He's a tourney fisherman too. Some learnin' from him:
> "Over time, with just abrasion and use and oils and all the things we do as anglers [including jamming raingear in boat compartments], the DWR [Durable Water Repellent stuff] that comes on the garment starts to wear off. Then the water no longer beads and starts to absorb into the fabric [which] impedes breathability. And when breathability is impeded, even if it's not leaking you will have internal condensation...moisture inside your raingear.
> "A lot of people think that once their raingear starts losing performance [it's done]...but there are ways to properly clean it. You don't want to use [regular] detergents....
> "Another thing that's important to understand [is] DWR likes to adhere to existing DWR. So you want to start using [the renewal stuff Gear Aid has] early and often in the life of the garment.... If [after years] all the factory DWR is gone, it's very difficult to restore like-new performance to the garment. So [ideally] you want to treat it within the first season.
> "[If you wait until performance has started to slide] you can improve performance but you will not get [like-new performance again]."
Forgot to say that Tag lives in Whatcom County, WA, which gets some of the most rain in the country so he oughta know! Here's a couple Gear Aid products he recommends – and this is just fyi because it's good info, Gear Aid is not paying for this!
Step 1: ReviveX Pro Cleaner
Step 1 is properly cleaning the gear and removing any oils on it, and that's what this stuff does:
> The gentle formula is designed to clean Gore-Tex products, synthetic insulation and synthetic fabrics safely and effectively. Unlike regular laundry detergent, this specialized liquid cleaner leaves no residue behind and aids the water repellency by removing dirt and oils. Use this cleaner to maintain breathability, and as the first step before using Revivex water repellents.
YT vid on it is here.
Step 2: ReviveX Durable Water Repellent Spray
Yep Step 2 is treating it with DWR:
> Restore the DWR coating on Gore-Tex jackets/bibs and [other non-Gore] waterproof-breathable outerwear.... Over time DWR on technical gear wears off, and the fabric gets dirty and absorbs water. Regular reproofing treatment of raingear jackets and bibs, softshells, hunting clothing and Gore-Tex jackets is highly recommended to continuously repel water.
YT vid on it is here.
One more thing: When my buds and I were seeing the waterproofing of our Gore-Tex raingear go away within just a few days of hard hunting, I called Gore and asked them what's up. They told me that any rubbing – through bushes and brambles, and even on display racks and in trucks/luggage – removes DWR, which was news to me.
They recommended blasting the raingear on high heat in the dryer to "reset" it. I asked Tag about that, and he said the above stuff is important to do, then you can put it in the dryer "on the highest heat setting the garment manufacturer will recommend."
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