So thru-hiker.com just unveiled a new fabric: Momentum 50!

From their site:

"Momentum 50 Specs
Base Weight: 0.5 oz/yd2
Finished Weight: 0.7 oz yd2 (24g/m2)
Finish: Teflon DWR
Downproof
10dx10d
Years in the making, we're thrilled to offer the immediate availability Momentum 50, the lightest downproof fabric available today at a remarkable finished weight of just 0.7 oz/yd2 (24g/m2).

Momentum 50 will be in extremely short supply until the spring when our full color lots start arriving. In order to maximize availability roll good orders will be limited to no more than five yards per household. Avoid disappointment by getting some yardage now while it's in stock!"

It's pricey at $22/yd but you have to give the guys credit for keeping pace with the big brands and providing leading edge materials for the DIY crowd.

This Thread is also discussing this product.

Edited by greg23 on 12/01/2010 13:28:30 MST.

Got 5 yards on the way...stay tuned for worlds lightest bivy :)

Honestly, the first thing I thought when I saw the announcement, was:

"Steve is going to make a new bivy."

Now if Cubic Tech would get their act together and give us the breathable cuben that they have been threatening, we would have ourselves a horse race! Can't wait to see what the cottage manufacturers do with this! Great work Paul and Ron!

Pricey... but I could make a really light down summer quilt with that stuff... hmm.

...I just couldn't do it. I ordered some down for something else I am doing, but I felt like that was a lot of dough for 5 yards of orange nylon. I hope that when the colors arrive (black) and there is more of it... the price might come down. Pretty please ;)

Edited by lexeverything on 12/01/2010 18:10:39 MST.

SO much monies!

I can dream!

Honestly, the first thing I thought when I saw the announcement, was:

"Steve is going to make a new bivy."

You know me too well...:) I was just working out the details of a new bivy design aswell. If the M50 came out a even day later, I would have started with M90. Thank god! I couldn't imagine using that old heavy M90 anymore! ;)

I hope AYCE is getting this stuff in a dark green or some similar forest color. The lightest fabric I've found that matches OD cuben fiber is 30 d ripstop nylon.

Can someone tell me what the difference between Momentum 50 and Nylite is?

http://www.sailrite.com/Ripstop-Nylon-5oz-Dark-Blue-60

Other than price and availble colors?

Too light for a windshirt?

Marc, the Nylite is a zero-porosity fabric.

I ordered some Nylite and found that it weighed about 1.1 oz/yard. All kite and spinnaker fabrics are this way. It isn't because the weights are expressed in sailmaker's yards, and it isn't because the base fabric is actually 0.5 oz and the coating drives up the weight. The base fabric is probably 0.9 oz/yard.

"0.5oz" is just a category name meaning "very light." No "0.5 oz" kite or sail fabric weighs less than twice that much. I bought a "0.5 oz" kite fabric that weighed 1.8 oz/yard about a year ago.

Thru-hiker and MLD are very conscientious companies, and it's a testament to their scruples that they provide accurate fabric weights to their customers. You won't get that anywhere else.

Edited by ckrusor on 12/03/2010 20:23:13 MST.

I'm sure this stuff is nice, but it is currently way too expensive for me to justify using it.

Ben made some Goosefeet with it and saved almost half an ounce:

link to thread with a photo

It's a nice, warm color too.

Edited by biointegra on 12/04/2010 18:20:40 MST.

Does anyone have any M50 MYOG projects finished yet? Thru-hiker.com posted their quilt kit with 5 yards M50, 12 oz of 900 fp down as well as 2 yards of nanoseeum netting (baffle material) for $199. This kit would cost about $240+ if everything was purchased separately, and apparently supplies are very limited. I couldn't resist, and pulled the trigger a couple days ago. I'm envisioning a 15-16 oz top bag with 8-9 oz of very high quality down to use for most spring/fall trips, with a few ounces of down left over for other MYOG projects.

I've made a down quilt (then turned into a topbag) before, but any advice for working with this material would be most appreciated. If I don't get any feedback, I'll try to post my thoughts after I've made some progress.

Matt

Matt, You just had to post this. I've resisted the urge to get this fabric until I saw your post. I pulled the trigger and got a M50 quilt kit. What I am hoping is that machine setup will be similar to momentum 90, but like you would like to hear from anyone who was sewn it. Any issues?

The tough part is what to do with it. Just like you I had been laying out the plans to build a summer quilt. Also like you I was going to use some down on quilt and save some for other projects.

My summer quilt plan is 72" long with a 1/2 taper: 50 wide on top half, then taper to 38" at footbox. I was going to go with sewn through baffles and use 6 oz of down. I should get about 1.5 inches of loft. I would use a draw cord + velcro footbox. The finished weight would be 11-12 oz.

Alternative #1
Redo my 3 season quilt, I can get it to just 18 oz. It would save about 2-2.5 oz. For a quilt I could stretch into the teens this would be pretty good. This quilt would be 78" long same widths. Increase baffle height from 2.0 to 2.5" loft to 3"+. I'm guessing this quilt could take me to 5-10 degrees with extra clothes worn.

Alternative #2
Stick with summer quilt but add 1" baffles, use same 6 oz of down. Are the baffles worth the effort?

Alterantive #3
Build a lighter 3 season quilt. Go with 72" length, use 8 oz down, and 1.75" baffles. I estimate this quilt would loft to ~2" and would be good to 30 degrees. The quilt would weigh about 13.5 oz.

So many decisions that I did not have to make before I arose on this fine morning.

Jamie

I ordered 5 yards and just got it a couple of days ago. I have barely played with it as of yet, but to me, the fabric feels very strong - much more than I had anticipated...do I hear a request for M30? :)

It differ from M90 in that it appears and feels more slippery (almost like silnylon). It is tough to distinguish between the shiny and dull surface, but the light is pretty dull in my office so maybe it is easier to see the difference with better illumination.

With M90, the fabric gets a bit "staticy" and almost holds itself together which makes sewing a bit easier. I am not sure if this will do the same. Maybe Ben from goosefeet could chime in...anyway, that's my first impression.

Jamie - glad you decided to share my MYOG impulsiveness! M50 is very expensive, and perhaps the price will come down a bit this spring. The thing is, I live in Minnesota and even though I do some winter trips and a lot of cross country skiing, it is dark and cold outside and definitely prime gear making season. I elected not to wait until April, May or later to get a jump on this project. I've been making enough of my own gear that I'm now able to sell off some comercial/cottage made gear I previously used to fund new projects.

I made an M90 quilt from Thru-hikers kit last year, and used the full 12 oz of down. I later converted this to a top bag, which I prefer, with a ~30 inch zip and an extra single later strip of momentum on bottom for a minimal weight penalty and better draft protection. The final product is a little less than 22 oz and has plenty of room to spare for my 6' frame. Along with adequate CCF pads and a Whitney down parka (six oz of down, 13.5 ounces total), I've taken this down to 14 degrees F and been comfortable. Basically, when combined with some other clothing I can count on this set-up for lows in the teens. For cold but not frigid temps I think the combo of a warm but light parka with a top bag or quilt is pretty tough to beat weight- and function- wise.

Making a similar top-bag with 8 ounces of down and M50 and also making a cocoon-style hooded synthetic parka might leave me with my ideal set-up for most conditions with lows about 30F:

Night time lows in teens or twenties: M90 topbag (22 oz) + Whitney Parka (13.5 oz) = 35.5 ounces.

Lows in thirties or more: M50 top bag (15 oz) + synthetic parka (8.5 oz?) = 23.5 ounces.

Part of me thinks I should stop being such a geek and just use the set-up I already have:) One reason I'm not is that my fiance comes with on most trips and she would love to inherit my original (warmer) top bag when I'm not using it.

So anyway, thats my thought process regarding how to use the kit I ordered. I'm excited to see what everyone is able to do now that lighter fabrics are available. Also, time will tell just how M50 performs compared with time tested fabrics like M90.

If it were me, I'd say a quilt with 6 oz of down could be sewn through, but if you are going to try to make a light 3-season quilt with 8+ ounces of down go with baffles: it seems you go very light and push your insulation to relatively cold temps and those baffles would be appreciated when the temps drop a little lower than expected. The ability to completely customize projects like this and make exactly what you want (for a fraction of what you'd pay from a cottage shop) is my favorite thing about MYOG.

Keep us posted (as you always do!).

Matt

Edited by matt_f on 12/11/2010 18:21:00 MST.

Matt, Your post made me go search for a thread showing your Whitney. I didn't recall ever seeing it. I must say it is an incredible looking piece of gear. I have been thinking about a down sweater starting from the Whitney. After seeing what you did I might just put it next on my list.

I look forward to comparing quilts.

Jamie