[at-l] Confessions of a cotton lover

[m_factor@hotmail.com (Mara Factor)]

Absolutely nothing wrong with wearing cotton when you can stay dry and warm.

The problem comes when it gets wet.  Cotton does not wick moisture and can 
become abrasive when wet (watch out for blisters and packsores).  It also 
gets heavy.  If you wear cotton while hiking, you generally need to carry 
more "emergency" clothing in case your cotton does get wet (sweak, rain, or 
falling in while fording a river will all get you wet).

Likewise, silk loses it's insulative properties when it gets wet and does 
not wick like modern hydrophobic fabrics.

Wool, on the other hand, will stay "relatively" warmer when wet but will 
absorb a great deal of moisture and become heavy.  It will certainly shed 
water for some period of time, but if you get truly soaked, even the natural 
wool will hold a great deal more water than comparable synthetic fleece.

All of these fabrics take much longer to dry once wet than comparably 
weighted synthetic fabrics.

The feel of synthetic fabrics has changed quite a bit from the first dark 
blue polypropelene long underwear I bought.  Different brands have different 
feels.  Try a few and see what looks good.  I happen to like Capilene from 
Patagucci (both silkweight and other weights) and try to get it on sale 
(usually at the end of the season when they are trying to get rid of colors 
that didn't sell.)

So, if you do wear the natural fibers, just think ahead and be prepared for 
situations when you get an unintentional soaking.  Remember hypothermia can 
set in at temperatures well above freezing...

Mara
Stitches, GAME99

>From: "Alexis Lee Acken" <ackenglass@hotmail.com>
>Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 00:24:01 -0500
>
...
>I prefer natural fiber whenever possible...
>
>
> > ...What, if any, are the options for cooler weather?
> >
> > Kelly

_________________________________________________________________
Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com