Synthetic Stink: Scientifically proven

I thought cotton was generally recognized to have the worst possible properties for the backcountry?
Its hydrophilicity means that it absorbs a huge amount of water and dries slowly, and does not insulate when wet, ideal for wet t-shirt competitions and hypothermia.

Here's some superb hyperbole:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-Cotton-Will-Kill-You
They really should have tested those materials with the blood of cotton death victims, so that their families could feel that their tragic and avoidable deaths were not in vain.

Which are all good things in hot weather.

The sole Patagonia capilene in the drawer reeks just as bad as the cheap clearance rack synthetic shirts do.

I wore out two wool Stoic short sleeve shirts – they were lighter than the 150 wt wool and perfect for California weather.

Eric, maybe azns don't smell as bad as us Europeans ;)
It is really interesting that some people have issues while others don't at all.

Seems that individual body chemistry has a lot to do with it.

I've got some very old patagooch capilene and EMS techwich – some from the mid-1990's – as well as some fairly new EMS techwick polyester stuff and none of it has ever stunk anywhere near the levels that some here have experienced. Even after 6 days straight wearing the same stuff 24/7. How do I know? My wife has a very sensitive schnozz and would not hesitate for a split second to let me know!

Along the line of thought that Colin has promoted, i've tried similar with borax powder. I dissolve about a half of cup in hot water, and add to the last part of the wash cycle, so it doesn't get rinsed out. Seems to help, but hard to say how much or more importantly, for how long. Haven't done much serious testing of it.

Because it's fairly high ph stuff, don't ever use on wool or silk (or any protein based fibers essentially). Cellulose type and most synthetic fibers are fine.

For a lot of hot weather (except the hottest and most humid, tropical like weather), ime nothing beats softer linen or hemp clothing (so, either aged/worn or high quality). One exception is the thin nylon-tencel blend shirt that i have–also really awesome for hot and humid weather and doesn't stink up much at all (stink wise, not quite as good as 100% linen or hemp though).

I believe there use to be a soap with that in it, indented for use as a hand soap among other uses. Came in a green bottle. It worked REALLY well. As far as I know it was removed from the market over safety issues.

A little research seems to indicate it must have been something else, but I could have sworn that it was called hexidreen…

You're probably thinking of the classic Phisohex, a hexaclorophene cleanser. Used to be OTC, then prescription only, I think now it's off the market entirely. Back in the day it was one of the first effective anti-acne cleansers.

"Phisohex".

Yup, that was it! Thanks.

"Which are all good things in hot weather."

Really? I don't think you want your sweat to cling to the fabric, you want to it wick away and evaporate to keep you cool.
I wouldn't wear cotton in the desert or the jungle any sooner than I'd wear it somewhere cold.

Justin–

What properties of linen and hemp make it preferable to cotton in a desert climate?

Some thoughts:

Linen- you can get a very light, breezy weave.

Hemp, on the other hand I don't think you can get that thin (I'm wearing a hemp t-shirt now and it's rather beefy). And my understanding is that hemp holds moisture more than cotton.

In short: In a hot, dry environment I'd experiment with linen. Maybe cotton. But I'm baffled on why hemp.

Katherine, I wonder also about differences between snug fitting and loosely fitting clothing. I think with snug fitting hot weather base layers, the idea is that you want them to wick sweat away and dry fast. But with loose fitting garments, maybe that doesn't apply and different properties are better? Linen certainly absorbs and holds a lot of water, but it is (by reputation at least) good for loose hot weather clothing.

There was also some confusing and counterintuitive research that I read recently about the properties of dark and light clothing in hot weather, I'll try to find it later.

"There was also some confusing and counterintuitive research that I read recently about the properties of dark and light clothing in hot weather, I'll try to find it later."

Ralph- I would be very interested in reading that.

Ralph, you said:

"Its hydrophilicity means that it absorbs a huge amount of water and dries slowly, and does not insulate when wet, ideal for wet t-shirt competitions and hypothermia."

How are those things not good in hot weather?

Cotton is thermally conductive when wet, which is good in hot weather. I find that slightly damp cotton is cooler than bone dry polyester/nylon.

I've worn both cotton and synthetics in hot weather in the sierras all in the same day, within hours of each other and the cotton was noticeably cooler.

But I live in a dry climate, not much humidity.

I don't sweat excessively and I've never been uncomfortably sweaty before. It usually levels out at a slight dampness and doesn't wet out more than that.

And cotton doesn't get nasty like synthetics. You can actually wash it well because it's hydrophilic.

"Cotton is thermally conductive when wet, which is good in hot weather. I find that slightly damp cotton is cooler than bone dry polyester/cotton."

I find this to be the case also, except when the humidity is high enough that little evaporation occurs. In that case, I find snug-fitting polyester the most comfortable. (Actually, I try to avoid those conditions entirely! :)

I thought this article was interesting.

Especially:

“Researchers have studied the heavy black robes worn by Bedouins in the desert. They say the key there is thickness. The outer layer of fabric does get hotter because the black color absorbs more heat. And that heat doesn’t get transmitted to the skin because of the thick fabric.”

They might wear black because darker clothing is better at protecting the skin from UV radiation.

I've never been in very humid hot weather, but I can see how synthetics would work better.

In this dry climate I can hike in cotton is some cool temperatures without getting my shirt too wet with sweat because it evaporates decently fast. Definitely done plenty of dry (no chance of rain) winter day hikes with 50 degree days in a cotton t-shirt and didn't have problems.

Re light vs dark clothing:

Here's an interesting research article on "Coat Color and Solar Heat Gain In Animals". It turns out that it's not so simple as "white absorbs less radiation, so it keeps you cooler". I will not attempt to summarize, because I'm not sure that I've completely grasped all the factors myself. It's complex, but the paper's well written – I'd recommend just reading it.

http://faculty.weber.edu/jcavitt/OrnithologyMaterials/Coatcolorinanimals.pdf

This was the Straight Dope article that pointed me to the research paper

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1886/does-black-clothing-keep-you-cooler

However, note that the synopsis in the Straight Dope article is flawed, for example in the last paragraph
"White clothing reflects sunlight, but also reflects internal heat back towards your body"
This is not correct, and it's not what the research article says.

Hi Katherine,

Linen and hemp have a lot of similarities to each other fiber wise. One of the main differences is that Linen averages smaller sized fibers and thus tends to feel softer than a lot of Hemp, which tends to be coarser on average.

Both are tubular and quite hollow fibers. Hemp also has little pores on the outside of the fiber, and i think is a bit more UV protective in nature. It's important to understand that Hemp is quite often mixed with a goodly amount of cotton. 55% Hemp to 45% cotton is VERY common. When i'm talking about linen and hemp properties, i'm talking 100% unless otherwise specified.

Both initially absorb more moisture than cotton, but they both release moisture a bit noticeably faster and more importantly, will feel drier significantly faster than cotton. However, they share cottons conductive nature and so pass heat directly through the fibers very well. This is mildly important in thinner and non insulating type clothing for comfort in heat. (though, in very intense, direct sun, some insulation can be a good thing).

Why do they feel drier faster than cotton though they initially absorb more moisture than same? The reason is because of the structure of the fibers. If you look at cotton fibers under a microscope, they look like flat, thin solid ribbons and very pliable. When exposed to moisture they swell up quite a bit increasing the overall size of the fibers (and thus decreasing the breathability of the garment if it's moderately tightly woven).

If you look at linen and hemp fibers under a microscope, you will note that they are tubular, rather hollow and more "stiff" or rigid in nature than cotton (they have less cellulose and more lignin than processed cotton). They are sort of like absorbent straws that suck in moisture from one side into the hollow region and then through capillary type action, fairly quickly release it through the other side to the surface.

I don't think they dry THAT much faster than cotton technically, however, like i said, they certainly will feel drier noticeably faster–and in hot, especially humid weather that increases comfort.

After testing linen in a wide range of conditions from desert to tropical at the extremes and various in betweens, i've come to consider it the most comfortable fabric for hot weather provided it is not super humid and hot at the same time aka tropical climate or weather.

In that kind of climate, even linen gets overwhelmed with moisture and doesn't wick and dry fast enough while active. However, awhile back, i bought a dress shirt made out of 65% polyester and 35% linen and it was quite nice in rather hot and humid weather.

My theoretical ideal for really hot and really humid weather would be a blend of something like 65% to 70% nylon to 35% to 30% linen, and thin and breathable as much as possible while providing significant protection from the Sun. Since linen is pretty strong stuff, and nylon very strong stuff, it's possible to make a rather thin and airy shirt from a combo of this material and still have it have decent durability.

As mentioned, my thin, slightly more nylon than tencel shirt also works really well and is very comfortable in a wide range of hot weather conditions, even very humid and hot. All the above have great to decent odor control properties with the 65% polyester/35% linen having the poorest, the some 55% nylon/45% tencel having moderately good natural odor control, and 100% linen having the best.

A poor person's and decent, but lesser substitute imo would be a blend of 75% to 80% nylon and 25% to 20% cotton for comfort in a wide range of hot weather, except in desert. The more arid the conditions, the better it is to have moisture holding properties. Cotton excels for this. If i ever get back to the desert during the summer, i would like to try wearing a thin black colored, somewhat tightly woven all cotton undershirt with a thin and more airy/breathable white cotton overshirt to see how this does in retaining body moisture while reflecting solar heat and absorbing UV.

Justin-

Fascinating, thanks.

For 100% linen purchases – just go with professional dress shirts? Where might I find garment w/a nylon/tencel blend?

Any thoughts on how bamboo fits in, or not, for backpacking wear? In another application (cloth diapering) I found it great on absorption and feel, but poor in durability, and hear rumors of anti-microbial properties (hard to say, seemed better than hemp, on par with cotton).

If I do more trips east of the Cascades next spring, I may be able to try these fabrics out.

I buy most of my linen stuff at thrift stores and to a lesser extent the used clothes on ebay, and yes the huge majority of it is dress shirt or pants type clothing. It's nice getting used linen because usually it's already been softened with age and wear some. Cheap, new linen can feel kind of scratchy and coarse to the skin until it's softened (which usually takes some definite time and wear). High end, high quality new linen is usually nice feeling from the get go, but tends to be insanely expensive (at least from my standards).

It's rather hard to find nylon tencel blend shirts! I found a women's button up casual dress shirt on STP awhile back, by typing tencel in a search and looking at the exact fiber types and ratio. Since the shirt was fairly gender neutral looking overall, i said, why not, it's a great price and interesting fabric/fiber combo.

Most bamboo is really just cheap rayon which uses bamboo for the cellulose source, and i've found the durability sucks, doesn't feel dry as fast as all linen or hemp, and doesn't have any unusual odor control. During the rayon process, any anti bacterial substances would likely be greatly reduced or all together eliminated i would tend to think. As regards the various "rayons", tencel aka lyocell is the best imo so far.

Now, if you can find *real* bamboo clothing (more mechanically processed rather than just so broken down chemically), might be worth a try? I'd imagine it's probably a bit similar to bast type fibers like linen, hemp, or ramie for example. If it's only lightly processed, it would have excellent antimicrobial properties likely.

Btw, hemp should tend on average to have better odor reducing properties than cotton, simply because it dries faster per same thickness, weave, etc. The faster a natural fiber dries, the less bacteria and fungi have a chance to grow.

My ideal hot and humid weather fabric is highly theoretical, as i've never seen high nylon to low linen blend fabrics or clothing. :( First world problems right!

I have a pair of Bamboo socks. I assume they were "lightly processed" as they had a different feel that wool or cotton. They are at least as good at odor control as cotton or wool, possibly better. I am considering trying more if I can find them again. I just bought a pair at Big 5 to use while trying on boots. They were cheap enough and I thought it would be interesting to try something different.

Justin said "Eric, maybe azns don't smell as bad as us Europeans ;)
It is really interesting that some people have issues while others don't at all."

Actually, this is true. People of Asian heritage (particularly people from Korea and Northeast China), often have an allele of the ABCC11 gene that is associated with little to no body odor, even after many days without bathing. If you want to know if you or someone else has that allele (and you can't tell with a smell test), check the earwax. The ABCC11 gene also controls earwax consistency. If you have dry, crumbly, gray earwax, you have the no-body-odor allele and any hiking shirt, no matter the material, will probably smell fine on you for many days on the trail. If you have yellow-orange, paste-like "wet" earwax, you have the other ABCC11 allele, and you'll smell like a moose after a few days on the trail in a synthetic shirt.