Let’s take a closer look at nylon batting cage nets.

What is Nylon?

Nylon is a polyamide invented by the DuPont Corporation in the late 1930’s. Nylon was intended to be a synthetic replacement for silk.

During World War II nylon was substituted for silk in parachutes, ropes, flak vests, vehicle tires, and combat uniforms.

Nylon fibers are used in fabrics, carpets and ropes. Solid nylon is used for mechanical parts and as an engineering material.

Nylon Features

Nylon is stronger than sisal, hemp or cotton. It is also stronger than most Polyethylene.

Nylon has tremendous shock absorption properties. This elasticity gives it tremendous strength.

Nylon stretches before it breaks. Its elasticity makes it an excellent netting choice for use in batting cages.

Our 36 gauge nylon is our most popular batting cage material. You can see a photo below:

Breaking Strength and Abrasion Resistance for Nylon Batting Cage Nets

Breaking Strength is an important feature in the netting industry as a whole. Nylon netting is known for its high break strength. However, when used as a batting cage net, Breaking Strength becomes less important. Because we don’t install our nets tight, the net will rarely, if ever, be tested to its breaking point.

A more important feature to consider when purchasing a net, is abrasion resistance. The spinning ball actually wears the netting down with abrasion and heat.

Nylon has excellent abrasion-resistant characteristics. This results in an excellent material for batting cage nets. When coated in an oil based net coating, like NetSeal, Nylon becomes the longest-lasting material available for batting cage nets.

UV Protection

In its natural state, Nylon is a white fiber. White Nylon must be treated to keep out UV rays. The most common treatment for UV protection is a black dye. All of our baseball nets feature UV protection.

Water Absorption and Resistance for Nylon Batting Cage Nets

Nylon has a Specific Gravity of 1.14. This means that Nylon sinks in water. Why does it sink? Because Nylon absorbs water.

When Nylon is soaked in water, the water molecules penetrate into the polyamide molecules. This causes the fibers to slip and slide. This sliding motion keeps the fibers from fully locking. Wet Nylon is approximately 10% weaker than dry Nylon.

Consistently water-logged nets lowers the strength of the nylon fibers. This causes the net to deteriorate quicker.

All of our Nylon nets ship standard with a 10% Resin Bonding Coat. This Resin Bonding Coat makes Nylon an acceptable material for use in an outdoor batting cage net. The Resin Bonding Coat helps prevent rapid water absorption.

To make your Nylon net water-resistant in the long-term, be sure to add NetSeal. NetSeal is a latex dip that can be added to any nylon net for an additional cost.