melted synthetics

[petedelisio]

have you had $$$ gear melted in a dryer or on hot asphault?

[peakbagger]

No but they definitely don't do well in front of winter bonfire.

[fastfoxengineering]

Yes i melted my lone peaks on freshly poured steaming hot asphalt somewhere in NJ on a road walk. No way around it.

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[Gambit McCrae]

I work in engineering manufactured plastics....
You pretty much have 3 bases of plastic (their melting points included)
styrene 170-280F
propylene 200-280F
and nylon 220-300F

I could not find any information on radiant temperatures dispersed by a campfire, but I would say that at 3' away from a campfire that 170-220F could be achieved and with this 7-10D nylon on the market, I could certainly see some shrinkage/ warpage taking place on some garments in certain situations. An egg needs a surface temperature of 158F to cook on a sidewalk. That is only a few degrees below the min melting points of several plastic materials. I couldn't find any evidence of concrete achieving higher than 122F but I didn't do a massive research project on it, just simple google work.

[OCDave]

have you had $$$ gear melted in a dryer or on hot asphault?

I am protective of my gear to point of being a bit OCD. None of my technical fabrics see the inside of a dryer. All is air dried either on clothes line or inside on clothes rack. During winter months this drives my wife a bit mad.

[fastfoxengineering]

Lots of quilt manufacturers say that high heat in a dryer can be detrimental the delicate shell fabrics

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[chknfngrs]

melted countless gloves priming those old Peak1 stoves in winter.

[Sarcasm the elf]

melted countless gloves priming those old Peak1 stoves in winter.
Hehe, I switched to wool gloves for almost exactly this reason.

[Leo L.]

Hehe, I switched to wool gloves for almost exactly this reason.
And you know what can easily happen to wool stuff in the hot dryer?

[map man]

I left a pair of Crocs in my car exposed to direct sunlight over a few hot days while I was hiking in Texas (I had meant to put a blanket over them but forgot). When I came back they had shrunk down 3 or 4 sizes and didn't fit anymore.

[Hikes in Rain]

Melted the outer cover of a down bag by trying to fluff it up in too small a dryer with no fluff cycle. Long time ago, but I still remember the shock when I opened the door.

[bighammer]

Back in '91, I took my first solo adventure; a bicycle tour of some of the western states. I had bought a down mummy from Eddie Bauer and after about 6 weeks on the road, it was in need of some washing, so I stopped at a laundromat. I had read about how to wash down and all the suggestions and precautions for handling the heavy mass, etc. The washing part went fine, but the dryer just had a coin slot and no temp setting. I ran it just a bit too long and it nearly melted the outer shell in a few places. It looked a little darker than the rest and felt stiffer. If you really bent it, it would crack open.

I finished my trip and called Eddie Bauer when I returned home. I was hoping that maybe they could salvage the down and the zipper and put it all together with a new shell for a reasonable price. Even though I told them it was clearly my screw-up and I was willing to pay for the repair, they just sent me a brand new bag, no charge, no questions.:eek:




I left a pair of Crocs in my car exposed to direct sunlight over a few hot days while I was hiking in Texas (I had meant to put a blanket over them but forgot). When I came back they had shrunk down 3 or 4 sizes and didn't fit anymore.

A blanket wouldn't help, it was the heat of the car that made them shrink. Basically, they're made of foam. The excessive heat expands the trapped gases inside and some escapes, but doesn't return when they cool.

[Colter]

On the PCT a clothes dryer melted a big hole in my one and only (nylon) hiking shirt. I told the laundry owner the dryer was too hot and melted my shirt and he said that a lot of people had reported the same problem.

[Feral Bill]

I air dry all synthetics. It's an easy preventative. Down gear gets tumble dried with little or no heat. Takes a while.

[MuddyWaters]

Polypropylene underwear was very popular in 80s-early 90s.

Its very light and very warm. Cozy soft when new.

But it pilled bad , melted in clothes dryers, and smelled pretty bad too. Also decomposed and got tacky and stretched out and lost shape with age. Thats why you dont see it no mores. At least not 100%.

I ruined some $$$ underwear back then in dryer. I had some expedition wt patagonia polypro in 1984, cost $90 then.....melted in dryer. That would be like $300 today.

[moldy]

I once leaked a teaspoon of 100% deet on a tent and it melted a big hole in it.

[LittleTim]

No but they definitely don't do well in front of winter bonfire.

And that's the wonderful difference between radiant heat and infrared heat. Infrared heats the surface of objects within a direct sight line of the source (hot coals), and depending on environmental circumstances plus the material that's absorbing the heat plus the texture of the material, all effect how hot that surface gets.
Give Youtube a quick search for supershelters to see how these characteristics can be taken advantage of for a winter camp, if you're willing to maintain a little bed of coals through the night.

[blw2]

I work in engineering manufactured plastics....
You pretty much have 3 bases of plastic (their melting points included)
styrene 170-280F
propylene 200-280F
and nylon 220-300F

I could not find any information on radiant temperatures dispersed by a campfire, but I would say that at 3' away from a campfire that 170-220F could be achieved and with this 7-10D nylon on the market, I could certainly see some shrinkage/ warpage taking place on some garments in certain situations. An egg needs a surface temperature of 158F to cook on a sidewalk. That is only a few degrees below the min melting points of several plastic materials. I couldn't find any evidence of concrete achieving higher than 122F but I didn't do a massive research project on it, just simple google work.

any idea the melting point for dynema?

[Dogwood]

I left a pair of Crocs in my car exposed to direct sunlight over a few hot days while I was hiking in Texas (I had meant to put a blanket over them but forgot). When I came back they had shrunk down 3 or 4 sizes and didn't fit anymore.

LOL. The Incredible Shrinking MapMan. :)


I left a rolled up Tyvek cowboy sized groundsheet that was carefully cut to size in the trunk of a car during the summer over a wk. When I went to use it it had become 7" narrower and from 90" long to less than 80". Worse it became a stiff unfoldable hard sheet. I wonder where it went? :)

[Kaptainkriz]

LoL "got tacky and stretched out and lost shape with age" - sounds like me....:o

[shelb]

melted countless gloves priming those old Peak1 stoves in winter.

Agreed. Gloves are a big problem in the dryer. I now only handwash and line dry...

[Dogwood]

I melted together at the tag ends shoe laces sitting too close to a campfire too long at a 'safety meeting.' Funny when I stood up and tried to move. I could not untie the laces. I cut them apart to get the shoes off. ;)

Don't high dryer heat merino wool shirts, beanies, gloves or thermal bottoms NO MATTER what anyones says otherwise...especially any male hiker in a rush to get to Last Call at the Iron Horse Station Bar in Hot Springs. Be extremely careful you don't delaminate or destroy the performance or partially melt rain jackets with heat. I partially melted a Marmot Precip Rain Jacket in the dryer creating a fist size hole in the side. I've removed melted together socks from the dryer usually glued together at the elastic? cuff. Pulling apart ruins the socks. Melted shoe parts attempting to quick dry in the dryer. I've never machine dried DCF gear! I've melted/softened shoe soles on hard surfaces like asphalt and hardened lava. Damage can occur even though not fully melted. I don't immediately recall on what hike it was but one beach section the sand was so hot it partially melted the sole of the sandals I was wearing.

[Dogwood]

I would not attempt to machine dry a ZP's bag because it has thin DCF baffling.

[Leo L.]

...Melted shoe parts attempting to quick dry in the dryer...
A spin dryer would be perfect for shoes.

[Gambit McCrae]

any idea the melting point for dynema?

Dyneema, Spectra and Dynex are all the same thing.
Basically different brand names for UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene), which has a melting temperature of around 293 °F

[Tipi Walter]

Polypropylene underwear was very popular in 80s-early 90s.

Its very light and very warm. Cozy soft when new.

But it pilled bad , melted in clothes dryers, and smelled pretty bad too. Also decomposed and got tacky and stretched out and lost shape with age. Thats why you dont see it no mores. At least not 100%.

I ruined some $$$ underwear back then in dryer. I had some expedition wt patagonia polypro in 1984, cost $90 then.....melted in dryer. That would be like $300 today.

That old blue polypropylene---we all wore it back in the early 1980s---and I melted several pairs attempting to dry them at laundry mats. I'm trying to remember who made them? What brands??

I got a vintage pic of me inside my Tipi back in the early 1980s wearing what appears to be a new pair of blue polypropylene leggings. I lived in the things.

44436

[illabelle]

I'm beginning to think that "Tipi" should rhyme with "hippie."
:)


That old blue polypropylene---we all wore it back in the early 1980s---and I melted several pairs attempting to dry them at laundry mats. I'm trying to remember who made them? What brands??

I got a vintage pic of me inside my Tipi back in the early 1980s wearing what appears to be a new pair of blue polypropylene leggings. I lived in the things.

44436

[Miner]

I have melted small holes around the ankle part of my synthetic hiking pants from having them too close to an electric heater while sitting on a chair trying to warm up. Didn't even think about it despite knowing better than to do something like that next to a real fire. Non of my gear has ever had any problems in commercial driers on high, but they usually are in with a lot of other coton clothes which I think helps keep the heat from concentrating on them. If I'm just drying synthetic clothes by themselves (which means a small load), I do keep the heat turned down as per the instructions.

[Dogwood]

John Lennon lives.