This is the travelblog of Cyril Ducau and Niccolo Manno on their adventure from London (Cyril), Munich (Niccolo) to Hong Kong on motorbikes.
It took us short of 3 months to do 20,000km on bikes, trains and planes. We crossed the following countries together:

Austria - Italy - Slovenia - Croatia - Serbia - Bulgaria - Turkey - Georgia - Azerbaijan - Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan - Kyrgyzstan - Kazakhstan - Russia - Mongolia - China - Hong Kong

On this site you will find some info on both of us, our bikes, some of our friendly helpers in Hong Kong and London and loads of pictures on our trip. 

Latest top picture

Latest top picture
Thanks for watching our blog - Enjoy as we did it!

Our path

Our path
Click picture to download Google Earth kmz file !

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Cordura Nylon vs. Cotton Duck: Analyzing Abrasion and Thermal Failure

Choosing between Cordura and Canvas Duck requires analyzing how each material fails under stress. As your fabric supplier, we knows that Cordura (Nylon 6.6) excels at resisting abrasion and water, making it the superior choice for lightweight tactical gear. Canvas Duck (Cotton), with its plied yarn construction, dominates in heat resistance and breathability, making it mandatory for welders and industrial workwear.

Cordura is an air-jet textured nylon filament designed to slide. In laboratory Wyzenbeek abrasion testing, our 1000 Denier Nylon withstands over 300,000 double rubs. The synthetic filaments refuse to break under friction, whereas natural fibers eventually grind away. This makes nylon the correct specification for motorcycle skid zones or backpack bases. However, this strength comes with a thermal weakness. Nylon is a thermoplastic that melts at approximately 255°C. If you expose it to welding slag or a campfire, it melts and fuses to skin.

Canvas Duck is mechanically distinct from standard canvas due to its 2x2 plied yarn weave. This dense structure, found in our Number 1 Heavyweight Duck, resists punctures and snags better than looser weaves. Critically, cotton is cellulosic. It chars at high heat but never melts. This thermal safety profile is why industrial tradesmen rely on duck cloth. For weather protection, untreated cotton absorbs water, but applying wax transforms it. Our Waxed Canvas Army Duck offers excellent water repellency while developing a rich patina that synthetic 500 Denier Cordura cannot replicate. Synthetics often suffer from hydrolysis and coating failure after a decade, whereas cotton softens and improves with age. If your new gear feels too rigid, our guide on how to soften stiff duck cloth explains how to break it in quickly.

Select Cordura for weight savings and wet environments. Select Canvas Duck for fire safety and breathability. You can compare these textures directly by ordering printed fabric swatches before starting your next project.

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A BIG THANK YOU TO:

Cyril:
- Maddy, the head of our "London HQ", special technical and weather advisor, and because she is simply the best and has been so supportive over the last few months
- My family and friends for their understanding and moral support
- Robert Roe (alias Bob) from Motoselect Franham for preparing the bike with such good care
- Anastasia from thevisacompany for helping me deal with so much red tape
- Claudio von Planta for sharing his valuable experience on Long-way Round and Long-way Down and answering so many of our questions
- Ronnie, Emmanuel and Benjamin for their enthusiast support and precious advise
- The Techtransalp team for their excellent website and advertising our adventure

Niccolo:
- clearly Manon as she has always been supportive of this trip even though this means 3 months without me
- My mother for not giving up on me, for receiving all the parcels at home in Austria and for not freaking out!
- Amy and Steve for pushing over several months to keep focus on the organisation
- Xavier, for trusting me to be in France in June and be his best man at his wedding
- Cyril, for posting our tracks on the blog
- Louis, for looking into getting Continental to sponsor us
- Romain, for getting us the Turkmen visas
- My friends for all telling me "DO IT"!
- Claudio von Planta, Sambor and Maciej for sharing their great experiences on their numerous motorbike trips
- Henry, Yau and Tan from BMW HK for their support with the bike, the preparation and the bike sale
- Yasser, Mark, Michael and Christoph from BMW Munich for their help with all the accessories and the last minute bike purchase
- Bertrand and Alice for your help with the tyres in Almaty