WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 29
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-01-2017
    Location
    Mobile, Alabama
    Age
    74
    Posts
    208
    Images
    1

    Default melted synthetics

    have you had $$$ gear melted in a dryer or on hot asphault?

  2. #2

    Default

    No but they definitely don't do well in front of winter bonfire.

  3. #3

    Default

    Yes i melted my lone peaks on freshly poured steaming hot asphalt somewhere in NJ on a road walk. No way around it.

    Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk

  4. #4

    Default

    I work in engineering manufactured plastics....
    You pretty much have 3 bases of plastic (their melting points included)
    styrene 170-280F
    propylene 200-280F
    and nylon 220-300F

    I could not find any information on radiant temperatures dispersed by a campfire, but I would say that at 3' away from a campfire that 170-220F could be achieved and with this 7-10D nylon on the market, I could certainly see some shrinkage/ warpage taking place on some garments in certain situations. An egg needs a surface temperature of 158F to cook on a sidewalk. That is only a few degrees below the min melting points of several plastic materials. I couldn't find any evidence of concrete achieving higher than 122F but I didn't do a massive research project on it, just simple google work.
    Trail Miles: 4,927.6
    AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
    Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
    Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
    Foothills Trail: 0.0
    AT Map 2: 279.4
    BMT: 52.7
    CDT: 85.4

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    04-01-2013
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    670

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by petedelisio View Post
    have you had $$$ gear melted in a dryer or on hot asphault?
    I am protective of my gear to point of being a bit OCD. None of my technical fabrics see the inside of a dryer. All is air dried either on clothes line or inside on clothes rack. During winter months this drives my wife a bit mad.

  6. #6

    Default

    Lots of quilt manufacturers say that high heat in a dryer can be detrimental the delicate shell fabrics

    Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk

  7. #7

    Default

    melted countless gloves priming those old Peak1 stoves in winter.

  8. #8
    Wanna-be hiker trash
    Join Date
    03-05-2010
    Location
    Connecticut
    Age
    42
    Posts
    6,922
    Images
    78

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by chknfngrs View Post
    melted countless gloves priming those old Peak1 stoves in winter.
    Hehe, I switched to wool gloves for almost exactly this reason.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-28-2015
    Location
    Bad Ischl, Austria
    Age
    66
    Posts
    1,588

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
    Hehe, I switched to wool gloves for almost exactly this reason.
    And you know what can easily happen to wool stuff in the hot dryer?

  10. #10

    Default

    I left a pair of Crocs in my car exposed to direct sunlight over a few hot days while I was hiking in Texas (I had meant to put a blanket over them but forgot). When I came back they had shrunk down 3 or 4 sizes and didn't fit anymore.
    Life Member: ATC, ALDHA, Superior Hiking Trail Association

  11. #11
    Registered User Hikes in Rain's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-14-2005
    Location
    Georgia Mountains
    Age
    69
    Posts
    2,196
    Images
    23

    Default

    Melted the outer cover of a down bag by trying to fluff it up in too small a dryer with no fluff cycle. Long time ago, but I still remember the shock when I opened the door.

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    04-13-2014
    Location
    Traverse City, MI
    Posts
    107

    Default

    Back in '91, I took my first solo adventure; a bicycle tour of some of the western states. I had bought a down mummy from Eddie Bauer and after about 6 weeks on the road, it was in need of some washing, so I stopped at a laundromat. I had read about how to wash down and all the suggestions and precautions for handling the heavy mass, etc. The washing part went fine, but the dryer just had a coin slot and no temp setting. I ran it just a bit too long and it nearly melted the outer shell in a few places. It looked a little darker than the rest and felt stiffer. If you really bent it, it would crack open.

    I finished my trip and called Eddie Bauer when I returned home. I was hoping that maybe they could salvage the down and the zipper and put it all together with a new shell for a reasonable price. Even though I told them it was clearly my screw-up and I was willing to pay for the repair, they just sent me a brand new bag, no charge, no questions.



    Quote Originally Posted by map man View Post
    I left a pair of Crocs in my car exposed to direct sunlight over a few hot days while I was hiking in Texas (I had meant to put a blanket over them but forgot). When I came back they had shrunk down 3 or 4 sizes and didn't fit anymore.
    A blanket wouldn't help, it was the heat of the car that made them shrink. Basically, they're made of foam. The excessive heat expands the trapped gases inside and some escapes, but doesn't return when they cool.

  13. #13

    Default

    On the PCT a clothes dryer melted a big hole in my one and only (nylon) hiking shirt. I told the laundry owner the dryer was too hot and melted my shirt and he said that a lot of people had reported the same problem.

  14. #14
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-28-2008
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Age
    71
    Posts
    4,907

    Default

    I air dry all synthetics. It's an easy preventative. Down gear gets tumble dried with little or no heat. Takes a while.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  15. #15

    Join Date
    05-05-2011
    Location
    state of confusion
    Posts
    9,866
    Journal Entries
    1

    Default

    Polypropylene underwear was very popular in 80s-early 90s.

    Its very light and very warm. Cozy soft when new.

    But it pilled bad , melted in clothes dryers, and smelled pretty bad too. Also decomposed and got tacky and stretched out and lost shape with age. Thats why you dont see it no mores. At least not 100%.

    I ruined some $$$ underwear back then in dryer. I had some expedition wt patagonia polypro in 1984, cost $90 then.....melted in dryer. That would be like $300 today.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 01-02-2019 at 22:34.

  16. #16
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-05-2009
    Location
    Delray Beach, Florids
    Age
    73
    Posts
    1,359

    Default

    I once leaked a teaspoon of 100% deet on a tent and it melted a big hole in it.

  17. #17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by peakbagger View Post
    No but they definitely don't do well in front of winter bonfire.
    And that's the wonderful difference between radiant heat and infrared heat. Infrared heats the surface of objects within a direct sight line of the source (hot coals), and depending on environmental circumstances plus the material that's absorbing the heat plus the texture of the material, all effect how hot that surface gets.
    Give Youtube a quick search for supershelters to see how these characteristics can be taken advantage of for a winter camp, if you're willing to maintain a little bed of coals through the night.

  18. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-20-2017
    Location
    Saint Johns, FL
    Age
    57
    Posts
    629

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gambit McCrae View Post
    I work in engineering manufactured plastics....
    You pretty much have 3 bases of plastic (their melting points included)
    styrene 170-280F
    propylene 200-280F
    and nylon 220-300F

    I could not find any information on radiant temperatures dispersed by a campfire, but I would say that at 3' away from a campfire that 170-220F could be achieved and with this 7-10D nylon on the market, I could certainly see some shrinkage/ warpage taking place on some garments in certain situations. An egg needs a surface temperature of 158F to cook on a sidewalk. That is only a few degrees below the min melting points of several plastic materials. I couldn't find any evidence of concrete achieving higher than 122F but I didn't do a massive research project on it, just simple google work.
    any idea the melting point for dynema?

  19. #19

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by map man View Post
    I left a pair of Crocs in my car exposed to direct sunlight over a few hot days while I was hiking in Texas (I had meant to put a blanket over them but forgot). When I came back they had shrunk down 3 or 4 sizes and didn't fit anymore.
    LOL. The Incredible Shrinking MapMan.


    I left a rolled up Tyvek cowboy sized groundsheet that was carefully cut to size in the trunk of a car during the summer over a wk. When I went to use it it had become 7" narrower and from 90" long to less than 80". Worse it became a stiff unfoldable hard sheet. I wonder where it went?

  20. #20
    Registered User Kaptainkriz's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-28-2015
    Location
    Leonardtown, Maryland
    Age
    55
    Posts
    650
    Journal Entries
    57
    Images
    19

    Default

    LoL "got tacky and stretched out and lost shape with age" - sounds like me....
    Plaid is fast! Ticks suck, literally... It’s ok, bologna hoses off…
    Follow my hiking adventures: https://www.youtube.com/user/KrizAkoni
    Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphagalhikes/

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •