View Full Version : Insultex
Insultex compared to Thinsulate (http://www.insultex.com/index2.html)
a comment in Hammock Forums:
TeeDee, When I was investigating the stuff over a year back, I found that ice fishermen that have the Arctic Armour swear by the suits. I found ice fishermen that wear minimal clothing under the suits down to the single digits and that is just sitting around. Hunters also. The hunters like the camo versions. Ice fishermen like the bright red. Called vendors and asked if the stuff I was reading and seeing was true. They swore it was and referred me to people they have sold the suits to. The users swore what I was reading and the videos are totally true. The vendors at that time were selling out their inventory on the Arctic Armour suits within days of receiving them and some had it sold before they got it. Consider that the suits then were over $300 each. That was quite a testimonial to the suits effectiveness.
You will notice that the suits the people in the videos wore appeared quite bulky. Two reasons for that:
You have to use suits that are much bigger than you are to keep from pressing the Insultex against the body, and
the outer shell layer of the suits is coated waterproof material. That provides the waterproofness of the suits.
Very interesting fabric, available from "MacEntyre" or from "Stormcrow" at Hammock Forum.
warraghiyagey
05-10-2010, 03:38
Sorry, thought this thread was about insulting an 'ex' . . .
Graywolf
05-10-2010, 10:20
Sorry, thought this thread was about insulting an 'ex' . . .
Yeah, me too...I find this thread a little insulting....
The thread is insulting?
This is the DIY section. This is an highly interesting new fabric.
It is possible to purchase some over at Hammock Forums from MacEntyre or from Storecrow.
What is "insulting" about information about a fabric for backpacking?
Feral Bill
05-10-2010, 14:01
What is "insulting" about information about a fabric for backpacking?
Take another look at the name of the stuff. Perhaps not a high point of the marketers art.
unclemjm
05-10-2010, 14:17
The thread is insulting?
This is the DIY section. This is an highly interesting new fabric.
It is possible to purchase some over at Hammock Forums from MacEntyre or from Storecrow.
What is "insulting" about information about a fabric for backpacking?
Hey Connie - I think the "insult" comments are just a tug of your leg. Misread Insultex = Insult Ex :)
Nevertheless, you are right, there are a number of great threads on Hammock Forums talking about this fabric.
It seems to insulate and compress as well as down in some cases and at a significant cost savings while at the same time not suffering the loss of insulation if it were to get wet.
I think it's great you brought the info here to Whiteblaze - ignore the unappreciative peanut gallery.
jamarshall
05-10-2010, 19:52
I have a sleeping bag made with this material. It sounded really good and I got it cheap, but doesn't breath, so it is not a comfortable bag.
Rather than toss it, in the winter I keep it behind the seat in my truck for emergency use.
I have a sleeping bag made with this material. It sounded really good and I got it cheap, but doesn't breath, so it is not a comfortable bag.
Rather than toss it, in the winter I keep it behind the seat in my truck for emergency use.
So is the material made in a sheet like closed cell foam? Why doesn't it breathe?
jamarshall
05-11-2010, 19:46
I don't know exactly what it looks like since it's inside the sleeping bag, but spending one night in it was enough to know it didn't breath.
idigear.com doesn't have the sleeping bag on their website anymore, so I wasn't the only one who wasn't happy with it.
I have been reading at Hammock Forum, people are using it under their hammock and as top quilt. I have read high praise for it as a lightweight underquilt.
There is discussion that two or more layers give considerably more insulation value, using pleats for separation, and the "surmise" is that layers of air are essential to the insulation value of it.
I am hoping, sent the money, it will be the summer-season underquilt I need for "the southern exposure". I am hoping, combined with a down underquilt, it will be a lightweight and non-bulky system I can easily backpack for "the shoulder season".
Now that you mention it, over there, they are not laying directly on it nor are they fully enclosed in it.
Maybe you could try your sleeping bag as a "peapod" over and under a hammock, providing for breathing of course?
jamarshall
05-12-2010, 18:55
I have a hammock, maybe I'll give it a try as an underquilt. May as well experiment...
I am waiting for mine: a two-layer from MacEntyre at Hammck Forums.
I would love to hear your report.
I have been trying to find out all I can about how people are managing, what temperatures, how much clothing they have on, TQ and UQ, everything I can find out.
I have had a couple of PM's and he says he had a single layer and it is the ideal supplement for his Yeti (UQ), which is itself very lightweight.
He said some people have had them down to 38 F but with what else? I hope he tells me more.
I asked for more particulars.
psyculman
05-13-2010, 06:34
There is a wealth of information here:
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7500
I have a layer of insultex in both my OQ and UQ, and a couple of light duty summer UL over quilts. Insultex does not build up any condensation from "at rest" activity, such as sleeping, or general moving around, but, as mentioned in these posts at HF, will not disipate actual perspiration during strenous exercise. So, it is ok for vaporous water, but not sweaty moisture. It does seep actual liquid water very slowly, but it's actual "waterproofness" is a matter of opinion. IMO it is well worth incorporating in quilts, but I have not used it in clothing items yet. HF has many posts on the material. Multi layer insultex is what is used for ultra cold resistance, but keep in mind it is only a layer, it is not wear resistant enough for outer or inner shell use.
That is a good read. "Search" didn't turn that up: I was wading through pages and pages to find one mention "IX" and that in another context, like, their list of gear or have you tried IX with no answer. I ask questions over there and no one responds. Not like here. Here people make an effort.
I started the thread with the comparison to Thinsulate, a product I like.
My favorite vest is Windstopper, Thinsulate and knit panels down the sides to let moisture of extertion to escape. Eddie Bauer called it their Expedition Vest.
I think what you said "fits" the successful use for gear for ice fishermen. For that reason, this insultex would also benefit hunters in a duck blind.
We are not moving around, asleep in a hammock, nor in a "basha" tarp shelter or bivy.
The ice fishermen gear has a waterproof outer layer of different stuff, and, I see some jackets have neoprene at the wrists.
My interest, of course, is backpacking shelter and warmth-to-weight ratio performance, with examples that include how much other insulative gear did the person use, and how well does it pack: does it compress, fold up small? Is it low volume? How small does it pack?
In other words: real world experience, for backpackers.
jamarshall,
Is this the "sleeping bag" you have? http://www.idigear.com/nballinone.php
jamarshall
05-13-2010, 19:49
file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Owner/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.pngNo, it is an actual mummy style bag rated for 30 degrees, but I was cold and clammy in it at 40. Claims to be made with eliotex, but the description sounds just like the one for insultex. And it was made by idigear. I've had it for at least five years, maybe longer.
It doesn't pack down real small, bigger than a football, smaller than a basketball :)
jamarshall
05-13-2010, 19:50
Sorry, I tried to attach a photo, but that didn't work very well...
jamarshall
05-13-2010, 20:03
http://www.idigear.com/test/sb2.html
OK, I found an ad for the bag that I have. I paid maybe $40 for it.
I put photos on Photobucket or on Image Shack. There may be other free places.
Then the "insert image" link works.
I don't know if it is the same stuff or not. Either these are patent names or product names.
That website claims the eliotex sleeping bag is rated 15-20 F. Centigrade, maybe?
If it is useless to you as a sleeping bag, maybe put a small "bound buttonhole" in the foot of it and slip it over your hammock like a "peapod" to try it out. I did that with my Sierra Designs 300 "Perfect" sleeping bag, long before anyone was using "hammocks". I did it with my Choinard Pea Pod for a wall hanging bivy, years ago.
I have this question: were you in a high humidity area, like in the southern states? Maybe the relative humidity of the air had a lot to do with it. Maybe in drier air you would like this sleeping bag better?
jamarshall
05-14-2010, 16:50
I also found a lot of legal issues with idigear using the eliotex name, so it might be the same stuff with a "new" name. I used the bag in PA and Mass in the fall, so I don't think humidity was the issue.
Here are some interesting comments: http://www.thru-hiker.com/x/index.php/forums/viewthread/260/
Nightwalker
07-21-2010, 01:52
That is a good read. "Search" didn't turn that up: I was wading through pages and pages to find one mention "IX" and that in another context, like, their list of gear or have you tried IX with no answer. I ask questions over there and no one responds. Not like here. Here people make an effort.
Odd. Not my experience at all. In fact, it is the friendliest forum that I visit.
Sorry that you had a bad experience.
I have made my underqulit out of DWR nylon, a large heat sheet, and two layers of Insultex. It is a great product. We have slept in out hammocks at 30 degree temps and stay very warm, we are waiting to try colder temps to see how well it does.