Could you waterproof a fleece

“I just bought some heavy fleeces, that borderline on a soft shell, I was wondering could you spray that waterproof stuff on it?

Would it work?

Anyone tried it?”

“Put a shell over it - gortex or equivalent.”

““I just bought some heavy fleeces, that borderline on a soft shell, I was wondering could you spray that waterproof stuff on it?

Would it work?

Anyone tried it?”
Koonsey
5:26:38 PM
1/09/05
ignore this user

I would avoid putting any kind of water proofing on a fleece. One of the good things with fleece it that it is very breathable. Spraying waterproofing would greatly reduce the breathability.”

“Yeah, I wear my rain shell over the fleece - blocks wind and keeps it dry from blown snow.”

“do not spray it. It won't be bretheable. plus It won't really be waterproof anyway.”

“I use a wash-in DWR for fleece made by TechWash. It works very well at repelling light rain, snow melt, and the occasional coffee spill.”

“On the contrary, I would say you could spray some waterproofing on the outside or treat it with one of the wash in water based products by like skullcap describes. It should still "breath". I spray my lightweight nylon anorack jacket and pants (windproof-not waterproof) with just plain old silicon spray and it works just fine. I have one old ratty anorack that is probably ten years old that shows no adverse affect from it. In the past I have sprayed anything from blue jeans to sleeping bags with the stuff. It does not affect the breathablilty of the fabric if it is sprayed on the outside.

I'd definitely try the wash-in DWR for fleece made by TechWash: that's what it is made for.”

“I have run fleece thru some water resistant solutions. Can't really waterproof it but have worn it in a light rain. Can always wring it out & start over. I wear #300 wgt hooded fleece year round. I do bring the same un-lined breathable parka for rough weather in the winter & rain in the summer. I wear the same boots winter & summer.I bring extra fleece & in REALLY cold weather, I throw my marmot goose down parka under my pack flaps for breaks.”

“Would the waterproofing cause the fleece to become more flammable? I thought that it was already quite flammable even without waterproofing....

My friend and her husband had a very big scare... They like to car camp with their kids (they used to backpack until the little ones came)....

One evening, they were standing around the campfire, when an ash ignited their daughter's fleece--it went up in flames almost immediately and they were lucky enough to be able to peel it off of her before it caused extensive damage-- Basically, it had melted (and of course, melted plastic holds heat like crazy!)
Even so, she had 2nd degree burns over most of her body--luckily, she has not had any scarring, and has fully recovered, but he and his wife were horrified over how the incident could have become a tragedy....

The parents won't have the kids wear fleece around the campfire any more, unless they are being vigilantly watched (his little girl was about 4 or 5 at the time.) or unless they are standing quite far away from the fire....

Would the waterproofing cause the fleeces to be even more flammable?”

“Silicon spray would definitely.
The wash-in, water-based would probably be safer.”

“Fleece is never good around fire. No synthetics are.

I only light campfires for my wife at campgrounds & very rarely in the woods except for emergencies. About 10-15 years ago however, I had to light a fire to dry out my brother-in-law who decided to take an unexpected dip thru the ice on the far end of long lake. Luckily he was holding onto a rope tied to the canoe (that I was dragging). Till this day, he accuses me of taking pictures before I would help him. He ended up burning his sweatpants & boots in the flames. It was a low blood sugar day for him for sure. Anyway, I had an old pr of work pants in my pack that I loaned him. THey were 50%cotton & 50% synthetic & he REALLY liked them. We've both been wearing that blend year-round, ever since.”

“Wet fleece will still keep you warm until the wind starts blowing. You need some type of shell to block the wind even if it is not water proof.”