Modal?

[Justin Baker]

I was browsing my local goodwill and found a long sleeve columbia shirt. I picked it up thinking it was synthetic, but it is really 50/50 polyester and modal.
Does modal have any place in hiking clothing? Is it going to be freezing cold like cotton when wet? Is it good or better than cotton for hot weather?
I'm probably just going to use it as a cheap, beat up work shirt.

[Max Dilthey]

Modal is 50% more hygroscopic than cotton, meaning it absorbs water 50% better. This can be a plus or a minus, but seems to me to be mostly a minus. If you want to take advantage of evaporative cooling during high-energy activity, this garment will hold more of your sweat, but I'm not sure if more of your sweat will actually evaporate in a way that meaningfully decreases your heat.

This also means it will take absolutely forever to dry.

That's the best I can guess based on the properties of the material.

[Max Dilthey]

I did a bit more research. I took a botany-meets-sociology course in college, which covered fabrics extensively, so I had a budding interest.

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-modal.htm

This is a pretty good comprehensive look at modal. Here's what I learned:

1. Modal is advertised as superior to cotton, but there is little to no evidence that it is superior in any regard.
2. Modal is more water-absorbent but has no properties that make it "warm when wet". Many people describe the garment as one that makes them sweat, but I suspect they only perceive that because the garment holds more sweat, longer.
3. Modal is made from beech, and that causes an allergic reaction with a lot of people.

So, to answer some common questions I can think of off the top of my head:

Is modal better for durability/longevity?
-No. Modal doesn't hold it's shape or wear substantially tougher than cotton. It's going to be a regular old fabric in this regard.

Is modal cheaper?
-No. it's cheaper to produce, but usually costs more.

Is modal warm when wet?
-No. it holds more water to your skin. In the summer, you'll cool off from evaporative cooling. In the winter, the same thing will happen and you'll freeze just like with cotton.

Is modal similar to synthetics or wool?
-No. it's a plant-based (cellulose) fiber so its evolutionary game plan is to hold water and be flexible. This makes it less than ideal for clothing use. The best clothing comes from the synthetic fabrics designed specifically for clothing-related features, and animal fibers which have evolved over millions of years to make animals comfortable.

A general rule I use when looking at clothing:

Did it come from a plant? Yes? It's bad for active clothing.

Of course, some use cotton's hygroscopic properties to hold water for hot weather hiking. I prefer wool, but YMMV

[Anonymous]

Max is more or less correct in his research. Just want to add that how much moisture a fiber absorbs does not directly indicate how fast said fiber and fabric releases same (dries). For example, linen absorbs more total moisture than does cotton, but it also releases it significantly faster.

Or, look at Dri Release. Dri Release with say 15% cotton and 85% polyester, will actually dry a bit faster than a regular, non specialized 100% polyester shirt. How can that be, well the small amount of absorbing cotton helps to spread out the moisture over a larger surface area speeding up evaporation. Polyester normally either needs to have a certain specific structure, like fuzzy face with smaller fiber ends (touching skin) to smooth face with larger threads or have a chemical treatment in order to wick and spread moisture well.

Modal would be ok in small amounts in combo to synthetic. Like 30% or less. In that case, it would increase the comfort of the fabric, and slow down a bit that flash dry effect that happens with pure synthetics. It would slightly decrease odor retention too.

However, if one's going to go that route, might as well go with Tencel which is related to Modal, except Tencel is stronger and more durable. I have some modal stuff and it's not holding up very well to regular house, but somewhat infrequent use.

Both neither modal or tencel seem to have much insulating quality when wet, so there are better fabrics out there for colder weather use. As far as plant materials go, linen and hemp will be a bit better since they are hollow fibers and will feel dry even after absorbing a lot of moisture, however because they are so conductive they will still feel cool when wet. But like with modal and tencel, if the hemp and linen are mixed with a high amount of synthetics (or animal protein fibers), it would actually be a good fabric for colder weather use. For example, i have some polyester linen stuff which works great in all weather, and some silk-linen pants that work well in colder weather too, though i had to Nikwax soak the lower half to help with snow.

Animal fibers and synthetics are definitely the best for colder weather overall in and of themselves.

[Anonymous]

Just to quickly add, that modal and especially tencel more so, will release moisture somewhat faster than cotton. This is because the physical structure of the fibers are different than cotton. Tencel is better because the fibers have the property of splitting off little micro fibers or "hairs" increasing surface area so that moisture will wick and dissipate faster than it normally would.

[Justin Baker]

Bummer, modal sounds terrible. So it's basically like rayon?

Why would anyone use this over cotton?

[Anonymous]

"Bummer, modal sounds terrible. So it's basically like rayon?

Why would anyone use this over cotton?"

Yes its similar to rayon except stronger, especially when wet. Regular rayon is one of the weakest fibers/fabrics when wet.

As to why anyone would use it over cotton, most likely feel. The fibers are typically made quite fine and so modal is usually very soft. It may dry very slightly faster per similar thickness than cotton, but not enough to make any real difference. I like tencel-poly blends more. If not soaked, actually quite warm and fairly fast drying, and stronger. Again its because of the micro fibril property that tencel can have.

[Andrea C]

Reviving this old thread just to provide some real-life experience, perhaps more useful than just “thoughts” (no offence for the comments above).

I use Modal/Cotton mix t-shirts (Swrve) for hill walking and cycling.
They do offer several advantages compared to cotton, wool or Poly fibers.

First and foremost, it is my understanding that Modal is not born as “technical fabric”, rather as “fashion fabric” due to its very good drape, feel on the skin and ability to retain the colours. In short, feels better than cotton but the colours stay bright and don’t fade.
It is however a fabric that has its place for sport or outdoor use.

The advantages are:
-it dries faster than cotton, not as quick as Merino, but in summertime your body sweat dries pretty quick from the armpits/back
-it take a long use -2 or 3 days in my case- to start to smell (=little amount of bacteria clinging on the fabric)
-a bit lighter than cotton, not as light as Merino wool, but overall lighter (a M/L l/s t-shirt weights 220gr)
-the colours don’t fade as cotton t-shirts
-wicks the sweat decently, it does retain a certain amount of moisture in but does not feel clammy
-deflects wind much better than Merino or Poly t-shirts

I find this fabric more suitable for me in summer use, because when it gets hot the Poly fabrics don’t feel as nice and will smell in a few hours of use. Merino wool is unsuitable for me when temperatures are over 25ºc, feels too warms.

All in all, is a fabric that delivers its best for everyday use; when low-odour, quick drying and good looks are a bonus. Better than cotton, it may have a place for outdoor use too, depending on the user’s needs.

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