The DIY Packraft fabric is custom made for me and is not available anywhere else. DIY Packraft does not currently sell any bulk fabric.
If you’re looking for heat sealable fabrics for your project, try Seattle Fabrics if you’re in North America, or Extrem Textil if you’re in Europe. I’m not aware of anyplace else that sells quality heat sealable fabrics, but this forum thread about alternative sources might have more information. Note that people have been disappointed by fabrics purchased from Aliexpress/Alibaba.
If you find another source for HIGH QUALITY fabrics, please leave a comment below.
Wherever you shop, be sure to purchase samples and test them to make sure they fit your needs before buying a larger quantity.
I’m sorry I cannot offer fabric recommendations or advice for your project, but the Fabrics information page may help you decide.
Note: DIY Packraft used to sell bulk fabric, but I stopped for a few reasons:
- Inventory management: Making packraft kits is my first priority, and fabric is always the limiting resource. I use four different types of fabric to make each packraft kit, and because bulk fabric purchases are unpredictable, if I sell bulk fabric then it becomes impossible to keep the right amount of each fabric in stock for the kits. If it only took a month or two for me to receive a new fabric order then this wouldn’t be such a problem, but unfortunately it takes 6-12 months to receive a fabric order, so if I don’t keep tight control over the inventory then there are long periods when I can’t sell any packraft kits because I’ve run out of one of the four types of fabric I need. If I had an extra hundred thousand dollars lying around then I could keep enough inventory in stock to prevent this problem, but I searched under my couch cushions and came up short.
- Bulk sales vs. value-added products: I can sell the same amount of fabric for a higher price in a kit compared to selling it as bulk fabric, and since fabric is my most limited resource, it’s hard to justify undercutting myself by selling the fabric for less than I can make from it.
- Opportunity cost: In theory it shouldn’t take much time to process a simple bulk fabric order, but in reality there are usually several emails back and forth as I help the customer decide what type of fabric they need and give advice about how to make whatever it is they’re working on. If I spend time giving free advice then I can’t spend that time helping people with their packraft builds, designing new products, or doing any of the other things that make DIY Packraft function.
Thanks for your understanding.
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