Polyester Was: RE: [pct-l] cotton or nylon

[brick@fastpack.com (Brick Robbins)]

 >So you wore polyester long john pants and found them
 >cooler than nylon pants?  Or are you not talking about
 >pants, but about clothing fabric in general?

I wore nylon bicycle shorts, and had polyester microfiber wind pants (non
coated) that I mostly wore for mosquito protection. I prefer bare legs in
the heat and in the rain. I only wear long trausers when the temperature
approaches freezing, which it seldom did during the day while I was
walking. I did wear the pants at night inside my sleeping bag quite often.

 >And I was thinking cotton would be cooler in high temps because of
 >the fact that it stays wetter longer and is breathable/durable.  And if
 >conditions are wet, just use rain pants over them or switch to long
 >johns + rain pants.  And if weather is cool and dry, body heat will
 >dry them out while wearing them.

Cotton really sucks for several reasons.

1) When it gets wet, it has little insulating value, so you cannot count on
it for warmth, so it is not multi use. It will not dry inside a rain shell
, but coolmax will.

2) In hot climates, the cotton holds onto the sweat, instead of
evaporating. No evaporation, no cooling. The sweat ends up dripping and
that does you no good as far as cooling goes.

3) Cotton clothes are quite a bit heavier than synthetics. Especially the
microfiber stuff.

4) Though cotton does wear well, it is not nearly as hardy as almost any
synthetic.

The only good thing I can think of is cotton is quite a bit more comfortable.

--
Brick Robbins                       mailto:brick@fastpack.com