A NEW PARADIGM FOR ANALYZING PWPB SYSTEMS LIKE THE COLUMBIA OUTDRY EX FEATHERWEI

[Andre Buhot]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I use sportwash for all of my laundry, it works out to be about the same cost as some of the “premium” laundry detergents sold at the supermarket</p>

[Ryan Smith]

Ordered a Caldorado jacket yesterday for trail running, day hikes, etc. Maybe some backpacking on UL trips. Looking forward to see how it does and if the pit vents are useful. Oddly enough, the first rain jacket I ever bought was a Columbia about 10 years ago so now we’ve come full circle.

Ryan

[Brad Rogers]

Got my jacket in the mail today.  Size Medium in navy is 7.2oz.  First impressions are good – it has nice long arms, decent cuffs, a little bit of a drop tail. I’m not sure about the hood yet.

If it breathes as well as GTX Packlite or better it should be a winner.

[Opogobalus]

@roger
Would the plain Dr Bronners also work in this case? From memory it’s sold in the same way (no filters, flavours etc etc etc)

[Roger Caffin]

I really don’t think so. The ‘unscented’ version of Dr Bronners contains
water
coconut oil
potassium hydroxide
palm kernel oil
olive oil
hemp oil
jojoba oil
citric acid
tocopherol
Why it has to contain all these things is beyond me.

The whole point of a sports wash is that it rinses out 100%: nothing is left behind. All those oils – they do not rinse out; in fact they probably destroy the DWR action badly.

Cheers

[Opogobalus]

Ah yep. Didn’t have a bottle on hand to check the ingredients. For some reason I thought the unscented one had nonoils.

Isn’t the dwr point moot though? I *thought* the Columbia stuff was not relying on dwr as it’s entire selling point. Unless i have become lost somewhere in this thread?

[Graham F]

No oreoceruos I don’t think you are lost, you as have I, have been following since the beginning I believe. This thread seems to have taken on a new and digressive life -ha ha. Worn yours in much rain yet over multiple days? Anything to report?

Cheers ZMWG.

[Opogobalus]

I’ve been outrageously lucky in having carried it for a long time and only throwing it on for brief showers around camp. So I cannot offer any useful long term insights other than im pleased it’s not any heavier after so long being unused!

[Roger Caffin]

Yeah, thread drift. The Columbia jacket uses a membrane fabric with the membrane on the outside, so it does not need a DWR.

Of course, with the membrane on the outside there is a high risk of damage to the membrane when going through scrub, or just from abrasion against pack straps. Can’t avoid that.

Cheers

[Ryan Smith]

“I really don’t think so. The ‘unscented’ version of Dr Bronners contains

water
coconut oil
potassium hydroxide
palm kernel oil
olive oil
hemp oil
jojoba oil
citric acid
tocopherol
Why it has to contain all these things is beyond me.

The whole point of a sports wash is that it rinses out 100%: nothing is left behind. All those oils – they do not rinse out; in fact they probably destroy the DWR action badly.”

 

The above is just a common recipe for pure soap. Take out everything but the oilve oil and potassium hydroxide and you’ve got Castille soap which is also common. I used to be quite the soap maker once upon a time. Lol. All those oils will saponify due to the potassium hydroxide leaving only glycerin and soap. It shouldn’t have any trouble removing body oils from a garment, but no guarantees on being DWR safe. Probably, but who knows. I’ve always used the Atsko stuff(thanks to Roger who mentioned it years ago) because it’s cheap and I know it works.

Ryan

[Roger Caffin]

All those oils will saponify due to the potassium hydroxide leaving only glycerin and soap.
The glycerin is a big problem.

Cheers

[Ryan Smith]

“The glycerin is a big problem.”

Seems OK. Potassium cocoate, which contains glycerin, is an ingredient in TechWash.

Ryan

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Ryan

I think you may be slightly confused here. Potassium cocoate is the potassium salt of coconut oil and does not contain any glycerine. It is widely used in many cleaning products.
However, what is sold as potassium cocoate SOAP often does have glycerine added to it. That is quite a different thing. Nothing wrong with it as a soap for your hands.

As far as I can see, Nikwax Techwash contains sodium cocoate plus a range of other chemicals (why, I do not know), but no glycerine. I have some reservations about the need for so many additives.

Atsko Sportwash does two things: it removes dirt and oils from your clothing, and it leaves no residue on the fabric. Everything rinses off. That means the DWR is restored to full effectiveness.

Cheers

[Ryan Smith]

N/M. Not worth the effort.

Ryan

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Ryan

Potassium salt of coconut oil, which you mention, cannot be created without potassium hydroxide. When added to coconut oil saponification occurs which releases glycerin(typically 10-12%).
Does it really? In which case my knowledge may be faulty. If I am wrong, I am wrong.
Can you give me some URLs which explain this please?

Also, is the potassium cocoate used by some vendors refined, in the sense that any glycerine has been removed? Um – how does one even find this sort of thing out?

Cheers

[Ryan Smith]

Hi Roger,

All good questions. If you Google it, you’re just going to find discussion of it from a soap making perspective which may not be correct and maybe not be discussing it in its purest form. In the end, it doesn’t really matter though. We both agree to just use Atsko or Tech Wash and skip the Bronner’s.

Ryan

[Ryan Smith]

Update: Got my Caldorado today. 7.16oz in XL. Similar to Brad, the fit is pretty nice. Nice length in the torso and sleeves. The hood seems OK so far, but will have to see how it handles wet weather. It has three vents on either side, total of six, running down towards the waist.  Judging by their design and size, I think the chest vents on the Flyweight might be a better choice for backpacking. Maybe not, we’ll see after some use. Overall, seems like a solid jacket for $100.

Ryan

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Ryan

Techies must techie :)

Cheers

[John Mc]

C I just picked up a Columbia Outdry Ex Featherweight jacket at the Columbia store here in Seattle.  My medium weighs 7.35 ounces.  I have a 2 week JMT hike starting September 3.  Hopefully I won’t need it.  I’ve never had luck with eVent, Goretex or Pertex.  I’m hoping this jacket will work.  Regardless I will always carry my umbrella….

[Brad Rogers]

Report back with your impressions.

I will be taking mine on the WRHR in just over a week.

[Lorenzo M]

Just got my featherweight, 225g in large. Very minimalist, doesn’t fit as well as a berghaus hyper smock, look forward to seeing how it works out.

[Graham F]

Welcome to the COEF club Lorenzo, Brad and John-I hope yours work out as well as mine has -just be mindful of not overdoing it with underlayers. Wear as little as possible. Good walking.

[Christoph Blank]

if anyone has a solution towards a better/stiffer hood, please let me know :)

[Graham F]

Christoph get one of those visors that lady golfers wear. See through peak and just a (sometimes towelling) head band, put it on underneath. You will look sharp in that.

I really like the curve on the peak-no rain on the face at all. Cheers

[Lorenzo M]

180g polartec grid fleece hoody under wp jacket for me usually. Should work well.

[Author]

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