This Revolutionary Fabric Ditches Harmful Chemicals For a Cleaner Camping Experience

Big Agnes delivers a breakthrough, standard-setting outdoor fabric that benefits both camper and campsite.

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By Hayley Helms

Published January 4, 2026

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In recent years, greater attention has been given to PFAS – a class of “forever chemicals” used in outdoor gear that, while useful for waterproofing and overall durability, have been linked to devastating effects on human health and the environment.

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While some brands have begun to move away from PFAS, Big Agnes’ new HyperBead fabric was perhaps the biggest step forward in moving away from forever chemicals … forever.

Orange camping tent pitched on rocky terrain with two people, one inside the tent and one sitting outside with a map. — HyperBead aims to eliminate nasty chemicals from the camping experience, one tent at a time.

HyperBead is a new, proprietary waterproofing technology that, according to Big Agnes, is 25 percent more waterproof, 50-100 percent stronger and six percent lighter than traditional tent fabrics.

It also features “improved dimensional stability” which is a fancy way of saying HyperBead prevents sagging or fabric distortion, even under a heavy load.

Light blue dome tent pitched on rocky ground with a person sitting inside near green shrubs and a mountain. — Eliminating forever chemicals from the wild places we love is a goal all outdoor enthusiasts can get behind.

HyperBead is special because it achieves all of this innovation without the use of intentionally added PFAS, or any DWR coatings at all. Because it doesn’t rely on a coating to waterproof its material, HyperBead never needs to be re-waterproofed to continue effectively warding off moisture over the long haul.

As of now, HyperBead has appeared in a collection of camping tents — but if it proves to be as effective as Big Agnes claims, we could be seeing it everywhere from sleeping bags to ski shells in the future.