon.

The sales rep said that it was because nylon can heat up and burn you or melt to your skin. But that didn't quite sound right to me because I thought polyester was flammable. Have you guys heard about this stuff?

Ballistic nylon is used in body armor, polyster is used in 70's clothing. Go for actuall body armor.

You don't know a lot about modern fabrics. That's OK, because most people don't.

jonnythan wrote:

HarleyW wrote:

Kitty wrote:I was at a local shop when I saw an Alpinestar T-Armstrong jacket and it fit well but I was wondering about something. It says that it uses 500 denier polyester with a polyurethane coating instead of ballistic nylon.

The sales rep said that it was because nylon can heat up and burn you or melt to your skin. But that didn't quite sound right to me because I thought polyester was flammable. Have you guys heard about this stuff?

Ballistic nylon is used in body armor, polyster is used in 70's clothing. Go for actuall body armor.

You don't know a lot about modern fabrics. That's OK, because most people don't.

Well, enlighten us.

HarleyW wrote:

jonnythan wrote:

HarleyW wrote:

Kitty wrote:I was at a local shop when I saw an Alpinestar T-Armstrong jacket and it fit well but I was wondering about something. It says that it uses 500 denier polyester with a polyurethane coating instead of ballistic nylon.

The sales rep said that it was because nylon can heat up and burn you or melt to your skin. But that didn't quite sound right to me because I thought polyester was flammable. Have you guys heard about this stuff?

Ballistic nylon is used in body armor, polyster is used in 70's clothing. Go for actuall body armor.

You don't know a lot about modern fabrics. That's OK, because most people don't.

Well, enlighten us.

Depending on the specific compound used, polyester often has a higher melting point and higher abrasion resistance than your typical "ballistic" nylon. The ballistic moniker doesn't actually mean anything. Ballistic nylon is plain ol nylon.

Polyester is really an amazing fabric. High-end hiking/skiing/mountaineering base layers (underwear) are all polyester. It's the fabric of choice, by a wide margin, for next-to-skin comfort and wicking properties. Many high-end outerwear pieces intended to be worn mountaineering or skiing are made of polyester. Many climbing and caving ropes are made with polyester sheaths.

Polyester also does not expand or lose strength when it gets wet. Nylon stretches by up to 20% and loses up to 15% of its tensile strength when it gets wet. Polyester does not.

jonnythan wrote:Polyester is really an amazing fabric. High-end hiking/skiing/mountaineering base layers (underwear) are all polyester. It's the fabric of choice, by a wide margin, for next-to-skin comfort and wicking properties. Many high-end outerwear pieces intended to be worn mountaineering or skiing are made of polyester. Many climbing and caving ropes are made with polyester sheaths.

Sadly, I do not choose my motorcycle gear for its next-to-skin comfort, or its wicking properties. That's what my t-shirt and sweater are for. My gear is chosen for its abrasion resistance and the likelyhood that it'll cling to the ground and send me into a spin.

Sev wrote:Sadly, I do not choose my motorcycle gear for its next-to-skin comfort, or its wicking properties. That's what my t-shirt and sweater are for. My gear is chosen for its abrasion resistance and the likelyhood that it'll cling to the ground and send me into a spin.

It's a good thing that being good at one thing does not prevent us from also being good at something else, then, isn't it!

I like how you quoted the entire thing but completely ignored the "mountaineering outerwear" and "climbing and caving ropes" parts.

I was "educating" the poster about how polyester is used in many modern applications. Polyester has come a long long way since the 1970s.