lightest windshirt that can withstand backpack abrasion

Been using a Houdini for the past year with a Circuit. No problems so far, and it's been through an occasional bushwhack.

rafi, i'm diggin' on my MB ultralight windjacket! in fact, i own the same model in the vest. the fabric appears paper thin, but has proven it's versatility and tenacity. in fact, last nite it offically earned status as my fave item o 'gear to date. as i loaded up my pack and cycled my way to the pond to play some puck, i was was gravely concerned that under a rather significant load, the material would faulter, (shoulders in particular) but hot d! it's fiesty! check it:
http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=94&p_id=2303179
bottom line: it packs like a champ, breathes like a yogi and it's featherlight.
leslie

Thanks Leslie–I looked on the MB website but didn't see the web special.

Hi Christopher,

Would you happen to have an exact weight for the jacket? I've seen numbers between 3.3 and 4.3oz. I suppose I'd need a medium.

thanks,

rhz

Not sure if Leslie is referring to the Tachyon Anorak but when I need to replace my Wild Things hooded windshirt this is the one I will be buying. Check out the review HERE.

I have the dynamo pants and they are really nice and have been great for 3-season trips.

Rafi,the link Leslie posted for you is the sale on the montbell site for the windshirt

The MB tachyon anorak and dynamo windpants have been sold out on the montbell site for a while now… if anyone knew where to buy them elsewhere ..

"Hi Christopher,

Would you happen to have an exact weight for the jacket? I've seen numbers between 3.3 and 4.3oz. I suppose I'd need a medium.

thanks,

rhz"

My medium came in at 4.0 on the dot.

dynamo windpants are on the Montbell site in medium and large.

Leslie was referring to the MB UL Windshirt, 2.6 oz in a men's medium. It is subjective, but I find it breathes very poorly for me. I am much happier with my Houdini, which I use all the time now. Plus it has a hood, which the MB UL does not.

thoughtful insight on nick's part, and well stated. yes, agreed, "subjective"! while i've used my MB exclusively in both fall and winter (recent purchase), i've yet to explore it's breathability in both heat and humidity. also, factoring in location– east and west, and everywhere in-between–subjectivity screams! :) lt

I have scientifically measured the air permeability of both garments. Whispering quietly… "the Montbell model tests 6.19 Frazier CFM versus 38.12 Frazier CFM for the Patagonia model."

Richard,

For us lay people, what do those figures mean?

The Houdini lets a lot more air through than the MB :) Consequences as you've seemingly noticed.

Not that I think (not at all sure!) that 6 is abnormally low for a windshirt, its more the Houdini being unusually high.

The original post asked for abrasion qualities under pack straps. This would be dependent on weight of pack, strap material, etc. Seems the only was to subjectively measure it would be someone who has hiked a lot with the same pack and load using two different wind shirts.

I suspect that Richard has some sort of test that can measure abrasion resistance, but sometimes laboratory results don't match real world use. However it appears his measurements of breathability for my two wind shirts validates my subjective observations.

I have measured the Frazier CFM, air permeability, of a very large number of windshirts. Every one of them has vocal proponents on this forum. The air permeability measurements ranged from a low of .33 (Dri Ducks) to a high of 100.59 (Acteryx Squamish). The Patagonia Houdini is not abnormally high at 38.12; it falls approximately 1/3 up from the bottom of the spectrum.

The above is science; the following is a subjective judgment. For use in environments where your MET level varies widely but, averages approximately 7 (UL Backpacking), the Houdini provides a near optimal wind shirt solution.

Regarding abrasion resistance, the amide group -(-CO-NH-)- provides hydrogen bonding between polyamide chains. This gives nylon high strength at elevated temperatures; toughness at low temperatures; combined with its other properties, such as stiffness, wear and abrasion resistance, low friction coefficient and good chemical resistance. These properties have made nylons the strongest of all man-made fibers in common use.

Polyester is the other common windshirt material, but for the same windshirt weight, it will not handle abrasion as well.

Richard, have you had a chance to test Rab's Cirrus windshirt? If so. I would greatly appreciate if you could share your findings!

Or the GoLite Dakota?

i own and use a dead bird celeris wind vest … and i find it quite "breathable" … more so than others

its even in a non-social color, so no yuppie use out of it for me … there arent that many dead bird products im a fan of, but this is one of them

of course i did snag it at 50% off ;)

richard – while we are going down the laundry-list of windshirts, do you have numbers for the wild things windshirt in epic?

thanks –

Richard,

All of the Wild Things Epic polyester products I tested had very low air permeability. The tests included three different windshirts, as part of product variability analysis. Their Frazier CFM values were .62, .74, and 1.30. Their Epic pants are made from a lighter weight polyester fabric than their jackets; it tested 3.32.

This morning I took a short break from a very big project and now I have to go back to it for the foreseeable future. So, I won't have time for additional posts on this topic.

my Houdini is going on five years and used every trip (including lots of day hikes and trail runs)- no windshirt is going to be bombproof, but the Houdini is pretty darn impressive for as light as it is

personally I wouldn't even consider a windshirt w/o a hood, I've used mine too many times to consider going w/o one

richard – thanks for the information.

When I found a Houdini at Realgoods for $43, I decided to just go with public opinion, and send the Golite Dakota back. Plus I get a hood, and full zipper. The downside is it's a horrible orange called "clementine", a word I have hated, for fairly obvious reasons, since 2nd grade. Oh well, a deal is a deal. Hopefully this will work on my bike too.