Aramid fibers.
Sounds like a bad guy from the next Spider-Man movie, right?
In reality, Aramid fibers are used to make the yellow thread we use to bartack the most stressed points on our packs and bino harnesses. Why? Let’s just say it’s strong.
OK, on second thought, calling this stuff strong is like calling the Great Salt Lake wet. It’s a radical understatement. Aramid fibers are used in products that face crazy-extreme stress. How extreme? How about bullet-resistant body armor?
You read that right. This is the stuff they use to make the vests that keep our law enforcement officers safe.
It’s also used to make the racing suits to keep Formula 1 and NASCAR drivers from burning in a fire.
Oh, and it’s also used in the flight suits worn by pretty much every fighter and bomber pilot wearing a flag on their shoulder.
Maverick and Goose? Notice they only lost that loving feeling when they changed out of their flight suits. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Wow, when we explain it that way, it seems like a little overkill to use it on a pack strap.
But we’re Badlands. Overkill is underrated. We made a promise to you that our gear won’t let you down and ruin a hunt, and if that means we use one of the toughest threads available, so be it.
How, you may ask, is such a thin little thread so bloody strong? Glad you asked. Allow us to get our nerd on.
Aramid, which comes from a blend of the words aromatic polyamide, is an extremely strong and heat-resistant synthetic fiber. The molecules that make up the thread are largely aligned around the fiber’s center axis, so the chemical bond is significantly stronger than non-aligned molecules. That, and it sports a melting point that doesn’t even start until it gets hotter than 500 degrees… CELSIUS! That’s almost 1,000 of our American degrees (F).
We’d love to tell you some of the name brands you’ve heard this stuff called by, but the legal folks suggested we leave it a bit more vague, mysterious and non-litigious. Spoil sports.
Regardless, the thread that ends up being woven from this fiber is so dense, that we can’t even dye it. The color simply won’t penetrate. We’re just glad it comes out yellow and not hot pink.
But we’re good with the look. We think the yellow bartacks look pretty damn cool. (BTW, if you agree, we’ve got a tee for you!)
If you’re not fully convinced that the Aramid bartacking will survive whatever you and Mother Nature and her army of bears, mountain lions, rocky cliffsides, snagging tree branches or seven-year-old nephews can throw at it…. consider this:
We’ve told you how strong a single thread is, right?
All our packs are triple stitched with the stuff.
Yeah, it’s overkill. We admit it.
But we will never apologize for it.
