Is this fabric okay?

[Kainas]

I went to Kathmandu today, thinking to buy a pair of shorts for my husband for bushwalking.

Please educate me. I was so confused. I found a nice pair, but when I looked closer the fabric was full or everything organic, the first page of the label was focusing on the organic wool and hemp (and then on page 2 of the tag it mentioned that it also had cotton in it). I don't know much about bushwalking clothing. I know that a wool thermal/wicking layer is awesome, and I know that you should never wear cotton. So are these fabrics an exception? Are they specially enhanced to make them okay? Or should bushwalking clothes be made from non-natural (technical) fabrics only (with the exception of the woolen thermal layer)?

I left a bit confused. I have been looking online and found some products that look suitable, but are also mostly cotton. eg.
http://www.kathmandu.com.au/outlet/mens ... phite.html

Now that I think about it, I probably should be looking at pants rather than shorts? What is the consensus on that?

[wayno]

stay away from cotton or cocona. more likely to chafe as well as the issues of chilling you and not drying out
kathmandu sell gear for backpackers, not just bushwalkers, so dont assume its all suitable for the bush. the desciption says "travel pants"

[Kainas]

Any recommendations for good places to find this kind of gear, or is it a case of trolling all the stores until you find the fabric/design/size/price that you want.

(Speaking of which, I did nearly have a heart attack over the $180 price tag on a rain jacket for a 4yo).

[wayno]

a lot of chain stores hyper inflate their retail prices to make the sale prices look a lot better... the sale price is often the real retail price.

[wayno]

adventure 195 look good, good brands


http://www.adventure195.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventur ... 7804740917

https://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx? ... &mkt=en-GB

[Gadgetgeek]

I've only ever had one garment that was nylon cotton (mostly poly-cotton) I don't recall that it was all that great. when wet, it felt baggy, and heavy. But to each their own. for wandering a resort, they would probably be alright.

[Kainas]

adventure 195 look good, good brands


http://www.adventure195.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventur ... 7804740917

https://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx? ... &mkt=en-GB

I didn't know we had a store like that so close. I will check it out.. thank you.

[johnw]

(Speaking of which, I did nearly have a heart attack over the $180 price tag on a rain jacket for a 4yo)

a lot of chain stores hyper inflate their retail prices to make the sale prices look a lot better... the sale price is often the real retail price.

Yes same in my experience, Kainas please don't ever buy anything from Kathmandu unless it's at least 50% off on sale. I know that quite a few people on here don't like their gear but I haven't had any problems with things I've bought there (on sale). e.g. A couple of years ago I bought from them a Gore-Tex Paclite rain jacket for $199, well made, good fit, pit zips etc, works well in practice, but no way would I pay the RRP of $549-98. I've also noticed a shift in recent years to fabric with more cotton content by all retailers, not only Kathmandu. As wayno said elsewhere they service the backpacker/travel market so best to be judicious about selecting gear that will potentially be used in more extreme conditions e.g. cold/rain, snow. I was looking at some low cut socks in Macpac recently that seemed the deal until I found that they were about 40% cotton. I've found this elsewhere as well in other clothing. The shorts that you posted the link to do have 27% nylon so should dry faster than pure cotton but depends on the application whether they would be suitable, e.g. short summer day hikes - not in a highland/alpine region - they might be OK.

[Kainas]

Thanks John. I wouldn't have the stomach to pay full price at a place like that, like you said, it is very obviously overpriced that I couldn't allow myself to believe that, for example, a child would need to own a $180 jacket.

I bought some casual shoes and a thermal shirt of their website a fortnight ago, sale prices. When they arrived I gave myself another heart attack when I saw the price tag (My thermal shirt was marked down from $180, and two camping jumpers for the girls were down from $80 each). Thankfully a quick dig for the receipt reminded me of the prices I had actually paid... But I did have several moments of "oh hell, what were you thinking".

I went into the store today just to try on some sizes (a couple of shirts on the website looked good, but I hate buying with checking fit first), and I wanted to see what the pipsqueak bag looked like, and how small it packed down to, and I wanted to look at the clothes in person, as some of the technical fabrics just look and feel awful in person, but they look great on website photos.

[Mark F]

Agree - be very wary of Kathmandu pricing. Here is a good example.

UL vest

Kathmadu UL vest.png (30.92 KiB) Viewed 2577 times

You can buy an equivalent to this from Uniqlo for $79.00 standard, undiscounted price. The Uniqlo one has fabric wiyh a softer hand, a better cut but a touch less down. http://www.uniqlo.com/au/store/down-vest-1313640008.html

On the other hand there are occasionally good things at Kathmandu but you have to know exactly what you are looking at with each product.

[jjoz58]

I know a lot of people don't like them but I'm partial to the zip off trousers, shorts when I want them long pants when I don't. Anaconda has some reasonably priced, 100% nylon ones that dry very quickly. Pants are something I don't buy online.

[wayno]

adventure 195 look good, good brands


http://www.adventure195.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventur ... 7804740917

https://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx? ... &mkt=en-GB

I didn't know we had a store like that so close. I will check it out.. thank you.

not sure about the address, ring them,, thres a car yard showing in the maps, they arent always accurate though. near by on national rd there are a group of outdoor shops. that might be where it is...

[wayno]

shops like kathmandu are as much about fashion as function,,, cotton clothing for the fashion conscious tourist. nylon has a more tacky took and feel to it. not what the fashion conscious want... they are hedging their bets, but problem is you have to know how to differentiate the function from the fashion aspect of the design... people often buy the wrong gear for bushwalking as a result... softshells clothing is often wrongly used as wet weather gear, people have gotten away with using it as wet weather gear in light rain and keep using it, try that in tassie or NZ in the wrong weather and you will be in for a nasty surprise... few softshells are waterproof. people see woven nylon material and a hood and think "waterproof" .
staff dont bother to check what people want to use the garment for and sections arent labelled well.
i only knew about hte chaffing problems of cotton shorts because of stories told to me by older bushwalkers who walked in the pre nylon days. novice trampers would wear the old cotton rugby or soccer shorts and find out the problems of chaffing and cold the hard way.

[Swampy460]

I am not sure if its happened yet but I've been getting emails saying Adventure195 is closing down in newcastle, shame cause when ever i go to Newcastle to visit the grandkids I always call in there.
Good service as well !!

Swampy

[wayno]

theres mountain designs, but you'll have to sift through the materials like kathmandu.

[Venturer]

Adventure 195 closed down in Newcastle about a month ago. They were really good and it's a real pity they've gone. I'm sure they'd be as good at there Armidale Store or online. Top quality shop but couldn't compete I suppose

[Kainas]

Well I was only in Armidale a fortnight ago. I do go there once a year, I will now have an excuse (other than food) to leave campus and go into town.