Titanium Dioxide Fabric Coating

The main environmental factor that degrades tents being used at high altitude is exposure to UV radiation. Nylon, while having good tensile strength and abrasion resistance, is susceptible to being weakened by prolonged exposure to the UV radiation found in sunlight, which is especially strong at high altitudes. For this reason, most tents used at Everest base camp last only 1-2 seasons. Our ET70 and LS07 fabrics feature extremely UV-resistant Titanium Dioxide coatings that extend the fabric's lifespan by 300-400%. Think of it as tent sunscreen. ET70 and LS07 fabrics are found on our LFD and BFD tents.

Historically, Titanium Dioxide coatings have been added to fabrics using transfer paper, which also must be discarded after each use. SlingFin worked with Dimension Polyant to find a more environmentally friendly method of coating the fabric. 

Now, Dimension Polyant uses recyclable plastic films for applying the transfer coatings. The plastic film produces a shiny finish on the coating but that is a small price to pay as compared to wasting thousands of yards of transfer paper. The coatings are applied here in the USA at the Dimension Polyant mill in Putnam, Connecticut. All excess solvents are reused and the factory has a state of the art air filtration system so no harmful vapors are released into the atmosphere. ET70 is one of the most environmentally friendly UV resistant fabrics ever made for the weight.