Snow gear no longer water resistant.

[stevekt]

I have a snowboard jacket and pants that seem to have lost its ability to repel water. After 3 minutes in the snow they already feel wet. Can I Scotchguard these items? Is there another over the counter product that I can use? Do dry cleaners have this type of service?

 

[grnamin]

I wouldn't take my snowboarding jacket and pants to regular dry cleaners. Wouldn't trust anyone not specifically equipped and trained to handle outerwear with my gear. I personally use either Revivex or Nikwax TX Direct, both the spray-on version, not the wash-in ones. I learned a hard lesson with the wash-in one, specifically the Nikwax verson. I treated my jacket with it, then went on two snowboarding trips. Both times, the jacket wouldn't breath at all. I may as well have been wearing one of those Army-issue vinyl rain jackets. My sweat passed through my polypro shirt, my softshell, and then stopped inside my jacket. Had to wipe it down. Ended up washing the jacket with Nikwax Tech Wash and then drying it in a dryer again. Breathes a lot better now.

If you don't want to restore the DWR yourself, there's an outfit called Rainy Pass that can do it for you. They repaired a hole in my Goretex jacket like it was done by the factory. They're an authorized repair center for some gear manufacturers.

 

[maximus otter]

Another vote for Nikwax.

I have used many of their products and have always been satisfied with the results.

maximus otter