"Cotton kills"

Really? I've done some serious day hikes in severe weather (snow/constant drizzle/heavy rain/wind) wearing 100% cotton underwear, shirts, jumpers, and trousers (everything was cotton except shoes and jacket) and never ran into any trouble with it whatsoever.

I also have some merino layers and when i have worn them in the rain and cold its not like theres anything magic about them. Maybe the cotton was slightly more uncomfortable and stayed wet slightly longer, but I never felt in any more danger with the cotton than with the merino.

Is the anti-cotton thing just for people spending multiple days in the wilderness?

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Goretex

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    cotton does not last as long as high quality poly esters. cotton denim holds dirt and bacteria and provides a source of nutrition to micro organisms while poly esters do not. cotton wicks liquid while poly esters do not.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Wtf are you a bot.
      Why do you write "poly ester." They started writing it as one word in like the 1920s. And even before that it was hyphenated.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        sorry about the grammatical error, my points stand.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >minor grammatical error
          >>my points stand
          Im sorry anon..

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Polyester is a polymer made using esters.
        Please go back to reddlt with your grammar-checking homosexualry. A huge chunk of this board is ESL and no one is interested in language lessons.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I'm open minded but none of the points you raised are relevant to me at all.

      >>does not last as long as high quality poly
      Cotton may age faster than polyester but it ages more gracefully. When my clothes wear out I can donate them and buy new ones, that is not a problem.
      denim holds dirt and bacteria and provides a source of nutrition to micro organisms
      Personally I wash my clothes
      wicks liquid while poly esters do not
      Yeah, this is the type of thing you read about when you look this up. The point of this thread is asking if this has any real implications for moderate hiking in moderate conditions.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >cotton wicks liquid while poly esters do not.
      Absorbing liquid is not the same as wicking.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wick
        no need to be pedantic

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >using semantics as a cope

          yes your defintion uses the word "absorb" but its also uses "to drain moisture". moisture wicking fabric moves moisture from the inside to the outside where it can evaporate where as cotton just aborbs it and holds it. There is a significant difference and its moronic not to acknowledge it.

          https://www.styllion.net/what-is-moisture-wicking/

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Can you also link the definition of “pedantic”?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      One word Black person gay israelite
      Goretex

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        poly tetra fluoro ethylene fabric (goretex) is a poly ester. I agree it is superior to cotton.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        poly tetra fluoro ethylene fabric (goretex) is a poly ester. I agree it is superior to cotton.

        I like cotton as a base layer in the winter (top not bottom) because I can swap it out rapidly and it takes all the sweat with it. I use polyester base layers in the summer because they breath better. I've also had very good luck with waxed cotton as an outer layer.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Polyester is plastic that no organic life wants to touch. It's not good for your health and is correlated with lower fertility when used as chicken bedding.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >"Cotton kills"
    its hyperbole. But it does get wet easily, stay wet longer than other fabrics...which can be dangerous. Its quite dependent on the conditions and the activity. Its also not as warm for the weight as wool or fleece

    >(snow/constant drizzle/heavy rain/wind)
    were you sweating a lot? Thats where I have the most trouble. I sweat a lot during activity and then cool off quickly when resting and a cotton shirt can be like wearing a cold, wet rag- but I am often out in conditions where hypothermia is a real concern

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    It's mostly bs. I think if you're really out there and you get wet, cotton will give you more trouble trying to dry out than synthetics. If you can consider that and plan around it, who cares.

    Sometimes for a winter day hike I'll go in with an athletic shirt and switch to a dry cotton shirt on the way down. I don't sweat much so the cotton shirt is very comfy.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >serious day hikes
    >cotton socks
    Doubt.

    I never did like the “cotton kills” mantra. It’s similar to “bear hang.” There are other critters that can get into your food, and there are other reasons besides death to avoid cotton.

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Cotton is great in dry climates during warm weather for the very reasons it sucks elsewhere

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Okay but who asked?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I did--now frickoff and go be useless elsewhere.

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >endocrine disruptors

    naww dog

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Really? I've done some serious day hikes
    Wear whatever you want on day hikes

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