In rec.boats.paddle Brian Nystrom wrote:

In case anyone actually cares, Spectra is the name of product Allied
Signal manufactures in the US under licence from Hoescht-Celanese in
Germany, the manufacturer of Dyneema. They are identical fibers, though
they can be made into a variety of products that may differ widely.

According to the Dyneema website, they are a Dutch company.

http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/hpf/home_dyneema.htm

Spectra and Dyneema are both made of polyethylene, but is that evidence
to indicate they are really "the same thing"?

Specs indicate Dyneema-core ropes have slightly higher tensile strength
than Spectra and some marketing blurbs indicate they have a softer feel.

Bill Tuthill wrote:
In rec.boats.paddle Brian Nystrom wrote:

In case anyone actually cares, Spectra is the name of product Allied
Signal manufactures in the US under licence from Hoescht-Celanese in
Germany, the manufacturer of Dyneema. They are identical fibers, though
they can be made into a variety of products that may differ widely.

According to the Dyneema website, they are a Dutch company.

http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/hpf/home_dyneema.htm

Spectra and Dyneema are both made of polyethylene, but is that evidence
to indicate they are really "the same thing"?

I've always consedered Dynema and Spectra to be essentially the same
thing and look at other properties of a line when deciding what to buy.
Does it float? Can I splice it? How much does it cost? Is it grippy
or smooth? How much does it stretch or creep? There may be slight
differences between Dynema and Spectra (or not) but whatever they may be
they're overshadowed by other considerations.


Specs indicate Dyneema-core ropes have slightly higher tensile strength
than Spectra and some marketing blurbs indicate they have a softer feel.

Remember that two lines of the same diameter may have quite different
core diameters - a thick cover vs a thin cover. Look at non-blended
single braids for a better apples-to-apples comparrison.



//Walt

Bill Tuthill wrote:
In rec.boats.paddle Brian Nystrom wrote:
In case anyone actually cares, Spectra is the name of product Allied
Signal manufactures in the US under licence from Hoescht-Celanese in
Germany, the manufacturer of Dyneema. They are identical fibers, though
they can be made into a variety of products that may differ widely.

According to the Dyneema website, they are a Dutch company.

http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/hpf/home_dyneema.htm

Spectra and Dyneema are both made of polyethylene, but is that evidence
to indicate they are really "the same thing"?

Specs indicate Dyneema-core ropes have slightly higher tensile strength
than Spectra and some marketing blurbs indicate they have a softer feel.

Hee-hee, at least something useful to whitewater boaters is made in the
Netherlands! :-)

Now if only that stuff was for sale in the throwbags that we can buy
here. Haven't found that yet in the paddling stores in the Netherlands. :-(

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

On 8-May-2006, Bill Tuthill wrote:

Spectra and Dyneema are both made of polyethylene, but is that evidence
to indicate they are really "the same thing"?

At the fiber level, yes, since one is simply licensed from the other. At the finished
product level - they may be different, since the manufacturer of the rope will put
in his spec which may be different - different core, different sheath etc. These
things will affect the stretch (static vs dynamic), hand etc.

Sort of like comparing two GoreTex jackets - the GoreTex is the same, but the
jackets can be very different - even the fabric onto which the GoreTex is bonded
can be different.

Mike

Bill Tuthill wrote:
In rec.boats.paddle Brian Nystrom wrote:

In case anyone actually cares, Spectra is the name of product Allied
Signal manufactures in the US under licence from Hoescht-Celanese in
Germany, the manufacturer of Dyneema. They are identical fibers, though
they can be made into a variety of products that may differ widely.


According to the Dyneema website, they are a Dutch company.

http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/hpf/home_dyneema.htm

My mistake.

Spectra and Dyneema are both made of polyethylene, but is that evidence
to indicate they are really "the same thing"?

As I said, it's the same product manufactured in different places.

Specs indicate Dyneema-core ropes have slightly higher tensile strength
than Spectra and some marketing blurbs indicate they have a softer feel.

That's due to the construction of the specific ropes, not to any
difference in the fibers.