Gentlemen,

I think this is probably one of the best places to ask this question, so here goes.

If you had a wool jacket, or were having one made from lengths of cloth by a tailor, is it possible to have a waterproof liner added? And, any ideas how they could do it - waterprrofing the seams - connection points between the liner and the shell?

Looking at my ARKTIS DPM waterproof jacket, it appears the waterproof, breatheable liner is 'glued'. stitched and then taped at key locations: cuffs, zip / edge area, the neck / collar & hood.

I was wondering whether it would be practical to get a tailor to make a tweed wool 'anorak - jacket' and put a breatheable / waterproof liner in it? I would use something like 18oz+ / yard (600+ grm/m?) over coat wool cloth - available from tailors.

What I have in mind is something like a Barbour Durham jacket pattern / style or a jacket similar to one of the ladies styles of Chrysallis wool jackets.

The garment would be used for hill stalking.

My thoughts are, the tailoring of a wool jacket would not be too difficult, although quite spendy, it is the fitting of a waterproof liner which is the problem - leaking at connection points / seams and rustle moise. I have a spare ARKTIS waterproof, breathable jacket liner with hood.

Yes you can do exactly that...

The seams need to be sealed with some sort of purpose designed sealant.

As for how you attached it, its usually only done at strategic points, ie the cuffs, the collar and the hem..Some liners are designed to be removeable and use velcro or press studs at those points, with any stich work getting a little sealer applied.

You used to be able to buy ex army breathable "liners" (ex Belgium army IIRC) for about £12...I picked one up at one of the Gamefair and used it as a liner for another jacket i already had..

The liners were part of a combat smock "system" the Belgiums used: a cotton DMP outer jacket to which could be added the waterproof beathable liner and/or an insulated liner, essenially turning the garment into a winter grade parka.

Regards,

Peter

As to the idea of getting a wool coat made,
I'd look at whats already out there..the Germans do a lot of loden clothing that already has a liner and there are also similar jackets from Oz and New Zealand, or even Cabela's...

Why would you use a liner and not a waterproof or breathable shell? It's kind of like closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out

I'd rather stop the rain from getting the wool wet and keeping the jacket lighter by keeping it dry. I use wool a lot in Alberta but carry a light and "breathable" rain jacket to put overtop when it rains.

cheers

quote:

Originally posted by calgarychef1:
Why would you use a liner and not a waterproof or breathable shell? It's kind of like closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out

I'd rather stop the rain from getting the wool wet and keeping the jacket lighter by keeping it dry. I use wool a lot in Alberta but carry a light and "breathable" rain jacket to put overtop when it rains.

cheers

Noise I'm guessing...

I have a Nomad UK stealth fleece smock. It does have a small amount of flubber-flubber noise. It is a fleece material bonded to some sort of waterproof, synthetic membrane.

Do not get me wrong. It is a good product and does what it is intended to do. However, I am leery of climbing wire deer fences and sharp stones when crawling through burns. Additionally, sparks and fires have to be avoided. I am not convinced they are that tough - sbrasion resistant.

A tweed outer layer can be sewn - patched. An accessible, waterproof inner layer can be patched - taped or replaced if necessary. And the jacket can continue to offer good service. I do not think this is the case with the high tech fleece type garments with 'integral' waterproof, breathable liners.

These are the points of view - questions which lead me to ask.

As a Yank I would use a spray on agent like Scotchguard or similar product in the UK. For a liner I would use a USGI field jacket liner, E-Bay or a Bear Suit liner also US. I am not saying that this will keep you dry 100% of the time but if you get soaked with this gear you should consider going back to the car.

Forgive me if I am being ignorant. Would something like this meet your needs?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-BRAN...3751d6#ht_4187wt_911

Tweed outer with waterproof and breathable lining.

Best-
Locksley,R.

You're right about the waterproof shells being a bit "undurable." In the past I've used a waterproof barrier between my main wool pull over and a lighter fleece top layer. The fleece is easier to get the water out of than wool but you still get that nice warmth close to the body that wool is so good for.

I suppose it aslo depends on the thickness of the wool, I use felted wool as my main layer. If it got seriously wet it would weigh a lot!

quote:

Originally posted by robthom:
I have a Nomad UK stealth fleece smock. It does have a small amount of flubber-flubber noise. It is a fleece material bonded to some sort of waterproof, synthetic membrane.

Tried the Nomad stuff and mine failed on the seams (waterproof tape came off) first time it was washed.

Contacted the owner and he gave me some spiel about gluing it back down ect...that didn't work and after that I could never get hold of him or get him to reply to an email or letter...I ended up binning the trousers and swore I'd never spend any more cash on Nomad..

Somebody else I stalked with had a similar problem, but was much more persistant and eventually got a replacement (which was fine) but I'd just had enough..

From what I gather we were just unlucky to get some items out of bad batch, as most people are generally very impressed with it..

I was involved in a trail for a similar item years ago in the military. The requirement was for a waterproof breathable inner jacket that was not to be used as an outer. The outer layer would always be a windproof smock.
We ended up with a goretex item named a "stealth suit". It was a thin single layer scock with no pockets to be worn under the outer.
Funnily enough I saw a similar item last week. It was made by Harkilla and was on the sale rail at John Norris in Penrith. #150 reduced from #320.
These days I am pretty relaxed about just getting wet, providing there is a hot bath at the end of the day.