Hi everyone,
I read that the ideal wind shell for high MET (~7) activities, such as UL backpacking, should be about 35 CFM. Argon 90, as tested by Richard Nisley, is 40.13 CFM / 351.5 HH. Richard also stated that it was rare for a breathable weave fabric to have high CFM and high HH.
Being that Argon 90 is about as close to ideal as possible compared to any other fabric (correct me if I’m wrong) for the application of UL backpacking, why haven’t cottage manufacturers jumped all over making a wind shell out of this fabric? The only one that utilized this fabric in a wind shell was Luke’s Ultralite from what I can find. Unfortunately, they have gone under, and no other cottage manufacturer seems to offer a wind shell with this fabric. Dutchware offers wind pants with the fabric. I contacted Dutchware about a wind jacket and they informed me they are in the process of developing one now, which is great. Still, this fabric has been out for a while now and hardly any cottage manufacturer’s are taking advantage of it.
Am I missing something? Why is it not being utilized by more cottage manufacturers?
