Packing Kydex Back Plate- Flexibility

[divesergeant]

Hi Tobin,

I'm eying a carry-on I have and wonder if I can fit the back plate in. My back plate is about 1" wider than the pack I want to put it into, so it would be flexed a bit. Will a day of being flexed in the pack while I travel cause any harm to the kydex? I'm imagining not, but...never hurts to ask!

Cheers!

 

[cool_hardware52]

While I have no way of exactly replicating your circumstances I would have very few concerns.

Kydex is very tough, meaning it will absorb a lot of stress without failure. Widely used for the interiors of commercial aircraft, and of course gun and knife holsters.

If you managed to flex your plate, *and* expose it to temperatures above ~250-275F you could reform it to a new shape. Typical forming temps are quite a bit higher, but it does soften below the recommended "working" temps. Kydex is after a thermoplastic.

Packing it slightly flexed should not be a problem.

Enjoy your trip.

Tobin

 

[divesergeant]

Thanks Tobin! It looks like I might get to sneak down to Grand Cayman for a quick trip with my brother and a few other divers, and am trying to travel light and not have any checked baggage. This should help.

Cheers!