Spiny Mouse
Member
Water Management
That's where a Pile and Pertex system excels. The pile wicks moisture off your skin while actually having relatively little contact area (the pile keeps the damp fabric from plastering onto your skin), so you feel relatively dry. The Pertex wicks the water off the pile and exposes the water to the outside air where it can evaporate. This water transfer happens much faster through Pertex than through the laminate-based fabrics.
The Pertex is not water proof, but it does block the wind. A Pertex 5 or 6 grade fabric can keep air intrusion below 5 cfm, which is the level at which a person starts to feel a draft within their clothes.
P&P garments don't pretend to keep you dry in a downpour. What they do do is keep you warm even if you get wet, let you sweat without getting soaked, dry very quickly, breathe like the laminates wish they could, and protect you from wind. You can climb in P&P while in a light rain and stay drier than wearing a laminate shell in the same conditions. In a heavy rain, you will get wet, but then sweat would soak you if you were climbing in a laminate anyway.
Another advantage of Pertex is that you can repair it. If you snag on a branch and rip the nylon (it's tough stuff, so this isn't easy to do), you can stitch the rip and not lose any performance from the garment. If you rip Goretex or another laminate, the garment is pretty much ruined.
That's where a Pile and Pertex system excels. The pile wicks moisture off your skin while actually having relatively little contact area (the pile keeps the damp fabric from plastering onto your skin), so you feel relatively dry. The Pertex wicks the water off the pile and exposes the water to the outside air where it can evaporate. This water transfer happens much faster through Pertex than through the laminate-based fabrics.
The Pertex is not water proof, but it does block the wind. A Pertex 5 or 6 grade fabric can keep air intrusion below 5 cfm, which is the level at which a person starts to feel a draft within their clothes.
P&P garments don't pretend to keep you dry in a downpour. What they do do is keep you warm even if you get wet, let you sweat without getting soaked, dry very quickly, breathe like the laminates wish they could, and protect you from wind. You can climb in P&P while in a light rain and stay drier than wearing a laminate shell in the same conditions. In a heavy rain, you will get wet, but then sweat would soak you if you were climbing in a laminate anyway.
Another advantage of Pertex is that you can repair it. If you snag on a branch and rip the nylon (it's tough stuff, so this isn't easy to do), you can stitch the rip and not lose any performance from the garment. If you rip Goretex or another laminate, the garment is pretty much ruined.
