X Pac Sheen

[TimberPhantom]

Does anyone have any tricks to tone down the sheen of X Pac materials? I've searched with no luck. I am itching to pull the trigger on a custom pack built with X Pac material but I can't get past the shininess of it. I would be fine misting spray paint over the bag but in my experience, at least with the higher quality paint, the paint smell never fully goes away, even if properly dried in warmer conditions.

I'm open to unproven ideas as well. If they sound reasonable enough I'd purchase some material, give it a shot and report back my findings. It would be worth it to me before I drop $700 on a pack I'm uncomfortable using in the sun during archery season.

 

[hflier]

Yes, use it a lot. The sheen goes away quickly.


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[hereinaz]

What pack are you looking at?
What Xpac fabric?

I have some XPac multicam that does not seem much more shiny than new cordura. I am putting together products with it, including a universal pack that will go on multiple frames.

I would be more worried about the crinkly noise. I have some other waterproof laminated fabrics I am liking. Lots of new stuff coming out.

If you are interested, shoot me a PM and I will give you my cell phone to talk.

If I were to try something, it would be to fuzz up the outer layer. Maybe a light sandpaper just to abrade some of the fibers? Nothing too serious or deep though. I have never tried it though.

 

[hereinaz]

Yes, use it a lot. The sheen goes away quickly.


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There you go. Breaking it in and a little wear breaks down the flatness of the fabric.

 

[TimberPhantom]

That is awesome news. I have no experience with the material. I may just rub some dirt over the face of it to speed up the process. I'm looking at building a Seek Outside pack in olive green.

That fabric looks nice! Unfortunately I hunt in an area where the multicam sticks out like a sore thumb. I need something darker.

Does the crinkling go away over time? I'm not too concerned about it as I will have it compressed down tight to the frame when being sneaky. What are the other laminated fabrics you're liking? Anything that comes in a darker green?

 

[hereinaz]

That is awesome news. I have no experience with the material. I may just rub some dirt over the face of it to speed up the process. I'm looking at building a Seek Outside pack in olive green.

That fabric looks nice! Unfortunately I hunt in an area where the multicam sticks out like a sore thumb. I need something darker.

Does the crinkling go away over time? I'm not too concerned about it as I will have it compressed down tight to the frame when being sneaky. What are the other laminated fabrics you're liking? Anything that comes in a darker green?

Dirt would work!

Olive green is the darkest green I can get right now in XPac, same as Seek Outside packs.

Xpac is still what I would go with. The new stuff are laminated fabrics similar to Xpac and Dyneema from other companies. Looks like more will be coming, but the first ones are coming available in bulk.

I have just take up archery, so I am very curious what features you would want in a pack. I end up making most of my own stuff, and selling to others. There are demands for lower numbers of more highly specialized gear, that's what I am getting started. Design and do small batches of boutique gear.

 

[Whiskey_Fish]

My every day work bag is an black Xpac bag from Topo. It’s probably 4 years old now. Still kinda crinkly, but nothing like when it was new. Retained a slight shine.

My olive green Xpac wallet is 100% dull now. Zero shine.


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[TimberPhantom]

Wow, that really does dull down after time. Sending you a PM momentarily hereinaz.

 

[roosiebull]

That fabric looks nice! Unfortunately I hunt in an area where the multicam sticks out like a sore thumb.

if it's for a pack, i wouldn't put much thought into the camo pattern... if you get picked off due to your pack color, you are dealing with next level critters.... if they are that savvy, they will likely be wearing ballistic vests anyways.... even Ashby's arrows would bounce off

i had an xpac bag, like others mentioned, the shine goes away. the crinkle was a non issue to me.... only way it could be a problem is if you had a critter in bow range and felt the need to open your pack with said animal in bow range and dig around in the pack, haha. just wearing it and rubbing on brush, the crinkle isn't a thing.

 

[hereinaz]

if it's for a pack, i wouldn't put much thought into the camo pattern... if you get picked off due to your pack color, you are dealing with next level critters.... if they are that savvy, they will likely be wearing ballistic vests anyways.... even Ashby's arrows would bounce off

i had an xpac bag, like others mentioned, the shine goes away. the crinkle was a non issue to me.... only way it could be a problem is if you had a critter in bow range and felt the need to open your pack with said animal in bow range and dig around in the pack, haha. just wearing it and rubbing on brush, the crinkle isn't a thing.

Hahaha, true, deer don't really see color the way we think, not even the breakup matters that much.

 

[Mitten32]

None of the animals I killed this year seemed to care about the color/sheen of my kifaru muskeg. I think you might be a bit too worried about this. Its a non issue in my experience.

 

[TimberPhantom]

My issue isn't necessarily the camo pattern but the lightness of it. I hunt dark areas and prefer to stay undetected by both animals and other hunters. I prefer a darker color as it simply doesn't stand out like multicam does. Standing still it doesn't matter but I move. A lot.


Shiny objects are an issue in my book. I have no proof that it matters but during archery season on a dry, sunny day, everything in the forest is matte. As I've been told by several people in the biology field, animals are sensitive to the upper end of our visible light spectrum and possibly even into the UV spectrum. If that's true, the sheen that stands out to us will stand out more so to an animal. It doesn't look like this will be an issue though as it looks like it will dull down over time.

 

[hereinaz]

My issue isn't necessarily the camo pattern but the lightness of it. I hunt dark areas and prefer to stay undetected by both animals and other hunters. I prefer a darker color as it simply doesn't stand out like multicam does. Standing still it doesn't matter but I move. A lot.


Shiny objects are an issue in my book. I have no proof that it matters but during archery season on a dry, sunny day, everything in the forest is matte. As I've been told by several people in the biology field, animals are sensitive to the upper end of our visible light spectrum and possibly even into the UV spectrum. If that's true, the sheen that stands out to us will stand out more so to an animal. It doesn't look like this will be an issue though as it looks like it will dull down over time.

Yes, sheen is more visible by us and deer. It just reflects more light and makes movement easier to see.