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dirtherder
35
Jun 22, 2018
How waterproof is “waterproof”? I have some pouches I wear on my waist all the time (including on hikes and beach excursions) and they often end up dunked/submerged completely. I’ve had to rig up a makeshift solution for protecting the contents but it would be great to have pouches that can protect its contents and hold up to that kind of use/abuse.
dirtherder In order to achieve "submersible watertight" one needs to weld, glue, or laminate the seams which is not the case with these pouches. X-Pac is a very new material to the marketplace and its construction is based on a laminate structure of many different types of fibers - all with different melting points and properties. At this point in time I have not yet encountered a welding or sealing method for X-pac that has performance and long term durability that I'd be confident in applying to my designs... I maintain open channels of discourse with the materials manufacturer as well as the makers of seam tapes and chemical companies, and am on a quest to devise a low-cost and long-wearing watertight solution for the future. Typically the fastest failure point when dealing with water is the zipper, and the Lenzip zippers I'm using outperform the typical industry standards in just about every aspect. The Lenzip Raindefyer zipper comes from the world of marine applications and the construction of temporary structures. They're incredibly long wearing, salt/chemical resistant, and the most water resilient coil-zipper I have found (by testing samples from nearly every zipper manufacturer on the market).
Even the Pulls themselves are high-quality aluminum castings, stronger, smoother, smaller, lighter and more attractive than those of the same spec from YKK:
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The construction used here is typical cut'n'sew which will result in some minor seepage though the needle holes when fully submerged. However this effect takes time before water reaches the interior. For future endeavors, I've been working with the worlds leader in weaving webbing and cordage in order to develop an internal-edge binding (aka grosgrain) that adds waterproofing. I'm confident we will have this technology ready for market by next year, creating a whole new world of simplified traditional construction methods that achieve the performance typical of expensive welded products. I'm working very hard to deliver the best I can to you today, while using those returns to develop new and better technologies for the future. :)
dirtherder
35
Jun 23, 2018
Techwear.InternThanks for the awesomely thorough reply (much appreciate).
Too bad they are not fully dunkable (I get why, thanks to your great response). But I may order a few anyway.
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