Norwegians have a saying about weather and clothing: “Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær” (There is no bad weather, just bad clothing). Appropriate clothing allows the wearer to function comfortably and effectively outdoors under a wide range of weather conditions. This makes selecting weather-appropriate clothing an important consideration for those who work and spend leisure time outdoors.
I recently tested Nikwax Wax Cotton Proof. I found that it can significantly enhance the water resistance of certain garments while still allowing them to breathe. This makes those garments much more effective in wet and rainy conditions. A 10-ounce bottle is large enough to treat two garments, and was available for $13.25 a bottle at www.nikwax.com at the time of this writing.
The Backstory
My wife and I went to one of our favorite thrift stores about a year ago. On the shelf we found about two dozen bottles of Nikwax Wax Cotton Proof for the price of one dollar a bottle. That seemed like a great price, but we were not familiar with the product. It was hard to know whether we were getting a great deal or throwing our money away. We finally decided to compromise by buying three bottles. After testing the product, I wish we had bought them all.
For many years, I wore a tightly woven green cotton jacket while working around the property during moderate temperatures. I had treated the jacket with Kiwi Camp Dry, and found it to shed water quite well without sealing in water vapor.
Eventually, the years of rough use began to take their toll. The jacket began to fall apart. I replaced it with another jacket that I had purchased at a thrift store.
The problem with the newer jacket was that it had a looser weave. It did not repel rain as effectively as the older jacket. I decided to see if Nikwax Wax Cotton Proof could help to make the new jacket more water resistant.
Application
Following the directions on the bottle, my wife washed the jacket. I then laid out a canvas painter’s drop cloth on the floor, dampened the jacket, and spread it out on the drop cloth.
Next, I sprayed Nikwax Wax Cotton Proof generously on the outer surface of the jacket. I wore gloves as instructed, and used a damp cloth to spread the product evenly over the outer surface of the jacket. I then hung the jacket up on a hanger to dry. I also applied additional product to the damp cloth, and hung it up to dry as well.
Nikwax Cotton Proof is available in the colors green and neutral. The bottles that I purchased were in the color green. The pigment was subtle enough that it was not visible after being used to treat a navy blue jacket.
The product is water-based, and I found the scent of the freshly applied product to be pleasant. There is no discernable scent after the product dries.
The Manufacturer
Nikwax Wax Cotton Proof is made by Nikwax LTD in Great Britain. They have a wide range of waterproofing, cleaning and conditioning products.
Initial Results
Soon after treating the jacket, I wore it while re-firing our outside wood boiler in a rainstorm. The jacket was much more water-repellant than it had been prior to treatment. Most of the rain just beaded off.
I also wore the jacket in fair weather as I worked around the property. It continued to breathe well, making it comfortable in dry weather conditions.
Ongoing boiler problems forced me to shut down the system in order to clean creosote out of the air supply channels. It was raining, but the job had to be done, so I did it in the rain. The jacket continued to repeal water better than it had prior to the treatment.
Cleaning the air channels is a dirty job. When I was done with the cleaning, I looked like I had just finished a long shift in a coal mine. Even after a protracted shower, my eyes still looked like Johnny Depp’s in Pirates of the Carribean. But the jacket brushed off well. The treatment seemed to make the jacket more stain resistant as well as more water-resistant.
A couple of weeks later, a gray April morning dawned with the steady drumming of rain on the roof. My task for the morning was to move firewood from a wood stack to the woodshed. I worked at this task in a steady downpour for more than two hours. When I came into the house, the jacket was covered in water and mud. I hung the jacket under the overhang of the porch to dry. The jacket had shed the rain well enough that my shirt had just two small damp patches on the tops of my shoulders.
I was very impressed for a number of reasons. First of all, the jacket is loosely enough woven that I did not have high expectations for the effectiveness of the treatment. Second, I had used less of the treatment than recommended. Nikwax recommends using 5 ounces of the product to treat each garment. I had used only about 2.5 ounces. Third, the mud just brushed off the jacket after it dried. I was impressed by the enhanced stain resistance that the treatment seemed to provide. Fourth, the jacket is made out of polyester rather than cotton. I was not sure that the product would work with synthetic material as effectively as with the cotton for which it was designed.
The Flammability Test
Since I work regularly around open flame, I was concerned about whether the treatment would make the jacket more highly flammable.
I took a piece of the cotton rag that I had used to spread the product over the outside of the jacket. I took that piece of rag to the fire-pit near the barn, and attempted to ignite it with a plasma lighter. With some difficulty, I was eventually able to get the rag to ignite. It did not ignite more quickly, burn more vigorously or burn longer than a similar piece of untreated cotton rag.
Some Rain Gear History
Throughout history, humans have used a variety of materials to help protect themselves from the rain. In addition to providing greater comfort, remaining dry helps to reduce the risk of hypothermia. This significantly increases the odds of survival when exposed to the elements.
Since ancient times, animal skins and leather have proven quite effective at shedding water. They can also be heavy, stiff, and uncomfortable to wear in warmer weather.
The Japanese developed the mino, a rain cape made of woven rice straw. In addition to being made of inexpensive material, the mino had the benefit of providing excellent camouflage, much like a ghillie suit. The principle drawbacks of the mino were that it was bulky, not very durable, and highly flammable. Similar cloaks were also utilized throughout other East Asian societies.
Silk treated with vegetable oil became commonly utilized for rain wear in China for a time.
The inhabitants of the Amazonas region of South American used latex tapped from the rubber tree to make waterproof garments and footwear. The principle drawbacks of latex were that it became soft and sticky in hot weather, and trapped the moisture produced by the body inside the garment.
In the Andean and Patagonian regions, ponchos made of tightly woven wool helped to shed the rain.
JWR Adds: SurvivalBlog readers are advised to shift their working/outdoors wardrobes from cotton toward wool. High-quality merino wool is not itchy, for most wearers. Cotton is notorious as a poor insulator when it is rain-soaked. The old saying is true: “Cotton kills.”
Inuits in the Arctic regions of North America made anoraks from the intestines of seals and whales. These garments proved to be highly waterproof and breathable.
On the high seas, sailcloth treated with a mixture of linseed oil and paraffin was the textile used in the production of oilskins.
In Great Britain, a layer of rubber sandwiched between two layers of cloth became the basis for the Macintosh. Tightly woven wool was used for the Inverness cape, as immortalized by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous character, Sherlock Holmes.
In the late 1800’s, the Burberry company began treating a light, tightly woven wool with chemicals to create the material “gabardine.” This was the material used in the famous trench coat of World War I and beyond.
After World War II, vinyl became popular for rain gear for a time, and is still widely used in inexpensive, lesser-quality items. Like other impermeable materials, vinyl traps the moisture produced by the body inside the garment.
At about the same time, synthetic fabrics like nylon proved themselves to be capable of being quite water resistant while remaining breathable.
Gore-Tex improved upon the fabric sandwich concept of the Macintosh by enclosing a thin fluoropolymer membrane between two other materials. The membrane was permeable, while the enveloping materials made it more wear-resistant and comfortable. The best modern rain gear continues to utilize this three-layer concept.
Conclusion
NikWax Wax Cotton Proof seems to be an effective treatment for making even fabrics other than cotton canvas more water resistant. Treated garments continue to “breathe”, allowing water vapor from inside the garment to escape rather than condensing on the inside of the garment. It also seems to have the fringe benefit of increasing the stain resistance of the treated garment. I am glad that my wife and I were able to pick up several bottles at a bargain price. I only wish that I had not allowed so many other bottles to get away.
Disclaimer
I did not receive any financial or other inducements to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.