Raul Perez
03-06-2011, 19:08
Stick and I were going back and forth on youtube regarding his cuben fiber rain skirt (CloudKilt). I noticed some small differences between the ZPacks version and the ULA version (which I own). Those small differences, in my opinion, favored the ULA version even though it was 2oz heavier.
In the end he wanted to see more of it so I made a video response:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsC3_...eature=feedlik
I'm looking forward to his testing of it in an actual rain storm and report back on the pass fail of this item. I will do the same for mine as well.
My best,
Raul
Raul Perez
03-06-2011, 20:46
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsC3_2Lj6Ak
Sorry about that
Well, I followed Raul’s lead and hit the shower wearing my rain gear. I wore my Sierra Designs jacket (http://sticksblog.com/clothing/rain-gear/sierra-designs-cyclone-eco-jacket/) with the CloudKilt (my Tumalo (http://sticksblog.com/clothing/rain-gear/golite-tumalo-pertex-2-5l-storm-jacket/) is packed up getting ready for my coming-up hike). I turned the shower on and then started doing the rain dance in the shower, and my daughter walked in and wondered why daddy got to play in the shower with his clothes on and she didn’t… http://s2.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif?m=1286075049g
Really though, I kept marching in place while slowly turning in circles. I did this for a little over 5 minutes. (Keeping in mind that I had to be careful when facing the shower head because if I looked up the shower would spray me in the face, and inside my jacket…) I also moved forward and backward while in the shower, which, when closer to the shower head, obviously made the water concentrate on the jacket and then run down over the CloudKilt. Then obviously, when farther away, the water hit directly along my waist line. I also stood still letting the water pound on the kilt at times (but not directly at the opening).
After watching Raul’s video I decided to turn the kilt with the opening to the side rather than in the back. By doing this the split seemed to be smaller as well as opening less while moving around. Also, the split didn’t really start until just above my knee, and opened more so when I was stepping up using the leg on the same side as the split, and for only a very brief moment.
So, what are my conclusions?
I do wish that the design/cut of the CloudKilt was wider. The ULA is 62″ wide vs the CloudKilt’s 52″ wide. However, I would like to see the shape be narrower at the top and actually widen out at the bottom. This way, when the “kilt” is being worn, the bottom would actually be shaped like a bell. By doing this, it seems that the kilt would be able to stay secured together leaving no openings and still allow pretty near full strides. Also, if the edges of the split were to be able to be connected with a piece of Velcro, it would be able to easily come undone if taking too large of a step such as stepping up onto a tall object without causing any damage to the actual kilt itself, and then could easily and quickly be re-secured. (The ULA Rain Wrap appears to do this.)
Next, I like the cuben in rain much better than I do silnylon. I have found that the cuben is actually water proof whereas silnylon is simply resistant (although very highly resistant). When wearing the cuben in the shower, no water got through nor did the material feel damp. Then afterwards, a quick shake resulted in an almost completely dry piece of material. (Imagine shaking water off of a sheet of plastic.) In my experience (with my sil tarp), silnylon takes a little longer to become dry. It can be shaken out and become somewhat less wet, but it seems that the material actually holds onto the water a little while, and for it to completely dry it must sit out in a dry place and be allowed to air dry.
Also, in this light, I wonder how the silnylon would feel against my legs once it was soaked. I would imagine it being almost similar to a wet shirt and almost sticking to you, of course not that extreme, but similar. From standing in the shower I can say that the cuben didn’t feel any different once water was pounding on it.
So, if I had to do it all over again, at this point I think I would still go with the Cuben CloudKilt. But, I would call Joe first and ask him about making it in the shape I described above, and even adding a small piece of Velcro along the sides so the split could be closed up while being worn.
I would say though that the CloudKilt as is would work fine though for smaller people. I must admit, at 5’10″ and 200 pounds, I am not the smallest of them out there…
(Also, if anyone is interested, I have posted both of our videos together on a post on my blog today. This way, hopefully people can watch them both and get an idea of both of them. It is here:
http://sticksblog.com/2011/03/06/rain-kilt-showdown/ )
Raul Perez
03-07-2011, 08:57
Nice follow up review. Although I havent had the same issues with silnylon I can attest that cuben does dry a lot quicker.
handlebar
03-07-2011, 11:00
....days of 50 degree rain last fall over my Sportkilt hiking kilt. Hiked through chest high, wet weeds with it on as well. The rain wrap never got wet through and it seemed my Sportkilt stayed dryer than when I got it wet just from sweat under the waist band. The Rainwrap breaths really well and rarely did I have a problem when taking a long stride of separating the velcro. Thought about storing my hiking kilt inside my pack, but found that the rain wrap was pretty cold where it hit my thighs and butt. On top I had an Integral Designs E-Vent jacket which also worked very well.
Thought about storing my hiking kilt inside my pack, but found that the rain wrap was pretty cold where it hit my thighs and butt.
I guess this is sort of what I was trying to say.
I am not sure what weight sil is used for the ULA Rain Wrap, but I imagine it is probably the 1.1 oz/sqyd?
My tarp is made of the same and I have noticed that when it gets rained on it will become heavy and cold feeling, and if not taunt can have a little tendency to want to stick to things as fabric does when it is wet. Also, I can shake most of the water off but it is still damp and requires some air time.
Maybe I will should just get one to compare... (Now if I can get my wife to understand that I "need" it... :) )