eVENT fabric

[Eliza Cava]

hello UL backpacking community,
I come to you with a holy grail of an idea. I am in the plans for making a few bivy sacks for myself and my family, and want just a few yards of eVENT fabric for myself (maybe 10 yards, max.). I may or may not be able to get this miniscule amount as remnants from some of the top-end manufacturers, but it’s impossible to find the fabric at retail yardage prices anywhere.

I called the eVENT company and found out why–they are a young company, swamped with distribution problems, and manufacturing the fabric itself out of only one factory in Asia. The person I spoke with told me that he may have some options available in a year, and to call back at that point. In the meantime, he quoted me his minimum wholesale prices:

about $11-12,000 worth of fabric, plus a few thousand $ worth of shipping, plus a 15% import duty on waterproof breathables. That’s a LOT of money!

Here’s the idea:
Do you want some eVENT? Do you want BPL to carry eVENT? Do your friends want it? Post here if you do. If we get going now, and really want the stuff, maybe we can form a co-op over the next few months and presale everything in minimum bits of 20 or 50 or 100 yards or so. Maybe we can get BPL or thru-hiker.com to help out.

Post your thoughts!

[John Chan]

GE owns eVENT now so its probably even harder to get yardage.

[Craig Shelley]

I was just wondering if there were any sources for eVent fabric too. How much material did he quote at that wholesale price?

Craig

[Eliza Cava]

He said somewhere between 500-1000 yards, basically a whole factory-shipped roll. We’d have to contract with a fabric distributor, I guess, to get it diced up into bolts.

[Craig Shelley]

That is about $15 to $40 per yard. Pretty expensive.

[James taub]

I would commit to 10 yds

[Miguel Arboleda]

For a long time I’ve been wanting to make a cagoule (and I wrote about it here in the forum more than six months ago), the kind that mountaineers used to use years ago, but that are getting more and more difficult to find. I have a cagoule made from coated nylon, but it tends to be hot and sweaty and I have yet to sew tabs onto it so that the long skirt can be secured at thigh level. I’ve always thought that if the cagoule was made of eVENT it would make superb rain gear, eliminating the need for rain pants, protecting a pack in much the same way as a poncho, trimmer than a poncho so that it wouldn’t flap in the wind, and, with eVENT, breathable enough to negate one of the banes of the old-style cagoules. I have the Montane eVENT Superfly and can attest to the breathability of the fabric… sometimes a little TOO much.

So if there were a way to get my hands on some eVENT I would be quite ecstatic! I could even use it as a W/B bottom layer for my hammock.

10 to 15 yards sounds about what I would be willing to commit to, as long as it isn’t too expensive.

[Peter Collori]

Miguel, brilliant idea! I’ve also been searching for eVent fabric to make either a cagoule or poncho. Not sure why it hasn’t been done yet, but I too would be ecstatic if it becomes possible! I’ll gladly commit to a few yards for this purpose!

[paul johnson]

my 2cents: cagoule: sounds like a reasonable use of eVENT. poncho: “open” enough that a poncho already seems to have enough air exchange that maybe(??) eVENT fabric is unecessary. i don’t seem to sweat anywhere as much while ascending continuously at ~1250′ per mile min. elevation change, during a summer rain when wearing the poncho vs. my older somewhat lightweight 2.5layer WPB anorak – the sleeves would often begin to fill/puddle with condensed water vapor/sweat. my ID eVENT rain jacket also works well under the conditions described above. just a thought. i could be wrong.

how ’bout making a slightly more complex garment similar to the Hilleberg Bivanorak (click me). make your cagoule do dbl-duty as a bivy sack.

[Vick Hines]

eVent poncho — GREAT!
Water resistant-breathable ponchos are wonderful. Just because a poncho seems open does not mean that it doesn’t sweat. It does. Badly.

I’ve used WB ponchos since the lava cooled – having started with GoreTex before they limited access to the supply. Most recently with Tyvek.

Want a poncho that doesn’t sweat? that has body and doesn’t cling? tat feels like dry cotton in the rain? that costs about $4? Tyvek. Well, softened Tyvek, anyway. Unsoftened, it feels and sounds like aluminum foil. 2 oz per yard = 13 oz extra large poncho.

An outfit optimistically called ‘Durafab’ makes a WB poncho that weighs 7 ounces (50×80) and cost me $2 at Academy Outdoor. Not durable, but breathes very well. Durafab is a sub of Kimberly Clark (800-558-8810). Maybe recycled TP? Dunno, but the stuff breathes so well that I used their rain jacket on a hot day for mosquito protection – without sweating inside!!!!

Go for it! If the poncho doesn’t work out, turn it into a bivy. But I think you will like it. The only caution is, watch the weight. eVent may be heavier than you expect… Tyvek is always an option for experiment. And may be lighter.

[Miguel Arboleda]

I’m befuddled by why waist length rain jackets are so popular among those who don’t do mountaineering… I’ve always found that something that covers my butt and lap to be much warmer and more useful. My absolute favorite rain jacket that breathes extremely well, has no membranes to protect, whose waterproofness can be easily renewed, and that uses a waterproofing system based on its strength in drying and moving water rather than blocking water (a very non-intuitive system that works better the hotter you get) is my Paramo (a Scottish company) Cascada jacket. The only problem with it is that it is somewhat heavy. I love the way it hangs down to my midthighs.

Since then I’ve used my Montane eVENT Superfly jacket and the breathability really is as good as they say it is. For some strange reason my ultrathin windshirt is warmer than the Superfly and seems to block wind better. And the Superfly is so SHORT!

Using Tyvek for a cagoule seems like a great idea. Is it waterproof? Or does air permeate through it? I’ve used the very thin kite tyvek that Will Rietveld advocates on his Southwest Ultralight Backpacking site, but in torrential rains Japan just doesn’t protect from the wet ground enough. It might just be a great cagoule material, though. I’ll give it a try.

[Vick Hines]

Tyvek is windproof. And highly water resistant. A Tyvek water bag will weep and seep, but you won’t get spray-through as with silicone impregnated fabric.

Tyvek doesn’t sew well. The stitch holes act like the perforations for tearing paper. However, it glues very well once it is softened by a long session in a drier with tennis shoes – which you will want to do anyway so you can put the ear protectors away. Unsoftened Tyvek is VERY LOUD. Barge’s cement and even Duco ‘household contact cement’ will glue Tyvek reliably if you follow the directions. I use a 1″ overlap for the glue allowance and spread the glue as thinly as possible with tongue depressors.

I didn’t know about kite Tyvek. I’ll have to give it a try. I’ve used only Tyvek ‘House Wrap.’

[Miguel Arboleda]

One thing… if I do end up trying out Tyvek to make a cagoule, it will look like a doctor’s smock… just imagine, an ultralight mountain medic carrying a housecall bag the size of a credit card! And all while sounding like an aluminum foil orchestra in the wild alpine winds. All I need to add is a cook’s cap and I’ll be all set.

[Vick Hines]

Miguel,
That is a grim image. You can color Tyvek with spray paint after you soften if. Not very well, but it cuts the glare. And make the cook’s cap out of Tyvek, too. Send pics.

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