Club Obi Wan

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...

I agree.

Circle gets a square.

Wool has the unique ability to act as a breathable insulator. It helps keep the body at an even temperature and does not conduct heat. This means that during hot or cold weather it will keep you at a constant temperature. This is due to the small pockets of air formed by the fibers of the fabric.

Hmm... weird... I wear it everyday and I feel pretty comfy in it... it's around 32-37 Degrees Celcius here... Maybe the humidity is the cause of discomfort... It's pretty dry here in Kamloops (Semi Desert environment), so it doesn't bother me at all...

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

It helps to find a job with air conditioning.

Seriously, though, I find long pants, wool included, aren't that bad unless the days are extremely hot and humid. I think it all comes down to personal tolerances.

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.

If you're going to wear gabardine in summer, it's very important to have those much-discussed boxer shorts.

I would do it, if they pay me a couple of millions...

-Alfonso

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

YARVTON wrote:If you're going to wear gabardine in summer, it's very important to have those much-discussed boxer shorts.

I hear ya there, always despised being in my service uniform during those hot summer days, that and the shirt stays.

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.

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...

I wore my magnoli wool blend pants last week when it was 90 degrees & high humidity a I waasnt bothered much. and I cary around a lot of extra weight...

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.

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.

i think that might be me as well, i work near open furnaces for a living. not hvac, steel-melting furnaces...

..wool in Tanzania?...maybe Mustang had it right...get paid a few mil and lose weight in the process! Of course the jacket was necessary to segway into the infamous, 'drug by a truck' scene! Pass the duct tape, would ya'?

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...

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.

zeus36 wrote:

I find that if you wash them and HANG to dry, the wool relaxes and is more breathable.

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.

Doug C

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.

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.

Indy's pants did have creases in them. No one seems to remember that.

But of course that is one of the very few sceens that we see a crease. I personally iron mine out, to match the myriad of other sceens. To each his own.

Doug C

Oh definitely, they're here and there throughout the film.

Indiana Strones wrote:Very true, there is wool and wool, and I have wool trousers and dresses that are very light and cool.

Indiana Strones, what did you mean by "dresses"?

Satipo wrote:

Indiana Strones wrote:Very true, there is wool and wool, and I have wool trousers and dresses that are very light and cool.

Indiana Strones, what did you mean by "dresses"?

Sorry, probably I used the wrong English word... perhaps "suit" is better?? I mean a complete man suit, coat (?) and trousers...

"A complete man suit". I like that.

My Italian is better.

actually, I found it cooler with the pants on in the heat. I guess it's like when yard workers wear all long sleeved and pants to stay cooler. I even wore my wested outside for a couple hours and it didnt really bother me...and i live in south Texas

Indiana Strones wrote:

Satipo wrote:

Indiana Strones wrote:Very true, there is wool and wool, and I have wool trousers and dresses that are very light and cool.

Indiana Strones, what did you mean by "dresses"?

Sorry, probably I used the wrong English word... perhaps "suit" is better?? I mean a complete man suit, coat (?) and trousers...

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!

Randy