: My options:
: 1) Company A: $23/m, Centex brand, 19 ounce
: 2) Company B: $14.14/m, 18 ounce
: 3) Company C: $10.50/m, 18 ounce

Don't know how much help this will be, but when I purchased mine the sales people told me there were two types. Regular and Rip-Stop. There was a difference in price, but not near as dramatic as you have gotten. The Rip-Stop was actually cheaper at the time, but they explained that this was because it was new and experimental and the price was low to draw new customers. They figured that once it started selling the price would go up.

They were listed as 18oz. and 18.? something oz.
The difference that I could see was extra threads in the texture. The normal 18oz. vinyl has two thread directions, in a crossing pattern. The Rip-Stop has 3 thread directions. The normal crossing pattern, using slightly smaller threads, but also a diagonal pattern. All the threads were smaller, but at a higher count per inch.

We ( the sales people and I ) took some pliers and pulled on a cut in both fabrics. The standard vinyl we were able to tear further. The Rip-Stop would not tear with both of us pulling on it.

The texture on the Rip-Stop is finer on the backside. Not sure if that makes any difference.

It's been a year since I picked up mine, but I bought 150 yds of the Rip-Stop for my two projects. It's been Very easy to work with, One project is nearing completion, so I can start on the second ( Yost Folder ).

My guess would be that the higher priced fabric you are seeing is the Rip-Stop fabric. They predicted last year that it would be several $$$'s higher than the normal vinyl when it finally gained popularity. The truckers around this area are using it extensively for their tarps. I don't think that you would need it for use on a Folder. I had a bigger project in mind and at the time, the price was lower than the regular vinyl so I went with it..

As for the fading colors, I was told that all the bright colors will fade with time and exposure to the sun. ( Red, Blue, Yellow, Green )

Don't know if this helped you any.... ?? Might explain the large difference in prices.

Rehd