How Continuous Filament Insulation Handles Moisture
What is becoming more and more obvious to me about the continuous filament fiber is how it functions to allow moisture to move through its structure while stifling heat movement.
For the time being I’ll explain; the filaments that are spread paralleling each other cannot be packed down permanently as is evidenced by the fact that I compact sleeping bags in survival kits for the air force under about 20 tons of pressure and when you release the sleeping bag from the blister packaging it starts to return to its original loft. When the same vacuum packing is done to a sleeping bag with chopped staple fiber there is very little return to original loft.
The reason chopped staple fiber does not return to its original loft is because the fibers are chopped staple that is two inches long so they have very little resilience. Prior to Lamilite sleeping bags being purchased by the air force they only used down bags which lost 20 percent of their thickness after vacuum packing was done, and as time goes by the bags lose more of their resilience.
Because of the use of continuous filament fiber in a non-quilted construction it is able to stay in its loftiest form and if moisture leaving your body can ultimately reach the insulation in a vapor state your own body heat will actually drive it past the fibers which happen to be silicone treated so they do not attach to moisture molecules the way they do to the chopped staple that has been bonded. From the study actually done by Albany International, moisture moves 16 times more rapidly past silicone treated fiber than non-silicone treated fiber.
It is becoming more and more obvious to me that human produced moisture specifically in cold environments is the number one enemy of the human. Therefore, it is imperative that the human wear all necessary clothing that does not restrict that human produced moisture from staying within the clothing.
If you wear clothing that retains the moisture there will be a negative effect on your hands and most especially your feet. The heat surrounding the torso if chilled will start vasoconstriction to occur in your feet and hands. This is because the body wants the blood supply to feed the vital organs. However if you are dressed in clothing that does not retain your moisture you will be warmer and send 98 degree blood to your feet, of course it is necessary to have proper footwear that does not cause feet to get cold to begin with. Then of course the blood that has reached the feet if properly protected will send 98 degree heated blood back to the heart.
There is no getting around not having clothing on your body that all works in concert to keep all parts of your body in an environment that keeps your blood at 98 degrees uniformly throughout your body. Always remember that your extremities are the most vital to protect.
In the summer months wear cotton and in the winter months wear Wiggy’s.