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Re-proofing E-vent Jacket?

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 J Brown 08 Oct 2012
Hello All,

I have a Montane E-vent shell jacket, very happy with it, but it is a couple of seasons old, and could do with being (much) more waterproof.

Does anyone have any experience of re-proofing an E-vent jacket? Tips, advice etc all gratefully received.

Thanks.
 Dan_S 08 Oct 2012
In reply to J Brown:

Wash it in bog standard detergent
Wash it again with pure soap (Nikwax or Dripak)

Spray over something like Grangers XT or Nixwax TX following instructions
 jezb1 08 Oct 2012
In reply to J Brown: Buy a twin pack of the nikwax stuff. One has a green top the other a purple. Wash in the green, then wash in the purple. Job done.

I find event needs quite regular washing compared to goretex to keep it working well.
 AdCo82 08 Oct 2012
In reply to Dan_S:

Definitely what jezb1 said.....the other idea just seems time consuming and not as effective!
 Dan_S 08 Oct 2012
In reply to An Triubhas:

The eVent membrane "fails" if it's pores get contaminated with oil or grease (i.e. sweat) as it then allows water through.

Pure soap won't clean the pores inside the membrane, so using Nikwax alone to wash won't do the best job, and if you're going to the effort of washing/proofing, it's best done properly.

 jezb1 08 Oct 2012
In reply to J Brown: learn something new every day! I thought regular detergents weren't good for the membrane.

Definitely go to the wash in proofer though, works better than the spray on.
 CurlyStevo 08 Oct 2012
In reply to Dan_S:
http://www.eventfabrics.com/care_and_maintenance.php
Well event seem too think that tech wash works (which is bascially pure soap and I can't see why this shouldn't too).

Some normal detergents have pretty much ruined the DWR on previous jackets when I accidentally used it so I am pretty cautious of using that on my event.
 Fluvial 08 Oct 2012
In reply to J Brown:

I have a Rab eVent and wash that with regular detergent and spray on proofing always worked for me out in the field.
 TM_Horton 08 Oct 2012
In reply to J Brown:
I have a Rab Event jacket, having washed then proofed it in both grangers and nikwax combinations i would defiantly say nikwax works better as a repellent, however grangers is more hardwearing... i choose to use nikwax now. because its better and gives me an excuse to wash my gear more often as i use it allot.
 TM_Horton 08 Oct 2012
In reply to J Brown:
ohh yea and remember to dry VERY hot in a tumble dryer to allow the proofer to be absorbed.
In reply to CurlyStevo:

> Well event seem too think that tech wash works (which is bascially pure soap and I can't see why this shouldn't too).

On the other hand, they say this, as well:

"Regular washing of your eVent garment will enhance product performance. Your garment may be machine washed in warm water (110F / 40C) with liquid detergent, and we recommend a second rinse to remove all traces of detergent from the fabric."

The second rinse is an attempt to remove detergent traces. A soap wash will do a better job, and is the advice they used to give (as per Montane's instructions).

As for why you need to use detergent, rather than pure soap, see Dan_S' post of 17:45.
 CurlyStevo 08 Oct 2012
n reply to captain paranoia:
Well I would rather go to the event page on how to care for event than the montane page. The event page cleary says you don't need to use normal liquid detergent and that tech wash will also work fine.
 CurlyStevo 08 Oct 2012
In reply to CurlyStevo:
Also I'd add my last jacket was a rab event jacket that I used for 6 years and only washed in pure soap, never had an issue. I always found soap to be pretty good at dissolving body oils - isn't that why it was invented?
OP J Brown 08 Oct 2012
In reply to J Brown:

Thanks everyone.
 Dan_S 09 Oct 2012
In reply to CurlyStevo:
> (In reply to CurlyStevo)
> Also I'd add my last jacket was a rab event jacket that I used for 6 years and only washed in pure soap, never had an issue. I always found soap to be pretty good at dissolving body oils - isn't that why it was invented?


From the a d esigner at Montane (posted on OutdoorsMagic in 2005)

Hi all, I see that some of you are having problems with eVENT. We've had a few jackets sent back to us (at Montane) with problems that you have described: wetting out, water coming through etc.

These problems in most cases are due to garments that have not been cleaned properly. We've spoken to eVENT UK and the guys in the lab in the states and they have recommended the following:
1. pre treat any really dirty areas with neat biological washing liquid (not with built in conditioner), if stained then use a very soft brush to gently scrub the stains off.
2. Close all fastenings and wash at 40 degrees C with liqid biological detergent. (They have carried out extensive testing and found that pure soap or cleaners such as Nikwax Tech Wash do not clean out the pores in the fabric effectively enough to remove all dirt and grease.,)
3. At the end of the cycle, give the garment an extra rinse to remove detergent residue.
If your garment is not overly dirty and you haven't had to scrub it then this may be all that you need to do...please goto step 6.
To reproof the garment:
4. wash in Tech Wash to remove all detergent residue,
5. wash in TX direct.
6. Let the garment drip dry
7. iron on 2dot setting to fully activate (or reactivate) the DWR.

This is what we have been doing with the jackets that are returned to us and sending them back with advice on cleaning (as above), should there be a problem again.

If you are having any problems with a Montane garment or are not sure if you are cleaning it properly then please contact us at Montane and we'll try and help you out.

I hope that this is useful

Shearwater 09 Oct 2012
In reply to jezb1:
> (In reply to J Brown) learn something new every day! I thought regular detergents weren't good for the membrane.

Its the DWR that suffers from detergent exposure, far as I'm aware. One wash in detergent won't destroy the DWR, but will reduce it. You do a second rinse or soap wash to get rid of any traces of detergent before doing the spray-on/wash-in DWR reproofing step.

 CurlyStevo 09 Oct 2012
In reply to Shearwater:
I've never found with any of my various jackets that reproofing (when it actually needs it) works as well as the original treatment from the manufacturers. Its not as good and it rapidly get's worse with wearing.
Shearwater 09 Oct 2012
In reply to CurlyStevo:
Yeah, sounds about right. Once the DWR starts going, it'll never be the jacket it was. What happens then depends on how rich you are, and whether you're willing to bin and replace instead of make do

I try to wear my shells as little as possible. Seems to have helped their longevity quite a bit. Paramo in the winter, cos that stays just as good (or bad, depending on your point of view) for years.
In reply to CurlyStevo:

> Also I'd add my last jacket was a rab event jacket that I used for 6 years and only washed in pure soap, never had an issue.

That's one jacket. How many jackets do you think Event or Montane have seen in their testing...?

There are many reasons why instructions on a fabric manufacturer's website might be different from those of a clothing manufacturer. Especially if you're trying to compete with Gore, whose washing instructions have been notoriously poor 'any detergent at the market'.

The most likely reason is that clothing manufacturers have been given a more detailed explanation of fabric issues. This can be seen in a post by Julie Greengrass, formerly Montane's lead designer, on the discussion she'd had with Event, and the instructions Montane had been given. See the last post on this page:

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/gear/rab-jacket/9681.html

<quote>
Hi all, I see that some of you are having problems with eVENT. We've had a few jackets sent back to us (at Montane) with problems that you have described: wetting out, water coming through etc.

These problems in most cases are due to garments that have not been cleaned properly. We've spoken to eVENT UK and the guys in the lab in the states and they have recommended the following:
1. pre treat any really dirty areas with neat biological washing liquid (not with built in conditioner), if stained then use a very soft brush to gently scrub the stains off.
2. Close all fastenings and wash at 40 degrees C with liqid biological detergent. (They have carried out extensive testing and found that pure soap or cleaners such as Nikwax Tech Wash do not clean out the pores in the fabric effectively enough to remove all dirt and grease.)
3. At the end of the cycle, give the garment an extra rinse to remove detergent residue.
If your garment is not overly dirty and you haven't had to scrub it then this may be all that you need to do...please goto step 6.
To reproof the garment:
4. wash in Tech Wash to remove all detergent residue,
5. wash in TX direct.
6. Let the garment drip dry
7. iron on 2dot setting to fully activate (or reactivate) the DWR.
</quote>

Which explains Montane's washing instructions.

However, all that said, I've always argued that anything with a DWR that you want to retain should only be washed in soap, but, if you do that and your Event jacket still appears to leak, then try the detergent wash, followed by a soap wash.

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