Thru Hiker Kinsman Liner Question

[Ian]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Thru Hiker Kinsman. My experience with a sewing machine is almost nonexistent so this purchase will not be without some anxiety. At the moment, I'm balking at my choice of liners for this jacket.

I'm going to order the jacket with the Pertex Quantum shell but it comes stock with a M45 liner. From what I've gathered, M45 is a less water resistant version of M50. I've read many complaints about condensation with M50 so I don't think I want to go that route.

There's a $10 to upgrade to M90t which I've found very little information on. I realize that some M90 variants breathe better than others and don’t really know where M90t falls in there.

I'm considering purchasing some extra Pertex Quantum to use as a liner but I wanted to bounce that off of the BPL community as a logic check before contacting AYCE. I don’t own any Pertex products so I don’t know anything about how it feels, its breathability, and durability.

From everything I've read on his forum, AYCE looks like a very honest and honorable guy, so I expect that he'll give me his honest opinion and am not questioning his integrity. I'm just interested in hearing a variety of opinions and experiences before I make the purchase.

[Adam Rothermich]

I've got an old Kinsman from back when it was only offered in 1.1oz ripstop. Its about the lowest performance fabric you can use and I've never had any problems with it. Personally I only use it for sitting around camp or walking the dogs and don't exactly want it to be breathable. I want it to block as much wind as possible. I will admit that a little more water resistance would be nice but the Pertex should be fine in that regard.
If it were me I'd just stick with the M45. Its going to the the lightest option and in my mind how it feels against your skin isn't going to be a big factor. Most of the time when I wear mine is cool enough that I'm wearing a long sleeve base layer so the Kinsman doesn't actually touch my skin anywhere but the collar.

Adam

[Ian]

Thanks for the feedback Adam. I rarely hike with anything more than a base layer, synthetic shirt and shell for temperatures above 20* but I'm looking at a few high altitude adventures for next year so the breathability would be a nice but rarely needed option.

[Author]

Posts