Has anyone here (Ayce) heard of Insultex?
This website is claiming some impressive numbers CLO=2.0 and only 1/2 mm thick
http://www.insultex.com/index2.html

any ideas?  If it sounds too good to be true…

Thanks for your input
AC

Your post is the first I’ve heard of it.  I would agree with you that it sounds far-fetched.

http://www.insultex.com/index2.html
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8357&highlight=insultex

I am happy with the Insultex product

I was able to get 10 yd. of Insultex thru a bulk group buy of Hammock Forums members, as it is not sold to the public. Insultex is only a insulating material, and has to used between inner and outer fabric materials.  It is a ultra thin layer of closed cell foam, about 1/16”, similar to the foam sheets used to wrap electronic, or other delicate shipped products, and infact may be the same.  It has a layer of “scrim-like” gauze on each side, which is well ‘quilt stitched’ together. It is very easy to sew. 

As a moisture test, I stretched two 10” square pieces over a bowl, with each of the different sides of the material up, dimppled it, and put 4oz of water on it, the water seemed to seep thru at different rates, depending on the one side over the other, over several hours. There is no way to tell the two surfaces apart, I marked them before the trial. It is touted as one side being more water-resistnat, the other side more vapor resistant, similar to Tyvek. The test I did showed this to be true, in the first hour. After 18 hours, almost all water passed thru equally. Is it directional? It’s hard to tell. What is the thermal advantage? Note that the extreme temp. rating of the insultex is for THREE LAYERS. Three layers used in a hiking quilt, would be much too bulky. In clothing, Insultex is not great for activity which generates heat, it does not breath well for sweaty exertion. See this site:

http://www.bowhunting.net/artman/publish/JonSilks-0001/SilkIDI.shtml

But, it is a great moisture barrier, does not hold water at all, water just shakes off. I used it as a layer in my down overquilt, and it added neglible volume. I will be using it in other quilt projects, and non-exertion clothing. I am NOT a scientist, and this is only my impression of Insultex, it’s moisture and thermal characteristics. Other information may be found by searching the Hammock Forums site, as many will probably be using it for their DIY projects in time.

I’m very aware of the multiple group buys on HF (over 600 linear yds sold).
Maybe I missed something in your post, but you seem to be using Insultex as a vapor barrier, not insulation. Couldn’t this same results be accomplished using sil? (if moisture management is your only concern)

Have you used the material as a stand alone quilt insulation?  Out of the 600 yds out there over the past year, I cannot find 1 positive review for quilts. That is not reassuring…

I just got a piece of it, to check out. It sure wasn’t what I was expecting. It would seem to defy the laws of physics for it to provide much warmth.

You are correct.

Personally, I would not use Insultex in a item in which loft thickness is an important insulation factor. (such as goose down) I’m not sure of the value of multiple layers of Insultex for a quilt system, or it’s near zero temperatue performance, or the effect of wind and air movement…yet. But, I have a body shaped underpad for my Hennesy Super Shelter hammock with two layers of Insultex and a center layer of space blanket which I think is useful down to freezing temperatures. It also is cut to fit inside my mummy bag.

The following is why I value Insultex:
  I made an over quilt using an old sleeping bags’ outer fabric, a layer of space blanket, a layer of Insultex, and a taffeta inner layer. This fall, using it the first night, with the space blanket material against me while sleeping, I awoke at night shivering, it was 34 degrees, and my clothes were damp from condensation. I flipped the blanket over, so the Insultex material was against me, and gradually warmed up. The next two nights, at the same temperature, I kept the Insultex surface towards me, and was neither cold nor damp. In that context Insultex seems to transfer moisture well.

For activities where strenous exertion is expected, Insultex would not vent enough perspiration.  According to a post on Hammock Forums, some of the rating considerations for Insultex are based on multiple layers. Multiple layers may not compress enough to please most back packers. Multiple layers would not drape well. For the price, Insultex is a good material for supplimenting layered items. Using silicone nylon, or other DWR material would block 100% of moisture. I would like to see Insultex available from Thru-hiker. (hint)