Best Widely Available FRS on the Market?

------------------
Originally posted by DarkReazon
you do NOT want to be carrying wet clothes. They get damn heavy, and cotton takes FOREVER to dry out. I would invest in gortex and other synthetics that dry out very quickly ... Get a "camp towel" basically it is like a chammy (sp?) they wring out almost completely dry and take up little space/weight.Regards,
------------------

Shaun,
Thanks for the review and the tip to get a Camp Towel. Sounds like it's a nice improvement to the "do it all" cotton bandana I've always used as a washcloth & so many other things around camp.

And speaking of cotton, you're right --- cotton is a poor choice for an outdoor fabric. It's not water-proof/-resistant, poor wind blocking, too absorbant, and not very stretchy when its wet (e.g. binds against the skin when you try to move). It absorbs & holds water next to your skin, leading to higher heat loss from your body trying to heat that water. For just about every outdoor fabric criteria there is a better alternative fabric. One thing in cotton's favor though is that it is more fire resistant than nylon fabrics.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but the point is important enough to tediously repeat. The trick to outdoor clothing is wearing your clothes in layers. The minimal system is usually three layers:
1. a lightweight "Water Transport" layer next to your skin to keep your skin surface as dry as possible (Capilene, polypro)
2. a breathable "Warmth" insulative layer to seperate your skin from colder outside air (goose down, Primaloft & other synthetic fiber stuffing, polar fleece, Lamilite from Wiggys.com)
3. a durable outer "Weather" layer to keep out wind and rain (Goretex & its imitators, coated nylon)

For the insulative layer, I really like the Bivvy Wear jacket & pants I got from Brigade Quartermaster for about $60 per piece. (review link below) Extraordinary wind blockage from a lightweight, minimally absorbant ripstop nylon outer fabric holding in very effective unbonded synthetic fiber insulation (DuPont Thermolite Micro). However, you have to be willing to put up with the fashion statement made by its OD color. ;) Of course, for some of us its color is a positive.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=236404

The only concerns I have about the Bivvy Wear jacket & pants are:
1. Being nylon, they are flamable & susceptible to embers burning holes in them easily.
2. The pants are pretty blousy around the ankles for hiking in them.
3. The outer fabric of both pieces is pretty thin, so I worry about a branch snag tearing it (although it hasn't happened yet).

Hiking in the pants is a actually a pretty minor concern for me. Trail-tramping warms my legs up pretty quickly so I don't need insulation on them for long, if at all. My preferred hiking long pants are polypro longjohn bottoms topped with either running shorts (non-existent weight- & space-wise in the pack) or water shorts. This allows wind to circulate through the fabric weave to cool my legs and transports rain/dew/sweat off my leg's skin surface. If there is heavy brush to be dealt with, I'll use my nylon-outer rain pants.

Also sounds like to lower your pack weight you could use some of the info found on the lightweight and ultra-lightweight backpacking sites around the web. A search engine will get you a ton of hits. If you want to get obsessive about shaving fractions of an ounce from your pack weight, here's a good site to start with: http://www.datasync.com/~wksmith/welcome.html

Thx again, -- Greg --
 
RokJok,

Thanks for the tips, I'll add them to my notes (seriously!). I try to keep track of ways to improve my performance/efficiency. In terms of trimming weight, there are a few things I didn't use (eg. Leatherman WAVE, bag of zipties) but I would still bring them with me next time, in the event I needed it they would be very valuable. The largest impact on my weight was compensating for my friend with his partially sprained ankle. I find it amazing the difference 10 lbs can make! With my pack at around 60-65lbs it was almost comfortable, at 70-75lbs it was intolerable!

I'll look into the Bivy Wear.

Shaun.
 
I live in Savannah and that store helped me pick good gear, it closed suddenly and I wondered what happened to the people that worked there.
 
Yep, she (owner) comes from a line of outdoors types, knows her stuff. Her mother thru hiked the Appalaichin over a period of years, and built a cabin miles from the nearest road in Bumfuk. They had (maybe still do) a group of women from across U.S. called the WetBees that would do a wilderness outing every year, of which my mom was a member. She had some family issues and had to liquidate. She now is the best swimming coach in Savannah. I don't know about her employees. That's a good crowd.
 
I didn't know she was still in Savannah, a coworkers daughter was one of her swimming students and the last we talked (which was quite awhile ago) she hadn't seen her. I figured she excaped from Savannah. There are other stores around here but the staff isn't as knowledgable as WO. staff.
 
Back
Top