WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default Gortex/Polartec tested today...

    Got up this morning to go offshore fishing, We left the dock to go about five miles out and I thought it would be a good idea to test the gear in the wind. 33 degrees at 6:30 and a water temp of 47 with winds above 15 miles per hour....

    yea cold!

    The surprise was how blatant the cold got to my back and shoulders - I am thinking all the gear did well except by keeping my back to the wind I got more chilled there than anywhere else... Yes I was layered - had a Under Armour on.

    So now I am thinking if I take fleese from a blanket (cut it up) and sew an additional panel into the back on the inside of the North Face jacket, to increase the trapping of air...


    Good Idea? or Nuts.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  2. #2

    Default

    Watch the Goretex on salt water. Contact with salt water can contaminate the membrane and cause it to leak.

    Just wear an extra fleece vest to keep your back warmer.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  3. #3

    Default

    I am not sure how active you were fishing which makes a big difference. If you are not expending a lot of calories and perspiring, vapor transmisable coating like goretex does move vapor but once the level of exertion increases, most of the fabrics dont move enough vapor and anything inside them gets damp quickly. Fleece or wool is a lot better than cotton but they still feel less effective when damp. Arguably in windy conditions like you may have experienced where you werent working hard, the goretex may be too effective in that the body wants to maintain a certain microclimate on the skin surface and the wind along with goretex may have been sucking away too much moisture causing your body to work harder to keep you warmer (evaporative cooling was happening).

    The rescue folks in the whites will use vapor barrier clothing in extreme winter conditions where they are basically wearing a plastic liner up against their skin so they dont lose too much moisture to the surroundings.

    For hiking I suggest more removable layers instead of a sewn in liner and really good pit zips for ventilation.

    Of course the AMC winter method is to hike very slowly and stop frequently to add or subtract clothes, great if you are on a nature walk but not very good when trying to bag a summit during a day with minimal daylight.

  4. #4

    Default

    I like Tinkers idea,but only in that it requires no effort......except to buy it and put it on.

  5. #5
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-22-2002
    Location
    Winston-Salem, NC
    Age
    61
    Posts
    7,937
    Images
    296

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    So now I am thinking if I take fleese from a blanket (cut it up) and sew an additional panel into the back on the inside of the North Face jacket, to increase the trapping of air...
    Nuts. Your pack provides more insulation than you will ever need for hiking. For around camp, under those conditions, a puffy jacket does a lot better than a fleece/shell combo.
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bigcranky View Post
    Nuts. Your pack provides more insulation than you will ever need for hiking. For around camp, under those conditions, a puffy jacket does a lot better than a fleece/shell combo.
    I'm not sure whether he's looking for solutions for backpacking, offshore fishing, or just some generic advice.
    You are totally correct on the pack providing insulation for your back.
    Ray Jardine (sometimes referred to as "The Father of Ultralight Hiking") was a proponent of putting on your jacket backwards while you were wearing your pack, figuring that your back was already windproofed and insulated. Logical but different.
    In camp (or while fishing at sea) a puffy layer is the best option because it creates dead air space by way of loft. I have several cheap Salvation Army poly filled jackets which fill the bill for most outdoor activities requiring insulation - but they are heavy and bulky and don't have nearly as much flexibility as a fleece (pick the weight of fabric best for the temperatures expected) and windshell system. Waterproof fabrics are fine for breaking the wind as long as you are stationary. Once underway with a pack, hiking uphill, the sweating starts and the wearer gets wet from the inside.
    I gave away my Gore-tex mountaineering jacket last week after reconditioning it with Nikwax products. I hope my son likes it for around town use.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  7. #7
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bigcranky View Post
    Nuts. Your pack provides more insulation than you will ever need for hiking. For around camp, under those conditions, a puffy jacket does a lot better than a fleece/shell combo.
    Yea Check - have that....
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  8. #8
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default

    generic advice solved why it happened the next day - appears I sweat more thru my back than ....tmi..... so I am going to tape a piece into the liner and see how well it works - just a thinner piece.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  9. #9

    Default

    Ya know,now you got me thinking,My light jacket which uses primaloft one for inslation is very warm,except in the top of the shoulder area,after the jaket has been on awhile and then settles.I'm think'in a small strip of fleese across the upper back and shoulder may prove to be just the right thing.Good think'in WOO.thanks for muse.

++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •