Taking care of your ridgebag
At Ridgebag we use mainly Cordura® and British Millerain fabrics. We love these fabrics because they have characteristics that make them specially suited for our bags. Cordura® fabrics are tough and treated with coatings to make them weather resistant and come in a range of beautiful colours. British Millerain fabrics are durable and the classic waxed cotton gets better with age.
To maintain the quality of these specialist fabrics, however, they need some care. Here we provide instructions to keep your Ridgebag performing at its best.
Cordura®Acier
Cordura® Acier is an extremely robust, 1,000 den – 1100 dtex, fabric with a weight of 350gsm. The face has a water-repellent treatment giving a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) quality to the fabric. The backface has a waterproof coating. The composition of the fabric is 100% Cordura® polyamide.
We use this fabric exclusively to make our AWEN DU.
Cordura® ripstop
The Cordura® ripstop fabric we use has a weight of 139gsm with ripstop reinforcements at 5mm sq. The face is treated with a Teflon® acrylic coating and the backface has a Polyurethane (PU) waterproof coating. The Teflon® coating provides a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) quality to the fabric. The composition of the fabric is 65% polyester and 35% Cordura® polyamide.
We use this fabric to make our AWEN and AWEN AER models in Red, Purple and Grey.
Cordura® canvas type fabric
Another Cordura® fabric we use is a 560 Dtex canvas. This is a heavier fabric than Cordura® ripstop. It has the same properties as that material with a Teflon® treatment on the face and acrylyl waterproof coating on its backface. The composition of the fabric is 100% Cordura® Polyamide with a weight of 284 gsm.
We use this fabric to make BRYN.
Care of Cordura®
For best results we recommend the following instructions:
• Unclip the detachable pouches and pull out the inner so that all the material is out
• Wash at 30º with a detergent formulated specifically for technical equipment. There are several on the market like Granger’s Performance Wash or Nikwax
• Reproof after a few washes with a fluorocarbon free waterproofing spray. Again, you could use a product like Granger’s Performance Repel or Nikwax. You will know when your bag requires waterproofing when water stays on the bag rather than running down
• Spin at lowest speed
• Hang to dry with pockets inside out
• Do not iron
• Do not wring
• Do not use bleach
• Do not dry clean
• Do not tumble dry
Staywax® Sahara by British Millerain
The side panels of NANT are made using British Millerain’s Staywax® Sahara 6 waxed 100% cotton fabric. The fabric has a weight of 230gsm. The Staywax® finish of the Sahara fabric is achieved by a unique blend of waxes producing a drier feel than traditional waxed cotton.
The central panels and flap are made using a 100% polyester technical fabric with a weight of 200gsm. The face has a Teflon® treatment giving a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) quality to the fabric. The backface is acrylyl coated to make it waterproof.
We categorize NANT as being weather resistant rather than waterproof.
Care of Sahara 6
These are the recommended care instructions for your NANT. Waxed cotton ages beautifully and we recommend not washing it if possible. However, if you must:
• Wash in a 30C wash cycle using soap flakes or non biological detergents
• Spin at lowest speed
• Hang to dry
• Do not iron
• Do not wring
• Do not use bleach
• Do not dry clean
• Do not tumble dry
Taking care of Eilir
EILIR is made using 8oz Chera, a traditional 100% cotton oil-cloth from British Millerain. The wet feel of this fabric will dry with use. EILIR will age beautifully. Do not wash this fabric. When dirty let it dry and use a sponge and cold water to wipe off the dirt. Chera is water repellent thanks to the wax. It will need to be re-waxed after a time of wear and tear. British Millerain has a wax that you can use to re-wax your bag.
• Spot clean only
• Do not wash
• Do not iron
• Do not wring
• Do not use bleach
• Do not dry clean
• Do not tumble dry
• It can be re-waxed with Millerain wax