RokJok
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2000
- Messages
- 4,201
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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,
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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 --
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.

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 --