CHIKARA

High-end Ripstop Nylon

Chikara is the Japanese word for Power

This aligns perfectly with the fabric's inherent qualities and performance. Originally crafted as a premium fabric tailored for the kite and paraglider sector, Chikara has upheld its position as the premier ripstop spinnaker nylon ever since.

Initially, Chikara found prominence in high-end kitesurf kites and paragliders. Nowadays, it has expanded its reach into various other sectors, including the medical and outdoor industries, where stringent demands for consistent quality and durability prevail. The fabric's exceptional performance stems from a delicate equilibrium between weight, strength, airtightness, stability, and longevity.

Chikara boasts an impressively low weight (41 grams per square meter) thanks to the utilization of high-tenacity threads, which imbue it with remarkable tear strength.

Despite its featherweight nature, Chikara exhibits excellent aging characteristics, retaining its performance even after extensive use. The superb porosity level and the specialized polyurethane (PU) coating on both sides of the fabric are pivotal attributes for applications requiring enduring performance and ease of handling. The coating ensures minimal water absorption, rendering the fabric suitable for diverse environments, be it dry, humid, or wet. Moreover, the water-repellent (WR) coating on Chikara is now PFOA-free, making it particularly suitable for environmentally conscious and medical applications.

Chikara stands as your go-to ripstop nylon if you seek unparalleled reliability, lightweight construction, and enduring high performance.

Applications:
  • inflatables, skydancers;
  • sport- and foil kites;
  • art objects;
  • apparel;
  • protection- and cover products;
  • medical devices.
Specifications
  • Material: Nylon
  • Type of nylon: 30 Denrnier Nylon 6.6
  • Coating: Double sided polyurethane
  • Weight: 41 (g / m2)
  • Roll Width: 1.56 (m)
     
  • Tearing strength: Warp 5.0 / Fill 5.0 kg
  • Breaking strength: Warp 40 / Fill 36.1 (kg / 5cm)
  • Breaking elongation: Warp 49.3 / Fill 51.2 (% / 5cm)
  • Air Permeability: 0.03 (cc / cm2 / sec)

Banner of fabric (icarex)
Banner of fabric (icarex)
Banner of fabric (icarex)

Chikara has a weight of 41 g/m², which makes it quite a light weight fabric. This is due to the use of high tenacity threads in the fabric.

Air permeability is the ability of a fabric to allow air to pass through it. For Chikara, it is 0,03 cc per cm² per second*, which is extremely low. This means that the fabric is incredibly airtight, a feature that is vital for the production of kites. *The air permeability figure indicates the volume of air per surface unit in a certain amount of time. The value is measured at a pressure difference of 1 atmosphere given a certain thickness of the fabric.

Chikara is a low stretch fabric. This feature ensures that it will retain its shape for a significant period of time.

The tear strength of Chikara is very high. This makes it an incredibly durable fabric (resistant to wear and tear) and also guarantees that it will last for a long period of time, during which its performance will also remain undiminished

Chikara has very good ageing characteristics – even after many hours of intense use, products made from Chikara will still perform the same.  Mirai has good UV resistance. This can be seen through the many kites that have been created using Mirai, all of which have shown little or no signs of UV degradation.

Many nylon fabrics are attacked by ultraviolet radiation and may crack or disintegrate if they are not UV-stable. This is a problem known as UV degradation, and is common in products exposed to sunlight. Chikara has good UV resistance. This can be seen through the many kites that have been created using Chikara, all of which have shown little or no signs of UV degradation.


Chikara Spec Sheets

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Chikara is produced by Toray Industries (Tokyo, Japan). Their founding business areas were fibres and textiles.
Now they are a multinational corporation with over 46.00 employees that specializes in industrial products centered around technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry.
The Toray Group,makes it their mission to deliver innovative technologies and advanced materials that provide real solutions to the challenges the world faces with balancing development and sustainability.

Specifications

Material Ripstop Nylon
Type of nylon 30Denier Nylon 6.6
Coating Double sided Polyurethane / Double sided WR
Weight (g/m2) 41
Roll width (m) 1.55
Yarn (Dtex) Warp 33 / Fill 33
Tear strength (kg) Warp 5.0 / Fill 5.0
Breaking strength (kg / 5cm) Warp 40 / Fill 36.1
Breaking elongation (% / 5cm) Warp 49.3 / Fill 51.2
Air permeability (cc/cm2 / sec) 0.03
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