1 – 1.5 oz material for wind anorak

[Ian]

I'd like to make a wind anorak this winter. My priorities are for it to be lightweight and breathable. I'm not worried about DWR.

Do any of you MYOGers have a particular fabric you could recommend and a source who would supply it?

[John S.]

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

[Link .]

Try Thru-hiker

[Ian]

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.

[Ian]

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

[Ian]

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.

[Dustin Short]

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.

[Dustin Short]

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.

[Sumi Wada]

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.

[Ian]

"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!

[Ryan Smith]

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

[Ian]

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.

[Peter Griffith]

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

[Ian]

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

Edit And thanks Peter!

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