Wool, warm when wet?

[bronskimac]

I have heard that wool keeps you warm when it is wet. Is this true or a bushcraft myth?

Any other materials do the same?

Any materials to avoid when it's wet?

Planning my first winter camp and want to give myself the best chance of surviving

 

[mousey]

I've heard this too.

below copies from wiki:-

Wool is the traditional mid layer material with several good properties: it has good insulation even when wet, absorbs moisture but does not feel wet even when it holds significant moisture, and transfers moisture.

somewhere else it also says it can absorb 30-40% of it's own weight in water without 'becoming wet to the touch' [whatever that means]

 

[The Lord Poncho]

It is true, wool retains much of its warmth when wet. Cotton on the other hand doesn't, nor does down insulation. Modern synthetics are around the best for retaining insulation when wet, and will be lighter in this state than wool. Fleeces, fibre pile etc.

 

[LuckyDucky]

Yeh i woundered this. Im 6"1 where would i get a blanket big enough to wrap around for sleeping? And thats not to expensive?

 

[treadlightly]

Wool stays warm when wet and absorb lots of moisture without feeling wet. Avoid cotton - once wet it stays wet and sucks heat away from the body.

 

[Tadpole]

Dutch army Blankets, are the best blankets and huge
Italian blankets are as warm but smaller

 

[Shewie]

Yeh i woundered this. Im 6"1 where would i get a blanket big enough to wrap around for sleeping? And thats not to expensive?

Dutch army Blankets, are the best blankets and huge
Italian blankets are as warm but smaller

What he said, give Endicotts a ring a get the Rolls Royce of army blankets

 

[LuckyDucky]

What he said, give Endicotts a ring a get the Rolls Royce of army blankets

Sweet. Sorry another question.
Can you sleep with wool blanket inside a bivy bag?

They have some good offers. Gaiters from £1.95 grade 2 and £5.95 grade 1.

 

[Shewie]

Sweet. Sorry another question.
Can you sleep with wool blanket inside a bivy bag?

Yeah no problem, I've done it with smaller blankets but the Dutch one will need some trimming

 

[LuckyDucky]

Yeah no problem, I've done it with smaller blankets but the Dutch one will need some trimming

When i get paid im going to get one.
Sorry last question/s

Q. I hate itchy wool. Are the general wool blankets itchy?
Is there a way i can maybe use fabric softner to make less itchy. And if by doing this would muck-up the wool?
Any other way of stopping wool from being itchy?

 

[Shewie]

When i get paid im going to get one.
Sorry last question/s

Q. I hate itchy wool. Are the general wool blankets itchy?
Is there a way i can maybe use fabric softner to make less itchy. And if by doing this would muck-up the wool?
Any other way of stopping wool from being itchy?

The dutch one is really soft so not itchy compared to others, Toddy recommends regular hair shampoo to help soften the itchy stuff

 

[LuckyDucky]

The dutch one is really soft so not itchy compared to others, Toddy recommends regular hair shampoo to help soften the itchy stuff

Thankyou for your great advise. I will certainly get the dutch blanket and try out the shampoo.

 

[Martti]

I have heard that wool keeps you warm when it is wet. Is this true or a bushcraft myth?

From Matthew's Textile Fibers, pg. 555-557:

[...]
Tests show that those fabrics making the poorest contact cause the least chilling. The results of these experiments show clearly the progressive improvement of the fabrics with respect to chilling as their wool content is increased, and also the superiority of certain types of construction which minimize the extent of contact of the fabrics with the skin. From this point of view the desirability of wool fibers, which are highly crimped and posses long range elasticity, is apparent. These properties permit a type of fabric construction which minimizes the extent of contact with the skin. In contrast, cotton exhibits considerable plasticity when wet and is less desirable from the same point of view.
[...]
Theory and experiment thus agree that hygroscopic textiles prevent sudden tempature changes from reaching the skin. [...] Animal fibers are superior to others in this respect; they absorb more water than other textile without loosing their psysical properties; in particular they show no surface wetting. They have long been recognized as supreme in avoiding sudden temperature changes at the skin, and there can be little doubt that this is due in a large measure of their high regains.

 

[TurboGirl]

Wool actually has a degree of appreciable 'heat of wetting' properties where the fibre temperature raises by (can't remember exactly, think its up to 1-2 degrees)- it does this fairly quickly whereas it looses the water content very slowly so the drop in temperature isn't noticable I believe its unique to wool... dunno bout synthetic performance fabrics/ materials, am too old fashioned

 

[RonW]

Tried it myself last weekend, wearing an old woolen army uniform in snow, sleet, rain and melting snow. Never felt cold, althought I got quite wet and my mittens were dripping, literally!
The Dutch blankets being huge?? What is huge? I have some and I can fold them around me with some overlap on top. They are very soft though. I can sleep in/under them and don't need anything between the wool and my bare skin.

 

[andybysea]

The problem with wool is it takes to long to dry out, my Swanni got soaked one winter trip and never dried out the rest of the trip(2more days)dont get me wrong i like wool i just hate feeling damp when out, especially in winter, i find modern fabrics dry much faster than wool, if i was stactic camping with good shelter id choose wool, if i was doing alot of walking/moving,and little shelter id choose synthetic.

 

[LuckyDucky]

Tried it myself last weekend, wearing an old woolen army uniform in snow, sleet, rain and melting snow. Never felt cold, althought I got quite wet and my mittens were dripping, literally!
The Dutch blankets being huge?? What is huge? I have some and I can fold them around me with some overlap on top. They are very soft though. I can sleep in/under them and don't need anything between the wool and my bare skin.

Huge!! Probably big enough for me 6"1 wraped up in it like a mummy and with it over my face like a bivy.

 

[rg598]

I can't tell you much about the chemistry of wool, or how things work, but I can tell you that every time my wool clothing has gotten wet, I've been cold. Avoid getting wet. Bring a waterproof/resistant layer.

 

[Toddy]

I wear wool when out, and HWMBLT has a couple of wool hoodies that he wears for his walks down the woods to the river. He comes home sometimes sodden wet, and he's only cold if there's a strong wind blowing the rain too. I just hang it up on a wooden hanger on a hook above the kitchen radiator. It's dry by evening.

If you get wool wet, and you have to wear it, keep moving. The heat from your body will drive off the damp.
Even damp it's warm, but unless it's boiled wool, or felted or fulled (like good tweed and tartan) wool or very tightly woven
like barathea, then the wind will always get through.
It's the original breathable fabric

On another note, the hoods of the European past had fringes, dags and tails......they help wick away and evaporate water. There's a reason for the fringes on buckskins and capotes In temperate climates they're not just decoration.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[mrcharly]

Wool covered with a windproof breathable layer is fantastic, versatile and warm.

It's what I use for winter cycle commuting, where the ride can be up to 2 hours in severe weather and I know I'll be riding in exposed conditions for that time.