Tube materials

[Dan Gurney]

ok, so I know from reading on here that hypalon > pvc, but whats the story with PU? There;s an XS that I might be interested in when my ship comes in, but I just read that all XS ribs are made in PU.

[jyasaki]

PU is supposed to be more durable than PVC, and is weldable (meaning manufacture can be automated - something you can't do with hypalon.)

Wing (a US tube manufacturer) has their blurb on PU here:
Why Polyurethane | Wing® Inflatables

jky

[Daniel]

It's ok, but suffers worse in uv than hypalon plus isn't as easy to repair. It can however be repaired and is superior to PVC.

Tornado, then XS are the big PU people: they will tell you it's superior to hypalon, but then they would, wouldn't they.

In good nick it wouldn't put me off.

[Phil M]

XS use hypalon and PU and the choice is a no cost option. It may well by hypalon boat.

Phil