M65 jacket
- Thread starter EdS
- Start date
M65's aren't actually too bad of a jacket. The outer shell is a tightly woven poly/cotton oxford weave, so it's actually not bad at repelling water. I've found them to not be quite as good as Ventile, but proofing them helps a lot, and for the price, well, you could buy several M65 jackets for the price of one Ventile parka.
Adam
Adam
addyb said:
ooh! wot kinda proofing product do u recommend?
anyone know where to get an M65 liner from?
Scruff (y)??? hehehe
There's three different types of proofing you can get for an M65.
a) Kiwi Camp Dry - available at grocery stores. It's silicon based, you paint it on the parka, it dries, voila! Waterproofness! In all actuality, Camp Dry is very similar to what the military recommends for clothing. (Silicone Textile Water Repellent, Aerosol. NATO stock number: blah blah blah)
b) Nikwax Cotton Proof: Available at most sporting/outdoor stores. This stuff comes in spray or wash-in format. I'd suggest wash in, it works better. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Turn your washing machine on with no soap or clothing in it, do a cycle. This removes all soap/bleach residue with destroys proofings. Do another cyle with the jacket and the recommended amount of Cotton Proof. Do a third cycle, a rinse cycle. Hang the jacket up somewhere, let it dry for a while. Voila! Waterproofness!
c) Grangers Cotton Proof: Available in good old Blimey, which means I can't bleedin' get it in Canada. Anyway, it's a flourocarbon based treatment, some chaps say it works better than Nikwax, others say Nikwax is better than Grangers.
Either way, any of these 3 treatments will work fine. You should do it once a year or so, depending on how much you use the M65. Also, dirt, sweat, and that sort of thing lowers the effectiveness of a proofing, which in technical terms is called a DWR. (Durable Water Repellency) The solution is to wash the jacket when it gets dirty, WITHOUT SOAP. Just toss it in the washing machine, wash, rinse, hang up to dry. Voila! Your DWR works great! Also, heat re-vives it. So, in a dryer on a medium setting will be as good for a DWR as Viagra is for oldsters.
I remember me good old Dad telling me that back in the day they would iron their Gore-Tex jackets when water stopped beading up. Another thing you can do if you're in the bush is to boil some water in your cooking pot so it's hot, and use the pot like an iron on your M65. Voila! Revival!
Oh, and a liner? Well, any old surplus store'll carry one. It's just basically a poncho liner. Or, try this site: Liners and parkas galore!
hehehe
Cheers mate,
Adam.
PS: I said it before and I'll say it again, all you English folk's ENGLISH is rubbing off on me!
There's three different types of proofing you can get for an M65.
a) Kiwi Camp Dry - available at grocery stores. It's silicon based, you paint it on the parka, it dries, voila! Waterproofness! In all actuality, Camp Dry is very similar to what the military recommends for clothing. (Silicone Textile Water Repellent, Aerosol. NATO stock number: blah blah blah)
b) Nikwax Cotton Proof: Available at most sporting/outdoor stores. This stuff comes in spray or wash-in format. I'd suggest wash in, it works better. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Turn your washing machine on with no soap or clothing in it, do a cycle. This removes all soap/bleach residue with destroys proofings. Do another cyle with the jacket and the recommended amount of Cotton Proof. Do a third cycle, a rinse cycle. Hang the jacket up somewhere, let it dry for a while. Voila! Waterproofness!
c) Grangers Cotton Proof: Available in good old Blimey, which means I can't bleedin' get it in Canada. Anyway, it's a flourocarbon based treatment, some chaps say it works better than Nikwax, others say Nikwax is better than Grangers.
Either way, any of these 3 treatments will work fine. You should do it once a year or so, depending on how much you use the M65. Also, dirt, sweat, and that sort of thing lowers the effectiveness of a proofing, which in technical terms is called a DWR. (Durable Water Repellency) The solution is to wash the jacket when it gets dirty, WITHOUT SOAP. Just toss it in the washing machine, wash, rinse, hang up to dry. Voila! Your DWR works great! Also, heat re-vives it. So, in a dryer on a medium setting will be as good for a DWR as Viagra is for oldsters.
I remember me good old Dad telling me that back in the day they would iron their Gore-Tex jackets when water stopped beading up. Another thing you can do if you're in the bush is to boil some water in your cooking pot so it's hot, and use the pot like an iron on your M65. Voila! Revival!Oh, and a liner? Well, any old surplus store'll carry one. It's just basically a poncho liner. Or, try this site: Liners and parkas galore!
hehehe
Cheers mate,
Adam.
PS: I said it before and I'll say it again, all you English folk's ENGLISH is rubbing off on me!
addyb said:
dude thanks for the advice. i'm gonna give one of those waterproofers a whirl for sure. i love my M65. its a black "real" alpha industries one.
was thinking of re-dying it too. its begining to look a little gray in parts, on the back in particular. i've been told it looks a bit....erm....scruffy
thanks for the liners site too....much obliged old boy! wot wot!
ta ta for now
