Category 6A Shielded Outdoor Dual Jacket Cable

The dual jacket design provides two durable layers of mechanical and environmental protection. The inner polyolefin jacket protects the shielded cable core during installation handling, while the outer rugged polyolefin jacket serves as the primary barrier against moisture, UV exposure, and physical abrasion in permanently outdoor or underground environments.

This EMI shielding cable jacket separation also makes stripping the outer jacket at transitions cleaner and more reliable.

For Cat6A direct burial cable applications or electrical cable underground conduit runs, this dual-layer construction is ideal for making your project future-proof.

The non-conductive water-blocking gel fills the cable core to prevent moisture migration along the cable length in the event of a jacket breach, a critical feature for electrical cable, underground conduit, and direct burial applications. When you terminate, the gel should be thoroughly cleaned from the conductors and shield using isopropyl alcohol before installing connectors or patch panels. Gel-filled Ethernet cables require slightly more prep time at termination points compared to dry-core Ethernet cables.

As a general guideline for shielded Cat6A cables of this construction, the minimum bend radius capable during installation is typically 8x the cable’s outer diameter, and 4x the outer diameter for a fixed/installed position. The exact outer diameter and corresponding bend radius values are provided in the product data sheet. Exceeding the bend radius can compromise the foil shield’s continuity and degrade alien crosstalk performance.

Yes. The polyester-backed aluminum foil shield functions as an EMI shielding cable jacket and is only effective when properly grounded at both ends of the link, or at a minimum, at the distribution/equipment end. Grounding should be done through the shielded patch panel or the keystone jack’s grounding lug, bonded to a suitable equipment ground. Floating, ungrounded shields can actually worsen noise performance by acting as an antenna. Refer to ANSI/TIA-607 for structured cabling grounding and bonding best practices.

The aramid yarns (Kevlar®) serve as a strength member to resist tensile stress during pulling and lashed aerial applications. They provide extra protection for the cable core, preventing it from stretching under load. During termination, the aramid yarns should be trimmed back cleanly with scissors or a cable cutter; they are not connected to the shield or connector hardware.

The product highlights list “lashed aerial” as a supported installation method, alongside Cat6A direct burial cable and electrical cable underground conduit use cases. This means the cable can be bound to a separate messenger wire or strand that carries the mechanical load. The category 6A shielded cable is not self-supporting and should not be span-hung without a messenger wire. For self-supporting aerial runs, a figure-8 (messenger-integral) cable design would be required instead.