Why isn't nylon as strong as kevlar?
Kevlar is an A,B co-polymer where the monomers are terephthalic acid and 1,4-diaminobenzene. The amide linkage, together with the aromatic rings in the polymer, makes a very rigid polymeric structure that stacks the chains in an organized way, maximizing the effectiveness of hydrogen bonding between amide linkages, together with pi-stacking of the rings:

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8005/8005olympics.html

The chains form sheets that stack together along the axis of the fiber. In order for projectiles to break these fibers, these strong, inter-strand attractions must be overcome.

Standard Nylon is a similar polymer, where the aromatic moieties are replaced by aliphatic chains. These are much more flexible and give more degrees of freedom to the polymer chains. This results in a more random arrangement of chains that still hydrogen bond, but not in such an organized way, giving a weaker fiber.


https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305313239_Nylon_66_Nonwoven_Fabric_Separates_Oil_Contaminates_from_Oil-in-Water_Emulsions