Practicality of Waxed cotton for W&SS

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Bumppo

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Jan 27, 2006
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Waxed cotton might have its uses, but does anyone here have any experience with it? Judging from a recently purchased cap, the stuff has a pretty powerful smell, and leaves a residue on the fingers and other clothes it contacts. Over time maybe it is not so bad, but I fear it might ruin my fishing tackle, scare animals, or sting eyes if sweat mixes with it. It smells significantly of chemicals. The bass Pro guy said it was normal for waxed cotton. What say Ye?

By the way, Thanks Cpl Punishment for mentioning waxed cotton in your Duluth Post.
 
I have a waxed cotton hat. It does not have any of the properties you described. It is very water resistant to a point, but once that point is reached, it acts like a sieve and the water just pours in. That said...I do not maintain it as I should. It still has the original treatment and it is a few years old now. But i don't ever recall it rubbing off on my fingers.

I would just use it for a bit and what you are experiencing will probably go away.

Billyp
 
I have a waxed cotton coat, hat and field bag. They work best in light rain. Not so good in heavy rain. They dry very quickly though. No smells or stickyness at all.
 
I have an old Barbour coat...maybe 15 years old now...it also has an odor from the wax processing even to this day. It has been a bombproof coat though, no problems with getting wet or thorns in heavy brush. The smell has caused me to be reluctant to replace it with a new one.
 
I have a waxed cotton coat and hat.. Love 'em both.... Great material for those of us that prefer a more a slightly more traditional feel.
 
I've hunted in a Filson jacket without worry. I do try to re-treat to maintain water "proofness". Waxed cotton doesn't seem to be as effective as Gortex in the rain, but it is quieter.

I use another lightweight waxed jacket that does really well in the rain and it has seen a lot of use out on dog walks and outings.

My waxed hat stays waterproof as far as I can remember. The hat might get wet, but the fibers swell and it will continue to shed water. I remember one day out fishing where the rain never let up. Strong rain all day. Legendary day fishing. The hat got wet eventually but my head stayed warm.

When new, my Filson jackets have had a distinct smell, but I don't notice it now. And it wasn't a 'chemical' smell per se. What brand of cap did you get?

As you can tell, I like my waxed cotton. Keep your kit dressed with wax and it will serve you well.
 
I have a Filson tin cloth field coat, packer hat and baseball cap. I like them all for 'a day out in the woods'....very abrasion resistent (almost like wearing armor). I have not had any soak through, but agree with earlier posters that they wouldn't be as waterproof as goretex....therefore I wouldn't use the field coat for serious backpacking or overnighters. I'd rather use a synthetic shell for that....better water resistance, breathability and lighter weight.
 
I guess it depends on what it's treated with.

I've got a waxed cotton coat, hat and Frost River pack, none of them stink or give a residue. Of course they are also the top-of-the-line stuff that people don't like to pay for. . .;)

They seem to work fine for keeping the rain off. I don't know how they compare to Gore-Tex, as my GI Bivy sack is the only Gore-Tex item I own. I never really tested my pack, as I use pack liners, so it really doesn't matter if the pack is waterproof.
 
Filson tin cloth hat, Kakadu duster coat, and a Koolah 3/4 field jacket. < bought that one used for $80, it had seen almost 25 years of moors strolling over in Scotland. One tiny little thorn hole, and the edges of the cuffs were worn. Still looks relatively new.

I sweat like a mofo though, so for hiking i prefer just to wear my wool sweater. But for a stroll thru the woods or shores the oilskins cant be beat.

there is also the nice muted earth tones too, no garish colors like 99.99% of outdoor gear < HEY LOOK AT ME I"M HERE IN THE WOODS!/.......
 
I have some Filson double tin cloth pants. They had a mild (but not unpleasant) scent when new, that is now hard to detect. But as Bushman indicated, they don't breathe. You need to keep your pace moderate so venting out the bottom keeps you dry. However, they have stopped every thorn I've put them up against!

DancesWithKnives
 
Bumppo said:
Waxed cotton might have its uses, but does anyone here have any experience with it? Judging from a recently purchased cap, the stuff has a pretty powerful smell, and leaves a residue on the fingers and other clothes it contacts. Over time maybe it is not so bad, but I fear it might ruin my fishing tackle, scare animals, or sting eyes if sweat mixes with it. It smells significantly of chemicals. The bass Pro guy said it was normal for waxed cotton. What say Ye?

By the way, Thanks Cpl Punishment for mentioning waxed cotton in your Duluth Post.
Click to expand...

I'd return that stuff to Bass Pro. That's not how waxed cotton is supposed to be.
It should not bleed or smell like that. Stuff i've had had a slight smell but it went away real quick.
 
I have a Filson shelter cloth coat. It sheds rain well. But I only wear it when it gets cold enough. In cool or warm weather I get just as wet from sweat as I would from the rain. The difference is, I smell worse wearing the Filson.
 
I had a Barbour. Good for a day shooting with chaps but not my kind of thing for proper field use. It got clammy and cold without much encouragement even with reproofing. I recall some guys at the bike club getting those Driza-Bone coats principally because of image and them going with choppers in a way sports leathers don't. I distinctly remember two of them getting soaked in theirs after a ride. I figure that's a useful real world kinda hydrostatic head test.
 
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