[pct-l] Shell fabric

[linsey]

Hi Heather, Please excuse my delayed reply, your email got buried in my inbox.  

My clothing tactics are different than alot of distance hikers, but more in line with Ray Jardine, who in his second book "Beyond Backpacking" gave fairly detailed info on sewing your own gear.  If you haven't read this or his newest incarnation "Trail Life...", let me strongly recommend these as mandatory reading for thru hiker hopefuls.  Beyond Backpacking is out of print, but I've gotten these books at the library.  His first book, the probably out -of-print  "PCT Hikers Handbook" is also wonderful and, while dated, is still awesome.  All share core information but "Trail Life" is the recently revised ultimate distance hiking manifesto with over 300 color photos.

What works best for me for clothing are windproof/bugproof shell garments made of 1 ounce or lighter uncoated nylon ripstop--this is super light and not very durable so it's helpful to make spares.  Hardshell ripstop clothing is not very popular but it works great and dries super fast--'ve used this fabric for bug mits, hiking pants, hiking skirts, plus sleeping quilts, bomber hats, and stowbags.    It is a bit hot for hot weather but when it's hot,  I find I'm more comfortable due to unhampered evaporative cooling when wearing next to nothing and using a silver umbrella for portable shade rather than bundled up in long sleeves and a hat.  My windshirt and jacket are both (older) Montbell--sometimes it pays to just buy things that are more complicated to make like coats, plus I got great deals on both. 

My pack is an ancient and highly modified Six Moon Designs Comet and it is also made mostly of fairly light Silnylon--it gets structure from a contractor bag inside and a rolled up Evazote torso pad.  It weighs less than a pound and dries super fast.  It is unstructured enough that I think nothing of throwing it in the washing machine with my dirty gear (I take the hipbelt buckle off...).  I made easily removable hipbelt pouches--mind you I don't tighten my hipbelt and it is only there to support the hipbelt pouches.  I firmly  believe in letting the 'three way swivel action' of my hips move unhampered by tight hipbelts that strap my hips to my spine--read Ray Jardine for more on this but I would rather my shoulders take all the weight then try and transfer it to my hips at the expense of inhibiting my hips movement.  Mind you I've tried it both ways and Rays way is better. 

To hold the gooseneck twist in my contactor bag, I use rubberbands that I make by cutting cross sections of old mountain bike tire tubes--these work way better than regular rubberbands although they do still wear out.  

One thing I do completely different than nearly everyone is carry a huge capacity (albeit light) backpack.  My rational is it is way easier to pack and my down bag (or synthetic quilt) has tons of room to loft.  Never am I tempted to carry a bunch of extraneous junk because of my packs large size but I find it is MUCH easier to pack with plenty of room.  If I ever do need to carry tons of food, my pack is palatial.   

For shell mitts, I've just used silicon impregnated nylon/silnilon (about 1.3 oz per yard).  They are not waterproof and I don't treat the seams, but I find they cut the wind and work great just being water resistant.  In general, I don't consider silnylon to be waterproof no matter what the claim, but mitts don't need to be waterproof to be effective.  You could also use two ply gore-tex  but you would have to tape the seams.  Z-Packs nylon laminated Cuben Fiber could make nice shell mitts and it looks really cool.  They use it in hipbelt pouches but also sell it as yard goods.  

 I've shopped at Seattle Fabrics for nylon and silnylon but prefer the fabric I got when I bought extra yardage from Ray and Jenny Jardine (who have an internet store with lots of cool make-your-own gear KITS such as tarps, tents, backpacks, synthetic sleeping quilts (I've made three)  and the ALL IMPORTANT bomber hat (a kit for a one ounce synthetic wonder hat, great for sleeping or anytime it gets epic).  Ray-way also has great thread,mini cordlocks and nice cord.  The sleeping bag fabric works great for shell clothing, but lighter colors are quite transparent.  My shirt is black and my pants grey, and I often wear the shirt over the pants.   

A couple  places that I haven't tried are:  ThruHiker.com (kits, fabrics, lighter  nylons such as .7 ounce) and Z Packs (super light mosquito netting, cuben fiber in many incarnations including laminated to nylon for durability and ease of sewing (plain cuben isn't sewn).   Super light mosquito netting is not only lighter, but more sheer and easier to wear as it doesn't hamper the vision as much.  

A great fabric for tarps is Spinnaker/silicon impregnated polyester.  It doesn't stretch while wet like silnylon and generally pitches pretty taught.  This stuff is expensive and when I was pricing it to make a tarp, a Gossamer Gear Spinntwinn (made of Spinnaker) came up in the used market for $20 more than just the fabric would have cost me--clearly a deal but the commercially made one is a touch short--if I ever do make one, I will make it longer.  

To test for windproofness, blow into the fabric.  If you can blow thru it, it is not windproof.  Also, don't overlook the thrift store for nylon track pants.  Remove any mesh liner and you could have some dirt cheap and easy hiking pants.

Sewing gear takes time, but I have always found it meaningful and using gear I made makes me proud plus it also demystifies the repair process.  In many cases, I just want stuff that I can't find commercially and I've always preferred custom tailored clothes.  As a kid growing up, my indulgent mother custom made me clothes often of my own design.  Subsequently,  I just don't like wearing things off the rack.  In general, I want my gear fragile and somewhat short lived because bombproof gear is too heavy.  With careful use, and considerate mending, I've gotten tons of life out of silly light gear.
Sincerely, Linsey

PS  Some clothing I'm happy to just buy as it's impossible to make such as merino wool base layers, marsupial down sleeping socks (for sleeping only), mens nylon dress socks (best for hiking, they keep the feet cool), and my beloved orange silk scarf that is bigger and WAY better than a cotton bandanna.  



To: "mowoggirl at yahoo.com" <mowoggirl at yahoo.com> 
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 8:21 PM
Subject: Shell fabric
 

Hey, Lindsey (hope I spelled that right?!)where did you get the fabric for your shell garments? Or better yet  could you tell me what fabric? I need to replace my mitts, and my jacket and pants are also getting very old!

Thanks for any help you can offer!

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