Anyone hear when ‘Never Wet’ is due to hit the market?

I've been waiting for this product to come out as well. Here's what I found browsing the site.

http://www.neverwet.com/contact-us.php
"Please note that our NeverWet products are NOT available for Consumers as a Retail product at this time. We expect to have retail spray can products available by mid 2012"

Seems like we're getting closer to the availability of this product.

I hope so. I wonder if it would work as a seam sealer for tarps/tents? I would not want to use it on a breathable fabric, but it would be excellent for other applications. On question will be the length of time that it lasts? Will it rub off over time? etc.

I agree, I've read on other forums about speculation on this product. One can only guess until we can get our hands on it. I just hope that when it does come out for consumers that the price isn't too expensive.

Oooohhh – hadn't heard of this before, but wondering if this would be good to spray down a pack with. Could be a lot of uses, and if it's breathable, you could take a 2oz windshirt and make it a rain shirt. Site says it can be used on fabrics. Of course there's some marketing spin to it, but hard not to be hopeful.

Interesting quote from the site regarding durability:

"Ross Nanotechnology, LLC provides a solution to these problems with NeverWet™ superhydrophobic coatings. NeverWet™ coatings have remained under seawater for over a year and reemerged completely dry. When dirt and dust sit on one of our treated surfaces, water quickly flushes it away. The water is repelled by our coating, and the dirt is attracted to the water. Even under extreme conditions like high pressure spray, they maintain their superhydrophobic characteristics."

anyone have an idea of how this comprimises breathability in fabrics like nylons?

If it is everything they are putting it up to be, it will honestly change the world, certainly backpacking gear. I am guessing there is a big catch in here someplace that we are overlooking out of excitement. There has got to be. Hope not.

Does anyone know what's in this stuff? The old (pre-2000) version of Scotchgard, another water repellent, turned out to have a toxic chemical that accumulated in people's bodies (the version available now is considered safer). Eventually it was pulled from the market, but not until nasty chemicals started turning up in people's blood in alarming quantities.

Unfortunately, chemical companies are not required to do extensive toxicity screenings for their products, and long-term effects on health are often unknown until people start using the products. So, until I learn a lot more about Never Wet, I'm going to stay away.

Yea this company is gunna go huge when it hits the retail market. Hopefully it is safe and breathable. I would do like Franks red hot sauce and put that sh*t on EVERTHING.. tent, quilt, pack, t-shirts, windshirts, jackets, sunglasses, hats, stuffsacks

> I am guessing there is a big catch in here someplace that we are overlooking out of excitement.
Ah yes, there is. The same catch that killed GoreTex Version 1, and damages all EPIC fabrics. To wit, contaminants which mask the surface tension effect, so the stuff wets out immediately.

Guess what are two of the most common contaminants we meet? Skin oils, and vegetable oils off leaves.

Guess what kills the waterproofness of the feathers on sea birds? Oil spills. Same story.

Sure, the stuff might last underwater for a year. So what? No oily contaminants.

Cheers

>>So what? No oily contaminants.

In their videos they do stuff like pouring on motor oil and vegetable oil, without apparent impact to the coating's material. Could just be marketing, but good oil handling is one of the basic tenets of the coating's strength.

> like pouring on motor oil and vegetable oil, without apparent impact to the coating's material.

Hum … interesting. Wait and see I guess.

Cheers

its amazing how much this stuff would revolutionize the market

Roger, their product claims both hydrophobia AND oleophobia (well heavy oils at least, not sure if that would include skin oil) which would be pretty dang amazing.

That said, Water Repellency (and oil) is pretty to achieve chemically. The real trick is that whole "Durable" part.

This spray could easily be non-toxic, repel water and oil, and cheap as dirt…but if it wears off after one use from abrasion and flexing of a fabric as seen in normal use it would be all but useless.

That said, hopefully they can deliver the full package and shake things up in the outdoor world.

Watching their videos they do admit some limitations. Apparently soaps and alcohols will cause "neverwet" to fail, however the failure is not permanent so when the soap is rinsed off or the alcohol dries the water repellency returns. So that's good.

The coating seems durable on static applications such as a 2 years on steel siding. They do have demonstrations of it working on fleece and shoes, however no mention of long term performance as I hinted at above. Still want them to get it to work for clothes!

The big question, as mentioned above, is BREATHABILITY. If it does not compromise breathability just think of the DWR potential on WPB clothes! snd shoes, and, well, everything we need to keep dry.

This promise of Never-Wet is almost like waiting for Unobtanium – i.e. to good to be true. But if it's even as revolutionary as carbon fiber it will be great.

This has been discussed a few times here and all these concerns were brought up.
Eventually someone just went out and asked them (actually… maybe it was me, I forget exactly.)

The answers were:

– It has no effect whatsoever on breathability.
– It is not able to be contaminated by oils or salts.
– It is designed to be extremely abrasion-resistant.
– It is supposedly non-toxic, but I forget the exact wording they used on this one.

I hate to say it but that sounds pretty darn exciting to me. Will reserve judgement until actual experience, but I'll happily be first in line for a product with all those claims.

"Seam sealer," I think, is an extremely understated usage. Cover frickin' everything in the stuff. Use non-waterproof breathable fabrics everywhere. Bring your smartphone out in the rain or for a swim. Never wash your clothes.
Think how much it could lighten your pack to not have to worry about water getting through anything you bring.

My remaining question at this point is how it stands up to hydrostatic pressure (ie rain).

I looked for it on the internets

ebay Milaysia advertised it, but I don't feel like ordering it from there

looking at ebay Milaysia switched Babylon to being my default browser. Also did something with cookies. I turned off babylon and restarted my computer and everything seems to be back to normal

This stuff looks pretty cool, I think it would be great for packs, tarps and other similar items. It would be very nice to not need to worry about using a pack liner, or drying off a tent after a night of rain. I don't see myself using it on clothing though. Even if it does not affect breathability and is non-toxic. I just don't want any kind of chemical that near my skin if it does not need to be. If this stuff is a good as it says, then its probably a winner!

Eric