A potential revolutionary new waterproof material

[jimjolli]

Okay, so this may sound mad, but hear me out.

I am going through the dilemma of choosing a new waterproof jacket. Gore-Tex? Ventile? Paremo? Narrona Recon? Swazi Tahr? etc etc. It's completely driving me nuts!!!!

I was at a mates house last week and he was re-roofing his shed. As I'm sure most of you know, a part in this process is to install a breathable waterproof membrane.
That stuff is amazing. Totally waterproof (we poured a bucket of water onto it and left it hanging for a week and not a drop came through. Very thin. Breathable. Very Cheap.

So why hasn't anybody tried making waterproof clothes out of this stuff?

 

[nuggets]

my arms become inflamed while using it - not sure if its got any glass fibre in it ?? but me mate sleeps on it -and swears by it !!! horses for courses !!

 

[jimjolli]

Ahhhhh, that could be a reason why. inflamed arms aren't good.

But there must me a non irritant version of it. So many companies make the stuff.

 

[wicca]

A jacket of roofing material?...Mmm! not too sure about that, you'd get slated for wearing it I reckon..might be alright for a night on the tiles though..

 

[Chinkapin]

Sounds like Tyvek. Tyvek is used a lot here to "wrap" houses prior to putting on the siding.

When it is new, it is fairly stiff and "pops" a lot in the wind, if used as a tarp. If it is washed, and put through a dryer for several cycles, it gets softer, and becomes "quiet." and is no longer noisy in the wind, yet it is still water proof.

No one to my knowledge makes clothing out of Tyvek. However, having said that, I have been seeing a brand of rain gear sold here in the states called Froggs. I have no idea what it is, but it looks a lot like washed and dried Tyvek.

Are Froggs sold in the UK? They have gotten quite popular here lately. I don't have any experience with them my self. Tyvek can be bought on the internet by the yard. If anyone wanted to experiment with it for tarps or whatever. It is relatively inexpensive.

 

[Alexlebrit]

Googling Tyvek reveals it's not new it was patented in 1965!! There's two types, Tyvek Paper (Hard Structure) and Tyvek Fabric (Soft Structure). Tyvek Paper is what's used for wrapping houses, and also for some protective envelopes, CD sleeves etc. Tyvek Fabric has been used to make a range of protective gear, most of which seems to be disposable, like the stuff used in labs etc.t, including this highly fashionable set of overalls.

I've not found suppliers for Tyvek fabric though, but I suppose you could use a set of the overalls as emergency waterproofs as they pack small and light, or maybe wear it under windshell gear (assuming you don't want to look like your in arctic camo of course). I wonder if it takes a dye?

 

[Bravo4]

The place I work at sells this "rainwear", seems similar to modern roofing material, tyvek. Not exactly durable, a back-up garment with a very limited life span if used reguraly, similar to a vinyl poncho, IMO.
http://www.rainshield.com/

 

[MrEd]

The place I work at sells this "rainwear", seems similar to modern roofing material, tyvek. Not exactly durable, a back-up garment with a very limited life span if used reguraly, similar to a vinyl poncho, IMO.
http://www.rainshield.com/

yeah all the disposable tyvek stuff i have used at work is ok for one or 2 uses, but it stains easy and eventually gets holes after a few uses, its not really tough.

Its used as a proctective layer, i.e dealing with hazardous materials like body fluids etc etc in the ambulance service

i have worn them as clothes when i have got muck al over my uniform lol

 

[jimjolli]

This stuff seemed pretty damn tough to me.

How about as a waterproof layer within a jacket, a la gore-tex? Or a thin layer underneath ventile to make it 100% waterproof.

Could be useful for other camping things, like lightweight water carriers or a tarp?

 

[Alexlebrit]

What you'd have been looking at is the paper version which does seem pretty tough, I've found an envelope which uses it and it's damn hard to tear. I'm soaking it now to see if I can soften it at all.

 

[Jaysurfer]

The outdoor clothing industry spends millions on devolping waterproof and breathable fabrics and obviously the big thing at the moment is are all fabrics being used in outdoor clothing environmentally friendly?

Alot of clothing manufacturers are cutting out harmfle PTFE membranes and using PU membranes, as well as water based dyes. The other issue in this is waterproofing previously used fluorocarbons like PFOS and PFOA which were enviromentally harmfull.

I am sure if there was a way of using cheap roofing material one of the big clothing manufactures would of found a way, renamed it and kept the high price tag instead of spending millions of £££'s developing other fabrics.

J

 

[rik_uk3]

Tyvek is OK but if you use it as a ground sheet it will leak at pressure points, like where your elbows or knees rest. I tried it a few years ago.

 

[Alexlebrit]

I am sure if there was a way of using cheap roofing material one of the big clothing manufactures would of found a way, renamed it and kept the high price tag instead of spending millions of £££'s developing other fabrics.J

Well it is used for clothing already, just tends to be of the disposable kind. Only thing is there's nothing I've read to suggest why this is.