I have some Epic fabric I acquired a few years ago on another forum, and am wondering what the best use would be for it. I'd originally thought of a bivy, or rain pants, but from what I've been reading recently it sounds like neither the breathability or the waterproofness is stellar on this fabric, so there are probably better fabrics for either of those projects.

Anyone have an Epic item they particularly love?

How heavy is it? Wind shirt maybe?

Ryan

Epic is pretty water repellent/resistant, right? How about a wind jacket?


edit: Ryan beat me by 11 seconds!

Edited by LunchANDYnner on 03/05/2013 16:57:13 MST.

I made a rain jacket from Epic. It was pretty water resistant. Quite lightweight.

Then, after a while, it became much less water resistant.

Now, I use it around the garden when it's not raining too much and if I start getting wet I just go inside.

I've heard that from others - more water resistant to start, but it becomes not very useful after a while

(re: windshirt)

I could do that, but I already have a lighter GoLite windshirt (and a Marmot Driclime windshirt). Don't really need wind pants... Any other suggestions?

Edited by dkramalc on 03/05/2013 17:26:16 MST.

I made wind pants out of EPIC that I use for backcountry skiing. Great for that use. Windproof, water resistant enough for snow, breathe really well. Lighter than gore-tex pants would be, breathe better than they would. I put a waterproof butt patch on them so I can sit on the snow and not have it soak through.

You have to clean Epic for it to work correctly.

I have a pair of rain knickers which I find quite nice. They go a few inches below the knee, and are wide enough I can put them on over shoes. Silnylon front, Epic back. They've kept my thighs and crotch dry in serious rain and brush.

> more water resistant to start, but it becomes not very useful after a while
Most likely dirty. Wash it with Atsko Sports Wash.

Cheers
\

Yes. Excellent for sub-zero ski jackets. Even the lightest Malibu fabric. But keep it clean.

Cheers

d k, I can commiserate with you because I bought a bunch of the Epic Malibu (same polyester stuff formerly used on BD single wall tents) a few years ago.

At just under 2 oz/sq/yd, it is too heavy for bag or quilt shells, and there are better WPBs these days for raingear. For a tent, it is lighter than 30D silnylon + a .8 oz netting liner, though; but as the consensus seems to be that it fails eventually, sometimes in the middle of a storm, and washing a tent would be a hassle anyway, silnylon with the netting liner seems like a better choice.

Which is a long way of saying I don't know. But thanks for the thread. Maybe someone will post some good ideas. I did sell some to a BPL member who was going to make a rain or snow suit out of it, but don't know how it turned out.

I have a Feathered Friends Rock Wren in Epic. I have worn it for camp chores in light rain and snow without issues. I use it under a tarp, without a bivy, and have had no issues. In my view, having a bag made with Epic lets me dispense with the expense, weight and space of a bivy. Does the weight of Epic fabric vary much? I was looking at a quilt from Nunatak made with Epic that was only 2oz heavier then the same quilt in Quantum 1.0 and 3oz heavier then Quantum .8.

Thanks, all. If no other ideas come up, I'm thinking that I will probably be better served by something akin to Roger's silnylon mountain parka, which I have in my project list, rather than an epic garment. If I'm as happy with that as I anticipate, then I probably won't bother trying to make something from the epic, and just place in in the swap forum as Sam did.

Edited by dkramalc on 03/06/2013 12:05:42 MST.

DK - how much have you got, what color, what weight? I might be interested.

Paul, it's buried in some boxes currently, but as I recall it's a grayish green, 2 or 3 yards, and on the light side (maybe the sub 2.0 oz?). I won't make the decision on whether to sell it for at least a few months, probably. Feel free to PM me around then if you're still interested. What are you thinking of using it for?

Toying with the idea of a shell jacket for ski trips, in place of my Precip. The pants work well,and it seems like a jacket would be good too. Maybe with waterproof fabric on the hood and shoulders in case of really wet snow or rain.