Natural v.s. Synthetic

[sam_acw]

Synthetics can't be repaired very easily so you have to replace them more often. They also degrade or wear out more quickly hence you need to buy them more often
I'd rather have natrual stuff as it doesn;t look as stupid (neon anoraks anyone?) but high street shops try to convince you that the only reason your fleece doesn't work is because you aren't wearing their patented underwear below it. I once asked a Millet's salesman why if fleeces where so great people that worked outdoors tended to wear more natural clothes. His mouth opened and closed as if he was a fish and he left me alone

 

[andy_e]

A few of you have mentioned something about not being able to try on jackets and other items of clothes before you buy them...is this some sort of peculiar British custom, us Canadians are unaware of? Truthfully though what gives?
Cheers
Alex

Hehehe - it's just one of those quaint Old World rituals (similar in many ways to the annual Haggis Herding here in Scotland), one that we expect to be able to perform during the ceremony of clothing procurement. We do tend to get a tad miffed when the clothing is ill fitting. So, we encourage partaking in the ritual and since we are much more squashed together here than in the wide open spaces of Canada we find that being pressed up next to someone complaining about the fit of a badly chosen garment is very distresing. Of course we can do nothing about the taste of others but since we all seem to have pretty much the same bushcrafting uniform that's less of a problem. ;-)

 

[bushyboo]

this is a bit of a tricky one i try to stick to natual especialy next to the skin but like most i have a mixture of both . especialy when it comes to waterpoofs - lightwieght and easy to pack

Gordon

 

[Sickboy]

Strange how my good lady can order piles of stuff of ASOS, try it on and send it back for another size with a 2 day turn around but when i try it with more specialist retailers it seams to take an age
Then again i have bought footwear of the net and had no problems so not sure why i should be so picky about buying jackets and the like, good point from across the water

 

[PaleoHunterGatherer]

Hehehe - it's just one of those quaint Old World rituals (similar in many ways to the annual Haggis Herding here in Scotland), one that we expect to be able to perform during the ceremony of clothing procurement. We do tend to get a tad miffed when the clothing is ill fitting. So, we encourage partaking in the ritual and since we are much more squashed together here than in the wide open spaces of Canada we find that being pressed up next to someone complaining about the fit of a badly chosen garment is very distresing. Of course we can do nothing about the taste of others but since we all seem to have pretty much the same bushcrafting uniform that's less of a problem. ;-)

LOL, mate!

 

[deepcmonkey]

I'm the other way around, most of my gear is natural if you exclude the metal bits.

For me it's not about performance but feel and aesthetics. I just don't like plastic.

I do pay for it a bit with weight though. :11doh:

Do you make those your self Wayland or do you buy the pouches, I really like them, very nice.

Generally I prefer synthetics for clothing as I feel they perform better, lighter, faster drying etc..

 

[shep]

I realised the other day that I had an almost perfect mix of synthetic and natural:

Merino/poly base, heavy cotton overshirt. Then when I sat down and it got cold, a wool jumper and a polycotton M65. Seemed to work for me.