Hello,
I'm looking for a new shell jacket, and am leaning toward making my own. I'd like help choosing between silnylon, cuben, or a 3 layer membrane. I value lightness and durability over breathability, but then again, my previous shell was 6 years old, so I don't know what the new membranes are like.
Here is the long version…
Previously I've worn a $350 mountaineering hardshell, Patagonia's H20No fabric from 2006. It was inevitably hot and sweaty to wear during strenuous hiking or climbing. Around that time I tried eVent, too, which wasn't any better in my experience.
After some years I sewed a silnylon anorak, and didn't find it much more sweaty during exertion. This got me questioning whether– in the grand scheme of all the fear, cold, sweat, exhaustion, and elation that mountaineering entails –the hardshell was really making enough of a difference in comfort to warrant the cost.
Then, recently I spent a week on Admiralty Island in the mud and rain. I left the expensive hardshell at home and just wore a cheap coated nylon rain coat. I never caught myself thinking how much more comfortable I would have been with a goretex type fabric. Now that my old hardshell has come apart at the seams, I'm really skeptical about shelling out hundreds for another one. Even with the discounts available to me as an outdoor professional, I'm having trouble seeing it as money well spent. So I'm thinking about making my own.
The shell would be used backpacking, kayaking, mountaineering, biking and skiing, hunting and fishing. I live in a rainforest so it would be worn to 4 to 7 days a week. My concerns:
Silnylon: the anorak I made leaves my shoulders wet. This isn't coming through the seams, and I don't think it's sweat, because it has happened when I'm wearing thick layers and just walking out to get the mail. It seems like water is coming through the fabric in high-pressure areas. So this wasn't totally satisfactory in terms of waterproofness. Is there a higher quality silnylon I need to find?
Cuben: never worked with it. My impression is that it would be totally waterproof while being lighter and more durable than plain old coated nylon or silnylon. But I've heard others say that it won't hold up under backpack straps. Yet they make climbing packs out of nonwoven dyneema– so I'm confused.
eVent: I feel like if I'm to go this route I should just buy a used shell on Gear Swap.
So, if you've read this far, what fabric would you recommend for a MYOG rain shell?
Thanks!
