this post was submitted on 29 Feb 2024
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Not direct advice. But I've switched from "technical" waterproof fabrics that use DWR chemicals, to waxed fabrics. I've found that after a year of use, the technical fabrics lose their ability to repel water, and I can't get them back no matter what I do. Waxed fabrics are heavier and don't breathe as well, but you can reapply wax to get them to repel water again.
I strongly agree. It's been trendy to wear technical jackets for everyday clothing, and I can certainly understand the alure of just having 1 jacket to do everything, but we are all better off saving the DWR+membrane jackets for their designated purpose.
Just walking about, you don't need much breathability, so waxed clothing works just fine.
I've looked them up a bit and I love the idea that they can also just be rewaxed! However, I gotta admit I think right now they are a bit too expensive for me. Most of them easily cost two or three times as much as the technical jackets I've been looking at. I will do some more research tho, and definitely keep that kind of clothing in mind just because I think it's a really cool way to make them weatherproof
I think the problem is that the brands that make waxed clothing are often more on the luxury side of things (like fjallraven). There's nothing about waxed fabric that should make it inherently expensive. You could do it yourself, the only downside is that you wouldn't know for sure what the fabric looks like waxed until you do it.
There's nothing stopping you from buying a 10β¬ bar of wax from fjallraven and a 50β¬ canvas jacket. There's even more lightweight fabrics that can be waxed, you'd just want to do some homework on how well the particular fabric works with wax.
Just do a bit of the inside of a cuff or the underside of a hem.
Back in the day I used to spray my coat with automotive silicone. Doesn't look great but your not getting wet.
Oh I didn't think it was that easy to do. Thank you for all the info, I'm going to research that a bit more!
You can buy a jacket that is (mostly) made out of cotton, and then wax it yourself. Itβll probably take you a few hours to do, but it can be done inexpensive. AliExpress has some cheap waxed jackets too.
Someone has mentioned this as well! I'll definitely do some more research on how to do that kinda stuff because I really like that concept!
Not to mention that those technical fabrics are full of PFAS.
Some companies have switched to Fluorine-free waterproofing chemicals (e.g. Deuter for backpacks). Iirc, there's even a Fluorine-free version of Goretex nowadays. I haven't really looked into whether these materials are this much better though.
I didn't even know fabrics like that exist, gonna look it up right away, thank you!
I've been eying waxed jackets for a while, do you have any brand recommendations?
Barbour are the best I've had. Pricey though