Ripstop

How it works

A tear that stops at the grid

During weaving, a heavier or higher-tenacity yarn is introduced at regular intervals, forming a grid across the face. In normal use these yarns barely affect handfeel and add almost no weight. But once the fabric snags, the stress travelling along the tear reaches a reinforcement yarn, which absorbs and spreads it, so the damage halts at the grid line. The tighter the grid and the stronger the yarn, the smaller the area a tear can reach. A double ripstop runs two reinforcement yarns side by side at each grid line, holding against more force than a single