Ventile clothing

[richtheclimber]

Hi guys. I know the topic of Gore-tex vs pertex/pile comes up all the time on UK Climbing, but I was wondering how you guys compared Ventile to Gore-tex? I've had a Buffalo for donkey's years and I have to say, I absolutely swear by it, but I was wondering about this Ventile I keep hearing about. Is it any good as a waterproof? How hard-wearing is it? Is it any good for the rough and tumble of serious bushcraft use?

Many thanks in advance for your wisdom

Rich
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

[bigmul]

I think that you'll find an awful lot of people on this forum that swear by ventile - not me though - I prefer my waterproofs to be, well, waterproof! ;-)

 

[jimford]

I've had no experience of Ventile, but I think technology has moved on in the last hundred years since it was invented.

Jim

 

[richtheclimber]

Well that's the whole point fellas. you see, i've heard of Ranulph Fiennes using it in the Antarctic and swearing by it, but then we don't live in the Antarctic and we tend to need things to keep us a tad drier!! So that was my main reason for posting really.

 

[British Red]

I have a Ventile smock. Its is, in my opinion, vastly superior to Goretex or even the more modern fabrics like E-Vent. Totally waterproof? Probably not. But you sweat so much less in it that its really comfortable to wear and you get less wet overall. You can also wear it as a day to day jacket which you would have to be nuts to do with the rustly plastic stuff.

I have worn mine under torrential rain for several hours. Some water penetrated - but not enough to get through the wool shirt I was wearing.

If you like wearing plastic, go for it! If you prefer to be cool, ventilated and comfortable, and aren't related to the Wicked Witch of the West and hence don't dissolve if slightly damp - Ventile it is.

As for tough - far more so than plastic! Shrugs off sparks, tiny pin holes make no difference and tears can be patched - try that with E-Vent!

Red

 

[SimonM]

I have two Ventile jackets and love 'em to bits, BUT if it is absolutely bucketing down I always reach for my goretex.

Having said all that, I wore my Ventile whilst on a school residential with the Army a few weeks ago, and was just as dry as the squaddies in their issue goretex.

The key to staying comfortable in Ventile is wearing the correct base layers underneath. I wear a merino wool base layer, with a woolen shirt under mine. Even if it does wet out, I stay warm and comfortable.

Simon

 

[jimford]

i've heard of Ranulph Fiennes using it in the Antarctic and swearing by it.

I understand that the Antarctic central plateau is one of the driest places on Earth. Ventile should be fine there!

Jim

 

[gregorach]

It rather depends on conditions and usage, I guess... But I tend to find that when it's really tipping it down, I get wet anyway - the only question is whether it's rain or sweat. For most conditions, I find Ventile much more comfortable. And it's definitely much more hard-wearing and thorn-proof than any synthetic I've ever used. However, there are certain more technical applications (canoeing, climbing, that sort of thing) where it probably wouldn't be my first choice, because of the way it stiffens and gains weight when wet. But then the jacket I've got isn't really cut for that sort thing anyway...

 

[richard.laverty]

Hi folks,
I initially was dubious about the properties of ventile, but now I am a convert and will not go out in anything else. You do need a double layer of ventile to be completely protected from the elements and it is only a hard wearing outer shell in extreme conditions not very insulating. However the wetter it gets the better the material functions and when tearing through extremely dense areas of vegetation it is like a coat of armour. The downside is that it gets very stiff and can be a bit like a body plaster cast to move in, I also use ventile trousers and love them, light breathable and element proof. In terms of the advantages from a bushcraft perspective, it is simple technology, it is easy to maintain on longterm jaunts. For instance if it tears it can sewn there and then, this can be a permanent repair out in the field as opposed to a majority of manmade materials used in modern outdoor clothing. A majority of these don;t take impromptu repairs very easily and much more noise is created with these fabrics. Goretex is prone to not function if it is too dirty and it does not fill you with the confidence of being a longterm solution for being out in the field in rather primitive conditions for any length of time.

Sorry about that, but ventile is really worth considering.

Cheers,

Rich

 

[British Red]

I've had no experience of Ventile,

But still happy to run it down

Have you thought of actually trying it?

 

[jimford]

But still happy to run it down
Have you thought of actually trying it?

No - as I said, technology has moved on in the last hundred years. I also don't wear leather soled hobnail boots on the hills.

Jim

 

[gregorach]

Oh yeah, and the other thing is that since it's so breathable, you can wear it comfortably in all but the warmest conditions, so you don't have that thing of trying to decide when it's raining enough to make it worth putting your waterproofs on (by which time you're wet anyway). In typical Scottish drizzle, it never even really gets wet properly - it evaporates off as quickly as it falls.

 

[Toddy]

It's one of those, "You have to have and wear it to appreciate both the good and bad points".

HWMBLT loves his ventile jacket, but he walks fast and hard.
Me, I bimble around and generally wear a wax jacket, or if it's chucking it down a triple point ceramic one (not made anymore )
But, if I'm working hard, day in day out, fieldwalking, digging, surveying, then I wear as waterproof as I can get.

The reason is simple, I can't dry ventile quickly enough and modern waterproofs I can almost wipe dry with a towel.
I have worked sites where it was so wet HWMBLT drove 300 miles to bring me down every dry pair of hiking socks and boots that I owned, no heat, no dryer, -15oC at night. Utterly miserable.
Knowing that I had dry clothes and really waterproof waterproofs the next morning felt like bliss.

Probably surprising coming from someone like me who really, really appreciates natural fibres, but there you go.

However, for bushcrafting, and bimbling along, I think I'm having ventile this time. Bombproof, comfortable, spark proof, quiet, and probably a more natural colour than the waterproofs

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Noddy]

Ventile is terrific, and (unless I get some magic special stuff delivered to me) it much more waterproof than generally described. I have been wazzed on from a height for hours straight and a single layer has kept it out.

I have a single layer smock and a double layer parka, and am hoping to find the cash to get a west winds shirt too.

Swear by it. It is amazingly comfortable and quiet. Makes you feel just great.

That said, the stuff Norrona sell as Arktis is terrific, as is Fjallraven's G1000. Both noisier though

But neither is as noisy as any of the goretex I have.

Personally, I love them all though for their different faults and virtues.

 

[richtheclimber]

Thanks for all of your input guys, much appreciated. If I could just hijack my own thread for a second...

What do you think of Swaandri clothing? Also Ulfrote underwear. Are they too warm for this country, or are they the mutt's nuts as well?

 

[richard.laverty]

Hi Rich,

The brands mentioned are definitely the 'dog's stones' but can be heavy and bulky particularly the bushshirts about 1600 grams, however great workhorse garment's.

 

[Noddy]

...............

 

[Prawnster]

No - as I said, technology has moved on in the last hundred years. I also don't wear leather soled hobnail boots on the hills.

Jim

I suppose you've abandoned the wheel too?

I look at this debate this way. Your clothing is supposed to keep you comfortable. Ventile keeps me more comfortable than anything else I've tried as an outer layer because it is incredibly breathable compared to synthetics such as Goretex.
If the purpose of clothing was to repel all moisture at any cost to comfort then we might as well just laminate ourselves.

 

[BorderReiver]

No - as I said, technology has moved on in the last hundred years. I also don't wear leather soled hobnail boots on the hills.

Jim

The RAF don't use goretex in their immersion suits, they're still ventile.

Pure wool base layers keep you drier than synthetics and don't stink after one day's wear.

As for the boots, I've gone back to leather as the goretex ones have all leaked after very little use and are too warm in the summer.

 

[Barney]

I have had a couple of ventile jackets and have a couple of high end gortex and and an event jacket, In hard use I get clammy at about the same point and in the same time as the goretex jacket, the interior doesn't get as damp though as with a gortex. I am about to purchase a "pump" type breathable jacket in an attempt to overcome this problem. Ventile is lovely and quiet though in use. I find the strength of the material poor, I have torn one of them simply by getting caught on a branch as walking through a bit of undergrowth. On the spot repair is in theory possible, I could not do it as the needle strength needed is tremendous and also a thimble was need to even push the needle through the cloth - sounds a bit of contradiction. I find it is not as waterproof as I thought before I bought it, The talk of ventile being able to withstand 8 hours rain is nonsense in my experience. If I am a day or two from home and its raining I want goretex available to me, If I am walking the dogs and going to get caught in shower then I dont mind being in the ventile.