70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

Thanks,

Al D

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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.

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

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

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

Al Deveron wrote:

Am I missing something?

About 30 years of fabric development.

Modern polyester fabrics are probably the best for outdoor gear. All of the
good fleeces are polyester. The best wicking fabrics are polyester. There's no
comparison between polyester today and polyester fabrics of the past. However,
you'd have to stay with the better brands to take advantage of these things.
There's quite a difference between, say, a good polyester T shirt and a poor
quality one - softer, better wicking and more comfortable.

Polyester also has better UV resistance than nylon, though that's rarely an
issue with clothing. However, tent flies are usually polyester nowadays due to
the better performance.

Mike

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

Al Deveron wrote:
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.

Light nylon are no less comfortable in hot weather than cotton. Supplex (TM)
and similar nylon fabrics are quite soft and comfy.

Mike

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

id say best thing would be supplex pants with zip off
legs that make them into shorts

yes?

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

I was the same way --- but the high-tech synthetics today are much better,
and cotton kills when wet. The modern synthetics breathe well and allow
evaporation, and once I shelled out for them, I will NEVER wear cotton in
the boat again. I don't even like 50/50 cotton/poly any more.

Jim Hill
Columbus, Ohio

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.


That was true back in the leisure suit era.

The fabric industry has learned a lot since then.
--

r.bc: vixen

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 09:21:52 -0400, "James Hill"
wrote:

I was the same way --- but the high-tech synthetics today are much better,
and cotton kills when wet. The modern synthetics breathe well and allow
evaporation, and once I shelled out for them, I will NEVER wear cotton in
the boat again. I don't even like 50/50 cotton/poly any more.

How about 70/30 poly-cotton? That's less than a third cotton... I saw
some attractive duds in that mix the other day... I'm thinking this
would dry out a lot quicker than pure cotton, anyway, yes?

Al D

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

Al Deveron wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 09:21:52 -0400, "James Hill"
wrote:

I was the same way --- but the high-tech synthetics today are much better,
and cotton kills when wet. The modern synthetics breathe well and allow
evaporation, and once I shelled out for them, I will NEVER wear cotton in
the boat again. I don't even like 50/50 cotton/poly any more.

How about 70/30 poly-cotton? That's less than a third cotton... I saw
some attractive duds in that mix the other day... I'm thinking this
would dry out a lot quicker than pure cotton, anyway, yes?

Al D

Sure, you will now be 70% dry! 30% still wet and clammy! Sounds good
to me, if it works for you! Just don't be making a lot of complaining
sounds to your companions! Also remember if you do a wet exit, you will
be trying to re-enter with a load of water absorbed into your clothes,
that always makes it easier, as in ever try to swim in Levis! HYY

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 16:37:08 +0100, Al Deveron
wrote:

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 09:21:52 -0400, "James Hill"
wrote:

I was the same way --- but the high-tech synthetics today are much better,
and cotton kills when wet. The modern synthetics breathe well and allow
evaporation, and once I shelled out for them, I will NEVER wear cotton in
the boat again. I don't even like 50/50 cotton/poly any more.

How about 70/30 poly-cotton? That's less than a third cotton...

I saw
some attractive duds in that mix the other day...

Ah, you'll have to check with the fashion magazines, then...

Useful stuff is becoming more attractive, but if you want to look
good, stay near the car or on shore, or rent a cabin.

Remember "...pretty is as pretty does...".

I'm thinking this
would dry out a lot quicker than pure cotton, anyway, yes?

Al D
--

r.bc: vixen
Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher, etc..
Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless. Really.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:48:38 -0500, Cyli wrote:


some attractive duds in that mix the other day...

Ah, you'll have to check with the fashion magazines, then...

I meant 'attractive' in that they had the functional features that I
find useful; not *your* kind of 'attractive'...

Al D

70% cotton 30% nylon pants for canoeing / camping?
 

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 11:15:57 +0100, Al Deveron
wrote:

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:48:38 -0500, Cyli wrote:


some attractive duds in that mix the other day...

Ah, you'll have to check with the fashion magazines, then...

I meant 'attractive' in that they had the functional features that I
find useful; not *your* kind of 'attractive'...

Al D

Not my kind of attractive. I tend to dress like a bag lady who's
gotten into some upscale trash behind the Target store. You mean the
kind of attractive I thought you meant, though I was, it seems,
incorrect about that.
--

r.bc: vixen
Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher, etc..
Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless. Really.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli