Wild Things Epic windshirt & pants & some epic talk in general

[alan genser]

so, i just got my wild things epic windshirt (hooded) & pants in.

i’m really impressed with the quality of both pieces. they fit *almost* perfectly, both being a size medium & i’m 5’11″/135lbs. the pants actually do fit me perfectly, while the *almost* comes in with the jacket, where if i had my druthers the sleeves might be a cm or so longer, & the shoulders just a *tad* more articulated.

these incredibly neglible shortcomings are more than made up for by the hood design which is excellent in my opinion, it turns with you & curves just ever so slightly around the hem/temple to maintain your peripheral vision.

thoughtful elements:well done one hand pulls for the hood adjustment interior pockets on the jacket (2, one each side, each could hold a 32oz nalgene)

on the pants, no front/side pockets (boo?) however, one back pocket is ‘open’ & the other zipped, i like that for some reason.

pants caveat: the pants leg zippers aren’t waterproof.

anyways, just figured i’d throw this out there.

i’m going to try using the epic jacket with a silponcho for my raingear, the epic being able to take care of the majority of encountered conditions & the silponcho to keep the bulk of a deluge off should one come. we’ll see how it goes. i’ve had 3 other epic jackets, still own one, passed the other two on to friends. i’m a pretty big fan of the epic fabric, especially for cycling where ones body heat from the exertion counteracts any ‘wet-out’ the fabric undergoes.

so how do the rest of you use epic? while i think it’s a great fabric, i do recognize it’s shortcomings & get frustrated when trying to figure out whether to take it on a trip, or a softshell (more breatheable) & hardshell (more waterproof) combo.

the wildthings gear seems to be made of the epic ‘malibu’, which i i don’t have any experience with as clothing, (have a firstlight though). i seem to recall some mentions here or there that imply that it has some different characteristics than what was used in the patagonia essenshell/dimension or the golite pieces. (had them all, still have the dimension)

btw: i seam sealed the dimension, which made a huge difference in how long the jacket could hold out in inclement conditions, although the seam work is so tight on the wild things gear i’ll have to test to see if it’d be neccesary (it’d be difficult that’s for sure)

post your beefs or bouquets

[canyon steinzig]

I got rid of mine. I go with windproof only windshirts. It might be good for climbing however I don’t think it takes me very far hiking.

[Neil Bender]

I have a Golite jacket in Epic malibu-weight fabric (not sure which model) that leaked readily until I sealed it internally with thinned silicone sealer. I’d recommend sealing the seams with silicone.

Being that Epic is quite porous capillary action around contact areas and pack straps are the major leakage points but it can take a while. It breaths well enough that only infrequently do I miss pitzips or cuffs that open up wider. I tend to use it on day outings where a total wet-out wouldn’t be catastrophic, or for winter snow outings.

You can’t beat polyester Epic fabrics for drying out fast. They are also nice in that washing Epic restores water resistance easier than Nikwaxing a wetting out hardshell. I don’t understand why more gore-tex or other laminates aren’t polyester instead of nylon. Nylon soaks up much more water and dries slower.

I’ve also considered the tarp/poncho epic windshirt notion as this also eliminates most of the need for a pack cover, but haven’t tried it in a serious blowing wet situation. I’d have no reservations about trying this in the Sierras in the summer, but in the Pacific NW or similar I’d probably opt up for heavier Marmot Precip and a light companion windshirt, and a pack cover or pack liner.

I also have a down quilt with an Epic shell. I consider it good enough protection that I don’t bother with a bivy sack when used with a tarp, but my tarp has good coverage (twin beaks). I’ve never had a problem with condensation in the quilt, but condensation is very situation specific. My quilt is homemade and the seams are also sealed internally with silicone.

I’ve had other windshirts with DWR treatments that shed water extremely well like Epic when new, but after a few washings I could never restore their original performance with Nikwax.

I too like Epic but I think it was oversold originally, and being silicone treated , there was no way for companies to seam tape products, so most people found it lacking. Should work well in tents where a taught pitch and low incidence of capillary inducing contact should preclude wet-through.

[alan genser]

just curious, what kind of soap were you washing your shells with?

[Alan C Kendall]

I wouldn’t wash anything with a DWR in detergent if I wanted it to stay water repellent. I’d use a soap-based product like Nikwax Tech Wash, Grangers Extreme Cleaner, or (much cheaper) pure soap flakes. This topic has been much discussed here in the UK – have a look at this:
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article.asp?SP=&v=2&UAN=1848

Try searching the forums section of this site for DWR or detergent. You’ll find lots of references to disappearing DWRs after detergent washes.

[J R]

I really have been impressed with Epic… Ive played with both the Wild Things Hooded Jacket (04) and the Armys PCU Level 4 jacket and really liked them – well – some features of each, neither are “perfect” in my opinion… but the fabric worked better (repelled water, breathed, packed, and dried out) than other Soft Shell fabrics Ive used.

Quote:

i’m going to try using the epic jacket with a silponcho for my raingear, the epic being able to take care of the majority of encountered conditions & the silponcho to keep the bulk of a deluge off should one come. we’ll see how it goes.

I also fully agree with this concept… and have gear ideas that work along these lines… Its not a perfect solution for all situations, but it seems to cover alot of ground without alot of weight.

[Author]

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