Thread by @leashless

I’ve spent a long time thinking about it and I have concluded that black waxed cotton is the one true fabric for most non-mountaineering gear.

I’ve experimented with just about everything over the years. It’s a question of trade offs.

A brief thread.

https://twitter.com/usaclassifiedad/status/843545664780820480

Waxed cotton as a material has been dominated by a single brand: Barbour. Barbour are basically c*nts. Like American western clothing brands they’re selling nostalgia for being rich in a time that barely existed: landrovers, wellies, the English Landed Gentry.

C*nt cosplay brand

But get over to eBay and have a look around you will see a near endless sea of *ancient* waxed cotton.

Black is not used much by Barbour. If you don’t specify black you get Barbour.

Barbour takes a superb fabric and drowns it in class cosplay.

Inspect:

ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nk…

So why is this important?

You can pay £40 for a brand new black waxed cotton jacket which will last indefinitely. It can be repaired. Unlike goretex you needn’t baby it: fear not friction or puncture. Worst case is a needle and thread repair.

Get it rewaxed OR do it yourself.

The sea of old waxed cotton jackets on eBay in perfectly serviceable condition with very very small changes in style over decades is a sure signs of a technology which has matured. It stays expensive in the high street brands *by force of will* but the fabric is cheap as chips.

Most of the downsides of waxed cotton are solved by getting thinner waxed cotton. 4oz fabric waxed cotton is a whole other thing to archaic waxed canvas

see downsides here.

Still tough as nails.

The philosophical point: we live in a waxed cotton world.stridewise.com/benefits-of-wa…

Goretex is nasty to manufacture ultratechnology. Miracle fabrics you can ruin by looking at them funny, optimised for mountain climbers. You don’t go that high and you can’t make it at home.

Waxed cotton is as old as dirt. Cost per year of use is a couple of dollars. Global tech

Down is amazing but a mess ethically and the ultralight jackets tear if you breathe hard. And how exactly did bird fur get so crazy affordable.

Chinese animal farming that’s how. Probably a *bad* scene. Leather I love but…

Waxed hemp will probably be great too. Lower CO2 too.

We live in a waxed cotton world

It exists at every price point. It has multiple cultural valences. You can shop from every era on eBay. Like blue jeans it is eternal.

Waxed cotton is not like gore tex: tomorrow’s garbage.

You buy it knowing you’re just one in a chain of owners

Waxed cotton is “by default” circular economy: buy new or buy vintage or buy used, nobody cares. It’s just “born circular” because it won’t wear out from one owner unless you work on a farm and wear it most days.

And it exists in all styles because it’s so easy to work with.

If you’re curious about waxed cotton my advice is go to a store and see different garment weights. A 4oz waxed cotton garment is a whole different language to a heavy waxed canvas. Most of the problems waxed cotton has come from the heavy end of the fabric spectrum. See choices!