The thesis work explored the effect of fabric construction and amount of polyurethane (PU) coating on tear strength of fabrics suitable for outdoor products. The tear strength of two types of fabric constructions were analysed: plain weave and ripstop weave. Testing was performed on uncoated fabrics as well as coated fabrics, with one layer of PU coating and two layers of PU coating, as an added amount of PU coating gives increased water resistance. The overall pattern of the data illustrated, that coating affected the tear strength of the test samples negatively. The tear strength of the samples decreased as the amount of PU coating increased. The decrease in tear strength, is parallel to the findings from existing literature, and is a result of the coating limiting the yarn mobility. The greatest decrease in tear strength were found between the uncoated fabric samples and the coated fabric samples with one layer of PU coating. The results suggested that the first layer of PU coating, that seeped into the pores of the textile substrate, had the greatest effect on yarn mobility. Moreover, the plain weave fabrics displayed higher tear strengths than the ripstop weave fabrics, as the plain weave fabrics were manufactured with a yarn with a higher denier. To further understand the effect of fabric construction on tear strength, several parameters were examined, including porosity, pore size and flexural rigidity. The plain weave fabric showed a larger porosity than the ripstop weave fabric, and it was assumed that coting penetrated the plain weave fabric deeper. In addition, the application of coating caused an increase in flexural rigidity of both fabric constructions. Generally, the increase in flexural rigidity correlated with the decrease in tear strength, as the inflexible structure limited the yarn mobility.