So after some reading around today, I discovered that it is possible to upgrade clothing to incorporate ballistic weave. As somebody who finds power armor to be a bit bulky and unwieldy and not at all flattering to my figure, I love the idea of being able to upgrade clothing for better protection.
According to this question by k0pernikus, Fallout 4 does have a point of no return, past which certain faction quests will be unavailable. Additionally, according to an answer to another question, this ballistic weave upgrade is only available via a quest from the Railroad faction quest line. Unfortunately, I really couldn't care less about Synths and don't want to join the Railroad for the end game.
So my question is this: if I go down the Railroad quest route far enough to obtain the ballistic weave mod, will I pass a point of no return?
Best Answer
Yes, you can get ballistic weave without aligning with the Railroad past the point of no return. Based on my experience and the Fallout Wiki page on Ballistic Weave, you have to complete two quests (Boston After Dark from Dr. Carrington and Mercer Safehouse from P.A.M.) to unlock the Railroad radiant quest, "Jackpot: {Location}".
The Jackpot quests are given by P.A.M. There are three locations these quests can send you to.
After finishing one of these quests, you might be prompted to talk to Tinker Tom about Ballistic Fiber technology found in the cache you recovered. If not, you'll have to continue with the next Jackpot quest.
Most importantly, all of these quests are available before alignment needs to be chosen. The only quest of this chain that actually had any true Railroad story or impact is Boston After Dark (and the prerequisite quest, Tradecraft). Mercer Safehouse is a simple settlement establishment quest, and Jackpot quests are radiant fetch quests.