70% cotton 30% nylon (fairly thin). Is this a good fabric for
canoeing/camping pants (aka trousers!)?

Thanks,

Al D

Al Deveron wrote:
70% cotton 30% nylon (fairly thin). Is this a good fabric for
canoeing/camping pants (aka trousers!)?

Avoid cotton. Those will tend to dry slowly compared to 100% nylon pants.
There are nylon pants on the market that are not only light and quick-dry but
the weave is so tight that mosquitoes can't bite through it.

Mike

On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:02:29 -0400, Michael Daly
wrote:

Avoid cotton. Those will tend to dry slowly compared to 100% nylon pants.
There are nylon pants on the market that are not only light and quick-dry but
the weave is so tight that mosquitoes can't bite through it.

They sound like they're worth trying - thanks. I bet they make you
sweat though, don't they? Even my thin (70% cotton 30% nylon) ones are
making me sweat in today's warm weather.

Al D

Al Deveron wrote:

70% cotton 30% nylon (fairly thin). Is this a good fabric for
canoeing/camping pants (aka trousers!)?

If it's warm enough and you're just out for a two hour excursion, sure
they'll work fine. But if there's a chance you might encounter temps
below about 25 Celsius (75 F) and there's any chance of getting wet,
don't wear cotton anything.

IOW, keep looking. Nylon, polyester, polypro, even wool are all a
better choice than cotton.

//Walt

Cotton is not a good choice for most outdoor activities, especially
those around water. If it is very hot I sometimes wear cotton t-shirts.
I use doubleknit polyester dress pants instead of the often costly
pants made by the outdoor companies. If you get a light color, I think
that you will find you can use them in hot and cold with reasonable comfort.

When I take novices out, I tell them not to bring any cotton at all,
leave it all home. The last trip I did that on, I was really glad, the
weather was nasty, cold, wind, rain. He would have been in trouble if
he was wearing cotton pants.

Besides cotton drying slowly, it is not at all warm when wet, so when
weather hits you might get dangerously cold. (I know that cold sounds
good right now, but think of a storm blowing in with wind, rain, and cold.).

Richard


Al Deveron wrote:
70% cotton 30% nylon (fairly thin). Is this a good fabric for
canoeing/camping pants (aka trousers!)?

Thanks,

Al D


--
http://www.fergusonsculpture.com
Sculptures in copper and other metals

Richard Ferguson wrote:
Cotton is not a good choice for most outdoor activities, especially
those around water. If it is very hot I sometimes wear cotton t-shirts.
I use doubleknit polyester dress pants instead of the often costly
pants made by the outdoor companies.

I was fortunate to score a brand new pair of Columbia GRT convertible
pants at Ross

http://www.rossstores.com/

for a mere 99 cents. I searched the whole mens clothing side looking
for another pair but they only had the one.

Wal-Mart used to sell polyester T-shirts for around $7 that were
popular with the mountain biking crowd for their ability to wick away
perspiration. I'm not sure if they still have them but it would be
worth a look.

On 18 Jul 2006 06:55:58 -0700, "Sees-koo-wee-hah-nay"
wrote:

Wal-Mart used to sell polyester T-shirts for around $7 that were
popular with the mountain biking crowd for their ability to wick away
perspiration. I'm not sure if they still have them but it would be
worth a look.

I thought that poyester had fallen out of favor as a clothing fabric,
due to its inability to wick away perspiration. Am I missing
something?

Al D

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:40:01 -0400, Walt
wrote:

IOW, keep looking. Nylon, polyester, polypro, even wool are all a
better choice than cotton.

OK - I will try a few different fabrics such as the above three.

I've always been a staunch cotton man in the past, since cotton seems
to reduce perspiration - or allow it to evaporate. It seems to keep
one fairly cool in hot weather, yet warm in cold weather. I can't
remember having been soaked to the bone in cold weather while wearing
cotton though...

I have always avoided polyester like the plague because I was under
the impression that it inhibits the proper evaporation of
perspiration, thereby making one sticky and smelly.

Al D

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 13:42:07 GMT, Richard Ferguson
wrote:

I use doubleknit polyester dress pants

I would have expected them to make you hot, sticky, smelly and
uncomfortable. That's how I always was at school (ages ago) when
polyester was all the rage as the marvellous drip-dry fabric that
needed no ironing.

Life was a complete misery in summertime, and no-one understood why
....until someone rediscovered pure cotton!

Al D

Al Deveron wrote:
Walt wrote:

IOW, keep looking. Nylon, polyester, polypro, even wool are all a
better choice than cotton.

OK - I will try a few different fabrics such as the above three.

I've always been a staunch cotton man in the past, since cotton seems
to reduce perspiration - or allow it to evaporate. It seems to keep
one fairly cool in hot weather, yet warm in cold weather. I can't
remember having been soaked to the bone in cold weather while wearing
cotton though...

I have always avoided polyester like the plague because I was under
the impression that it inhibits the proper evaporation of
perspiration, thereby making one sticky and smelly.

I understand where you are coming from. Ten years ago, before I started
skiing, sailing, and paddling my wardrobe was entirely cotton. Cotton
is fine until it gets wet, at which point it stays wet and doesn't
insulate at all. Ok for warm weather, but uncomfortable and potentially
life threatening in the cold.

There are many different grades of polyester - some feel like wearing a
plastic bag and others are almost indistinguishable from cotton. Some
will make you smelly, others have some treatments to inhibit bacterial
growth. Shop around.

And keep in mind that you don't necessarily want *one* pair of pants for
all conditions. A good wardrobe of pants would be something like:

neoprene wetsuit - for cold weather paddling
polyester fleece - for moderate weather
nylon with zip-off legs - for hot weather

//Walt