does anyone have any experience that allows you to estimate how durable momentum90's water repellancy is? I was mooching another thread and saw someone say it dissappears pretty quickly.

It is my chosen fabric for a bivvy/quilt project I'm in the middle of, and wondered what I could expect from the fabric (intended use: under tarp) and what I should do to maintain and renew it's repellancy once it's in use?

I'd be grateful for any relevant anecdotal evidence/advice!

The durability is primarily determined by the DWR type rather than the fabric. DWRs, available retail, last about 30-50 miles of abrasion from either your pack rubbing on your upper body or brush rubbing against the front of your pants and lower arms. DWR life in an application like a bivy/quilt will primarily be determined by how clean you keep the Momentum90 and how much abrasion results from your use stuffing and un-stuffing.

The most durable type of DWR available to the DIYer is fluoropolymer based. Examples are: Deluge, Granger's, ReviveX, Scotchguard, or Tectron. The bivy can be easily renewed whenever you notice that drops of water soak in (wet out) rather than bead up. Key things to remember are: wash the bivy with non-detergent soap; double rinse it; spray or wash in the DWR; and then heat set it in the dryer for 50 minutes at medium heat.

The quilt's DWR renewal procedure is dependent on the insulation you used to make it and how durable the quilting technique you used is. At minimum, you can wash it as mentioned previously, spray on a DWR, and heat set the DWR with a hair dryer used on the surface for an equivalent time to the dryer.

thanks Richard, that's put me in the picture, and some good maintenance tips as well...yes, I was confusing fabric with treatment...I just need to monitor it and renew when necessary. Learning the basics slowly...

Edited by deadogdancing on 05/30/2007 17:50:47 MDT.