Clothing Question

Demonical

Demonical

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Whitecourt, Alberta
I bought a jacket, which is supposedly waterproof + breathable. But when I wore it hiking, the thing is terrible; not breathable at all. My (cotton) shirt that I was wearing was absolutely soaked. The insides of the jacket were wet. Happened both times I wore it. I've got to figure out something to wear underneath it, or it's useless.

Question: What is the best stuff to wear, to wick moisture away and absorb it, so the jacket doesn't get soaked, and my shirt(s) don't get wet either? What about layering, like polypropylene, cotton, wool etc... ?
 
Waterproof and breathable are almost an oxymoron. Sure there is some breathability with waterproof garments but it's not much especially when you are involved in strenuous activity. That said, moisture wicking begins with the base layer and cotton is the worst possible choice. Start with a good synthetic base layer and work up from there. If one of the garments in the chain doesn't wick moisture.....it all becomes useless.
 
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Last year I switched to Merino wool for my base layer, and it has been quite good. It breathes quite well, and does not absorb moisture the same as cotton. There's a reason towels are made out of cotton, and that's because it absorbs and holds onto a lot of moisture. Great for dishcloths, not so much for your underwear.

For cold weather use, I found that I felt cooler by default, but didn't quite get as cold as I was while wearing the cotton Stanfields. It's a little deceptive, because I kind of thought "This is crap, I feel cold even just sitting in the house." but that changed the first time I went outside.

That said, I was wearing the Icebreaker brand, and I got about 70 days of use out of the pants and two pairs of socks before I was wearing them thin enough to get holes. At about $100 for the pants, and $20 for the socks, I'll leave it up to you to determine if the cost to performance balances out. That was 70 days of walking 3-10 kilometers per day, which will put the hurting on the crotch of anything.

If you're going to be active, you have to dress accordingly, and that might mean you're floating somewhere around "cold" and "freezing" if you spend any significant amount of time sitting around. For me, I spent quite a bit of time with my wool jacket unbuttoned to get some airflow going so I wouldn't sweat too much. Aim for a little bit on the side of chilly at idle, and you can usually compensate while active without too much trouble.

Now if you will be spending more time at idle, such as if you're the sorry bugger directing traffic in the winter, or sitting in a treestand, you'll probably want to aim for the warmer side of things as you might not have opportunity to do jumping jacks or something to build up heat. You can always strap your jacket to your pack and carry it out with you.
 
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as in the military, you wear a rain coat and sweat getting soaked, or you don't wear a rain coat and get rained on. Oh the misery.

find a jacket with arm pit slits that unzip those are fantastic
 
wearing cotton under a breatheable garment..... defeats the purpose. think of cotton as a sponge when it comes to moisture, it will trap and hold sweat, regardless of the outer layer.
 
Grizzly Adams said:
Thought Gortex was the miracle fabric for this ? Too expensive for this cowboy. ;)

Grizz
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To allow Gore-Tex to breathe, you have to have a water repellant outer layer, otherwise the laminate pores become clogged and don't allow your body to "breathe", hence the inside becomes wet. Most people think the Gore Tex has failed and is allowing water through, but that's not so. This is how it was explained to me first hand from someone in the hunting garment industry.
 
Gortex needs to be very clean to breath and to maintain its waterproofness. It should be washed often and dried in a hot dryer. It is much more breathable than a rubber suit but it's still a waterproof membrane so it can only allow so much moisture to escape. Some people think it should breath like they have nothing on but that's ridiculous. It is still the best waterproof membrane I've used and yes it does breath, especially if you layer properly underneath. There are some other breathable options out there and pretty well any serious mountain hunter has a rain suit made from one of them.
 
I wear a light fleece sweater and long johns next to my skin, however this is during the colder temperatures of November. Polypropylene would be your best bet during the warmer times of hunting in September and October. Both materials dry very quickly when turned inside out and hung on tree limbs.
 
While in the bush, a snow storm, pouring rain I wear Carhartt. Heck, I wear a water proof, breathable Carhartt shell over my leathers when riding through a rain storm. I figure if Hydro line workers and contractors could wear them while working, I could wear them while at play. I paid $250 for my Carhartt jacket and I have worn it almost everyday for the past five years during the hunting and skiing season. I throw also it on the back of the motorcycle when I anticipate rain. During the winter I layer up with the addition of winter construction insulated overalls and a sheep skin jacket under the shell. -40, bring it on!
 
Ive had no luck with Gortex, I have a pair of rain pants that I use on my bike, if I'm in heavy rain it still soaks through after a few minutes. Two fellas at the camp had Gortex boots and their feet still got wet.
 
Magellann said:
Ive had no luck with Gortex, I have a pair of rain pants that I use on my bike, if I'm in heavy rain it still soaks through after a few minutes. .
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When is the last time you washed and dried them in a hot dryer? Road grime is brutal on them.
 
I went on a website of one of the big stores for work clothing; they advertise several different styles/brands all claiming to be 'dry' fabric, that wicks away water. I see pretty much the same stuff at WSS & Cabelas. They all sound the same; crapshoot I guess...

I think I'll scope out the local work wear stores and see what they've got. Start there, then maybe look at the hunting retailers.
 
Magellann said:
Ive had no luck with Gortex, I have a pair of rain pants that I use on my bike, if I'm in heavy rain it still soaks through after a few minutes. Two fellas at the camp had Gortex boots and their feet still got wet.
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I've heard that goretex also suffers when pressed against a wet surface with force, something like 70 foot pounds which is why you might be getting wet while sitting on the bike. Maybe that's just an internet rumour though.
 
Personally, I'd check out some of the more serious mountaineering type stores if you want some really high quality rain gear that breathes. Gortex doesn't make their own clothing, it is just a membrane licenced to and used by many manufacturers....some use it in high quality rain gear and others don't....same with boots.
 
Stevebot-7 said:
I've heard that goretex also suffers when pressed against a wet surface with force, something like 70 foot pounds which is why you might be getting wet while sitting on the bike. Maybe that's just an internet rumour though.
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I have heard the same thing about Goretex and DWR treated fabrics... In the end, if you are spending time kneeling in or sitting wet conditions the only thing that will keep you dry is rubber, or PVC work rain gear like Helly Henson Eriksens like the fishermen wear back home. The HH Eriksens is the stuff my father has worn for damn near 30 years and swears by for durability and cost, I remember wearing his 3 years old hand me downs and the only problem being a hole from a sharp end on a wire trap.
 
Stevebot-7 said:
I've heard that goretex also suffers when pressed against a wet surface with force, something like 70 foot pounds which is why you might be getting wet while sitting on the bike. Maybe that's just an internet rumour though.
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Gore Tex is PTFE, or like Teflon tape that plumbers use, nothing more. It's very fragile, so it has to be sandwiched between layers of fabric. A great deal of it's effectiveness has to do with the quality and type of fabric used around it.
 
OP, sounds to me like your garment, if not completely phoney or defective, is just too warm for what you're doing. The lesson is to take it off when you're exerting yourself and save it for when you stop or slow down, or for when it gets cold enough. Many such items are made with strategically placed zippers to ventilate moist air out, particularly under the arms, and of course almost all of them have a zipper front and you have to learn to play with those to stay dry inside. You may find any front pockets can be opened to provide similar ventilation as well, a 'hidden' feature on some of the parkas I own. And cotton is always a bad idea unless you actually want something to cool you off on a hot day.
 
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