Is Poly-Cotton, as bad as Cotton ?

[appletree_man]

Are the poly-cotton mixes as bad as pure cotton, when it comes to cold & wet ?
Just wondering, as I usually wear poly-cotton trousers when out and about. Thankfully haven't had to test how warm they are when wet....yet.

 

[bigjackbrass]

It's actually arguable as to whether cotton is as bad as cotton

It generally comes down to this: cotton is fine in the right circumstances, worn by someone who understands the fabric and can deal with getting soaked if wearing it. For many situations it is not a good idea, such as when hiking in jeans in typically changeable British weather. The trousers are heavy and inflexible, soak up huge amounts of water and take ages to dry, on top of which they chill you very rapidly when wet (painful memories of a cycle ride in the rain, many years ago, which taught me a good deal about wind chill and the onset of hypothermia). That said, I frequently wear a Ventile top in wet and cold weather and it's superb, the most comfortable and best performing item of clothing I've ever owned. There's cotton, and then there's cotton.

My favourite outdoor trousers are Rohan Bags, a 50/50 polycotton blend. Even in cool and wet conditions I've had no problems or serious discomfort from wearing them, certainly nothing approaching any level of danger, but again they could be bad in certain circumstances. Polycotton dries pretty quickly, if it's not too heavy, and that's the important thing. If I'm expecting prolonged wet or very cold weather then I'll be wearing something warm under the trousers, just as I wear a warm non-cotton top under the Ventile smock. Indeed, I also have an old pair of trousers from Craghoppers where the polycotton is backed with a light fleece and they are superb for winter.

Campers and woodsmen of a century ago wore cotton or wool trousers, naturally enough. Corduroy was frowned on as holding too much water, but khaki was considered pretty good as was a high quality moleskin. Bear in mind that these people expected to camp with a fire, so they would dry their soaked trousers and stand around in woollen longjohns. As long as you take the ability to dry your clothing into account as well as the worst weather you can expect there's no reason to avoid polycotton, in my opinion. Having a pair of polypro leggings in the pack just in case can be a useful tip, however.

 

[big_swede]

65/35 Poly/cotton dries 90000000% faster then cotton (ok, slightly overestimated). Is 6 times more hardwearing and is much easier to impregnate (right word?). Wind proof polycotton is much cheaper than wind proof cotton.

Hardwoven polycotton is mosquito proof and almost UV-proof. Also doesn't fade as easily as cotton.

my 2 'ören'

 

[maverick moocher]

Yep polycotton sure dries much faster that cotton. I wear Craghopper Kiwi's most of the time (65/35) Just started to wear 5.11 TDU Ripstop Pants also 65/35. The downside for me is that polycotton blends tend to be slightly noisier if you are creeping around a bit.Anyway shouldnt this be on " Kit Chatter? "

 

[appletree_man]

I thought about the best section for the subject, but as it is more to do with the possible survival benefits of poly-cotton, than a particular piece of kit, or brand, I felt this was the best place.

Of course a mod might disagree and move it.

 

[spamel]

I think that as previous people have said, you need to know the garments limits. You need to take into account the fore cast aswell. If you know it will rain for the next two weeks, you may want to consider something other than completely cotton clothing. Saying that, trousers in a light cotton are good. They are robust, quick drying and do the job. Denim is a definite no no! You could mess about with waterproof trousers, but they are just a hassle. As long as you never get into your sleeping bag with wet kit, no matter how much you want to, you will do OK.

I am moving towards woolen kit at the moment. For what I do, it is perfect. I layer my clothing aswell, a few light layers are much better than one thick layer. I have a swedish snow smock, cotton, which is fine in light drizzle and howling wind, a poncho will go on over that in seriously wet weather.

 

[Greywolf]

S'funny isn't it, for years the technical fabrics have ruled the roost with innovation and the 'new and improved' being the watchwords for anyone with an interest in the great outdoors.

Now we're looking to the past and woolen garments are making a comeback. Warm when wet, waterproof to a degree and (when the right weave is chosen) fairly lightweight.

Back to topic.

I use polycotton trousers, they are warm, lightweight and dry fairly quickly, Most of all they are virtually silent.
When the weather decides to bless me with liquid I pop on a pair of ripstop overtrousers (golfing ones) to keep me dry.

Cotton fabric isn't a killer, the wrong type of fabric for a situation is. As Spamel said, know the garment's limits and work within them.


GW

 

[RobertRogers]

Wool is still tops even though the miracle of modern advertising might lead you to think otherwise.