1 – 1.5 oz material for wind anorak

http://thru-hiker.com/materials/breathable.php

Try Thru-hiker

Thanks John.

My original plan was to buy the Kinsman and make an insulated anorak and wind shirt with the pattern.

I previously looked at the possibility of using Pertex Quantum for this purpose but I'm trying to understand how Quantum's "Air permeability – 1.0cc (max)" compares with the "Breathability (MVTR) – 20,000g (B1)" of Shield+ (quoted from Pertex’s website).

It may be that Shield+ is 20k * (1cc = 1g) more breathable than Quantum but I also supsect that I'm misinterpreting Pertex's performance measurements. If I do understand this correctly, I can't find a source for shield+ or a posted weight on BPL or Google. I'm sure as soon as I hit send I'll find it.

I've already ruled out M50 and still sorting out if one of the M90 variants would work for this project.

Thanks Anna as well. I think your response popped up while I was still typing.

I'm sending AYCE from Thru Hiker the same question and I'll post what I learn. In the meantime, if someone has another source or more input, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Pertex Shield is your standard WPB material. Similar to a goretex, eVent or Hyvent. It has a laminate that will block all wind and drastically reduce breathability. You would use it for a rain shell, not an active layer windshirt, it just won't breathe well enough without venting panels or zips.

Also breathability is not the same as permeability. Breathability is how much moisture can be transported through a membrane in gaseous form, basically a measure of how much it slows down steam diffusion from one side to the other. Permeability is a measure of how much air flows (not diffuses) through the fabric per unit of time-area. The 1cc i believe actually refers to 1 cubic centimeter of air will pass through per second across a given area (not sure if it's square meter or square centimeter or what). A WPB membrane, aside from some of the newer stuff, effectively has a measure of zero (0) for permeability.

There are fabrics lighter than 1-1.5 oz/sq yard if you're looking to go as light as possible. Some that I'm aware of are:
– Nobul fabrics from Titanium Goat. These are 7D-10D
– Momentum fabrics from thru-hiker
– 20D nylon taffeta from Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics (owfinc.com)

I just made a quilt with the 20D taffeta from Owfinc. It's spec'ed at 0.9 oz/sq yd. It feels slightly more substantial and is more opaque than the Momentum 90 I got from thru-hiker. I've worked with all three of the above and they all have DWR, are surprisingly (for me) water-repellent and have a slightly stiff hand.

I've also worked with 1.1oz nylon ripstop (uncoated) from either owfinc or Quest Outfitters. These are 30D. Has DWR but I've found it to be less water-repellent than the three above BUT has a softer hand and drapes better. Also more opaque than the thru-hiker Momentum.

Also, FWIW, I made a rain anorak out of the "Hi-Vent DT WPB" fabric from Quest Outfitters. 1.8oz. Super nice drape, waterproof and surprisingly breathable. I just got back from a hike and ended up wearing it most of two days; one day in the low/mid 50's where I used it as a wind jacket and another day that was a little warmer but rained the entire day. My men's 'small' equivalent weighs 4.3oz. I'm really happy with it.

"Also breathability is not the same as permeability."

Thanks for the explanation Dustin. Much appreciated.

Also, thanks to the ninja that PM'd me the following link. At <$3 for 1.1oz ripstop, at best this will work and worst this will be nice cheap material to learn how to sew with. I guess I can try a local fabric store. If nothing else, it'll be interesting to see their response when I ask about Darth Vader friendly fabrics.

http://diygearsupply.com/product-category/breathable-fabrics/

Edit: Sumi, thanks a million!

Ian,

Out of those 1.1oz fabrics, the black and camo should be the best for breathability/permeability since they are not downproof. The camo especially since it has zero finish applied(Dwr, cire, etc).

Ryan

Thanks Ryan. I think I'm still going that route as a practice run with a plan to upgrade later. I'll consider it an investment into my improving my skillset.

Sumi,

Again, thanks for the lead for Ti goat. I wasn't familiar with Nobul before today.

Here's another one to consider – Argon from DutchWare. I'm not sure how breathable it will be since it is downproof.

http://www.dutchwaregear.com
under DIY Stuff

I believe Borah Gear just switched from M50 to Argon for their UL bivy so certainly worth further investigation.

Edit And thanks Peter!