Wool pants in hot summer???
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- Indiana Strones
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Wool pants in hot summer???
Yesterday, just as an experiment, I wore my Wested wool pants: ...my legs started to burn alive and I had to jump out in a couple of minutes!!! I really can't figure how Ford can wear this heavy wool trousers (plus jacket and gloves!) in hot locations like Tunisia... It was a torture in my opinon...
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Re: Wool pants in hot summer???
Definitely, I agree. I wore my pants two years ago in the peruvian jungle. It was very warm. The problem was mainly humidity. Anyway, the pants were a good protection against all that small animals trying to bite you all the time ...
I can basically agree with what Harris Steel was saying except that I'd have to qualify it by saying "depending on the weight and thickness of the wool", there is a such thing as tropical weight wool for a reason. My Wested pants (that I've wash in the machine a few times) don't seem that much heavier than tropical weight but I still wouldn't wear 'em in this Texas heat.
Doug C
Doug C
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It's all a matter of thickness and, if this is the right term, weave. I have a wool suit that I can almost see through if I hold it up in a well lit room, and it's very light. On the other hand, I have cotton shirts that are too hot to wear in the winter! So, material isn't the only thing that counts.
Wool pants for an summer adventure
If you're going to wear gabardine in summer, it's very important to have those much-discussed boxer shorts.
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Try a revolutionary war re-enactment in July, then let me know what's worse.
Wool Continental Line Coat with linen lining
Linen Weskit (waistcoat)
Linen Shirt
Linen Overalls
Knee Socks
...and a tri-corn hat that doesn't block the sun!
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a73/Ba ... an0005.jpg
Wool Continental Line Coat with linen lining
Linen Weskit (waistcoat)
Linen Shirt
Linen Overalls
Knee Socks
...and a tri-corn hat that doesn't block the sun!
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a73/Ba ... an0005.jpg
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Re: Wool pants for an summer adventure
I hear ya there, always despised being in my service uniform during those hot summer days, that and the shirt stays.YARVTON wrote:If you're going to wear gabardine in summer, it's very important to have those much-discussed boxer shorts.
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Very true, there is wool and wool, and I have wool trousers and dresses that are very light and cool. But it's not the case of the Indy pants: they are heavy! And yes, humidity is the problem: we have a 65% humidity here in Rome these days...Chewbacca Jones wrote:It's all a matter of thickness and, if this is the right term, weave. I have a wool suit that I can almost see through if I hold it up in a well lit room, and it's very light. On the other hand, I have cotton shirts that are too hot to wear in the winter! So, material isn't the only thing that counts.
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i think that might be me as well, i work near open furnaces for a living. not hvac, steel-melting furnaces...Luke Warmwater wrote:I wear mine regularly in the Maryland summer heat and am quite comfortable. Of course, 23 years of wearing firefighter turnouts and 15 years of Civil War reenacting may have stretched my tolerances.
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Re: Wool pants in hot summer???
Had your pants been washed yet? or just dry cleaned? I find that if you wash them and HANG to dry, the wool relaxes and is more breathable. Also the more you wear them, the better the airflow through the fibers. I'm sure that Harrison's pants were distressed and that helped to soften and loosen the weave.Indiana Strones wrote:Yesterday, just as an experiment, I wore my Wested wool pants: ...my legs started to burn alive and I had to jump out in a couple of minutes!!! I really can't figure how Ford can wear this heavy wool trousers (plus jacket and gloves!) in hot locations like Tunisia... It was a torture in my opinon...
zeus36 wrote:
Doug C
That is exactly right! I've washed my Westeds a few time and even dried them in the drier (against tag recommendations), they are soo much softer, looser flowing now...They have the really broken in look of Indy's pants, not the dress pants look the way they come. They are no longer like when new, and now that you mention it, more breathable too.I find that if you wash them and HANG to dry, the wool relaxes and is more breathable.
Doug C
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Some people are not bothered by the itch of wool. I've heard of people that wear wool undergarments right against their skin with no irritation.
I am not one of those people, wool, and even polypropolene against my skin drives me nuts.
However wool does breathe better than cotton and doesn't hold moisture like cotton either. People have been wearing wool garments in all kinds of weather for 1000's of years. I think we as modern people are spoiled by the comfort of our clothing.
I am not one of those people, wool, and even polypropolene against my skin drives me nuts.
However wool does breathe better than cotton and doesn't hold moisture like cotton either. People have been wearing wool garments in all kinds of weather for 1000's of years. I think we as modern people are spoiled by the comfort of our clothing.
For itching, just add a cup of Downey Fabric Softener when you machine wash your wool items. Wash on delicate to avoid messing up the wool fibers.
It's the washer agitation and dryer tumbling that keeps wool listed as a "dry clean only" item from the manufacturer.
Doug, you're spot on when you say there is a difference between new wool dress pants and what you seen on screen. I cringe when I see gear that looks like it just came from the store or pants with creases pressed into them.
It's the washer agitation and dryer tumbling that keeps wool listed as a "dry clean only" item from the manufacturer.
Doug, you're spot on when you say there is a difference between new wool dress pants and what you seen on screen. I cringe when I see gear that looks like it just came from the store or pants with creases pressed into them.
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Sorry, probably I used the wrong English word... perhaps "suit" is better?? I mean a complete man suit, coat (?) and trousers...Satipo wrote:Indiana Strones, what did you mean by "dresses"?Indiana Strones wrote:Very true, there is wool and wool, and I have wool trousers and dresses that are very light and cool.
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I figured it was a translation breakdown, either that or you meant "dress" jackets... now we can get some man suits to go with the man bags!Indiana Strones wrote:Sorry, probably I used the wrong English word... perhaps "suit" is better?? I mean a complete man suit, coat (?) and trousers...Satipo wrote:Indiana Strones, what did you mean by "dresses"?Indiana Strones wrote:Very true, there is wool and wool, and I have wool trousers and dresses that are very light and cool.
Randy