The feel of fabrics

can't compare it to much else but the M90 T feels pretty nice inside my quilt. maybe a touch softer compared to the M90 R i have for the outside.

8d feels phenomenal

M90 T is very soft and feels great.
M90 R is also very nice.

7D is great too and probably my pick but that could be just because it's the lightest of the bunch.

M50 is soft and good but has a slight plasticky feel. I'm lead to believe that dwindles with usage ??
M50 is definately more wind resistant than the others.

Haven't played with 8D.

The current M90 feels nice, 7D (farewell my friend) feels nice too, i agree about m50 being plasticy (heavy DWR) but none comes close to the 8D in my opinion, it is amazing feeling. IT is the best liner fabric i have used. We really like it.

-Tim

Is 7d not being produced anymore?

EightD does have a really nice feel to it. It's got a soft, smooth feel and it isn't nearly as shiny/plastic feeling as some other fabrics. However, it's also a lot less downproof and more air permeable than some of these other fabrics in my experience.

I had an M55 quilt (which I believe is basically the same as the 'new' M50 as the new M50 is being toted as more downproof that the original M50) that I never ever saw the tiniest bit of down come out of. It was a bit slower to loft (because of the low air permeability) and a bit plastic feeling, but I really liked how downproof it was and how it totally blocked the wind and water beaded off thanks to the Teflon DWR.

My current quilt is all EightD. While I like the feel of it better than M50/M55, a moderate amount of down does come out. Not a problematic amount, but more than I'd like. There's always a tiny feather or two trying to get out despite it being 900fp down. Going forward it's definately not my first choice for the shell – no need for the ultimate feel there, I'd rather have more downproof, wind proof and water repellant. The teflon DWR's on the M50 stuff should be the ultimate for the outer shell. Even for the inner I'd rather a fabric that is a bit more of a compromise towards downproof, but EightD is acceptable.

I also notice that now thru-hiker has two varieties of pertex. How do they stack up?

Another vote for 8D, love the feel of it.

Totally agree with Dan concerning 8D downproofness. I used it with 850+ fill and there is definitely more leaking than I would have hoped for, but in the end it's not really that much so I've accepted it as a worthwhile tradeoff. I knew going in that it had only been tested with 900 fill and not lower fill power so it was a bit of a gamble.

The feel is fantastic; soft, breathable, drapes great, absolutely perfect for linings IMO.