Neverwet on Hardshell? (OR Interstellar)

Hey everyone,

I’ve put my OR Interstellar through the wringer this season and I noticed it was starting to wet out a bit.  It’s not penetrating the inner layer and my clothes underneath are not getting wet (climbed a gushing frozen waterfall which really put it to the test), but the outer layer is starting to get wet and doesn’t have that reassuring water repulsion you expect from a new hardshell.  I washed it with Nix and am debating applying Neverwet...has anyone tried this to renew the water repulsive properties of a hardshell?  My concern is that it will interact funky with the existing OR Ascentshell and that it might affect breathability.  Thoughts?

You said you washed it, which is exactly what you should do, but did you dry it? Make sure you give it a solid dry on medium heat, that’s what really benefits the DWR. If you did already, disregard this, I have no experience with neverwet

Did you prep your machine before hand? Made sure you removed all detergent from the tray and put on a short rinse wash to clear the system, any amount of detergent residue on your jacket will completely ruin any attempt at dwr, nikwax direct wash in shouldn't require any heat to activate it. 

Don't use never wet you will ruin your jacket and make it into a plastic bag. 

Emilio Sosa wrote:

You said you washed it, which is exactly what you should do, but did you dry it? Make sure you give it a solid dry on medium heat, that’s what really benefits the DWR. If you did already, disregard this, I have no experience with neverwet

Ergh I line-dried because I was worried the heat would ruin it.

Thanks Seb - that’s what I was I was worried about.

While it’s less than ideal to have not run the machine beforehand, it won’t ruin your piece completely. Just run the machine once and then rewash your jacket, this time drying it, too. Seb’s right, normal detergent isn’t great for dwr, but your garment isn’t ruined 

Emilio Sosa wrote:

Seb’s right, normal detergent isn’t great for dwr, but your garment isn’t ruined 

You do actually want to be very careful about using detergent on waterproofs, over time the detergent can damage open membranes like goretex Pro (last gen) and Event. 

that guy named seb wrote:

You do actually want to be very careful about using detergent on waterproofs, over time the detergent can damage open membranes like goretex Pro (last gen) and Event. 

Definitely, but it sounds like our friend here hasn’t washed his jacket much, so he’s probably still got some time with it

that guy named seb wrote:

any amount of detergent residue on your jacket will completely ruin 

What do you think about detergents that are specifically sold for technical outerwear? 

J C wrote:

What do you think about detergents that are specifically sold for technical outerwear? 

I don’t think they are actually detergents. Detergent, by definition, kills DWR. 

Emilio Sosa wrote:

You said you washed it, which is exactly what you should do, but did you dry it? Make sure you give it a solid dry on medium heat, that’s what really benefits the DWR. If you did already, disregard this, I have no experience with neverwet

This has revitalized many jackets. Goretex actually recommends tumbling the clothing for about 20 minutes AFTER it's dry to restore the DWR. I thought it was crazy at first but it works! I'll add that it's not just for Goretex but it also works for other waterproof membrane technologies.

Daniel Montano wrote:

This has revitalized many jackets. Goretex actually recommends tumbling the clothing for about 20 minutes AFTER it's dry to restore the DWR. I thought it was crazy at first but it works! I'll add that it's not just for Goretex but it also works for other waterproof membrane technologies.

I read an explanation of this once. Heat causes the DWR substance (whatever it is) to wick along the fibers of the laminate and it basically rebuilds the DWR. 

Sometimes I just toss a jacket in the dryer when it's starting to wet out. If the fabric isn't visibly dirty, this might be all it needs.

Jared Chrysostom wrote:

I read an explanation of this once. Heat causes the DWR substance (whatever it is) to wick along the fibers of the laminate and it basically rebuilds the DWR. 

Sometimes I just toss a jacket in the dryer when it's starting to wet out. If the fabric isn't visibly dirty, this might be all it needs.

That's super interesting. I'll have to look more into that because now I'm curious.

I do the same. It's a quick revitalization, especially before a backpacking/climbing trip, when the hard shells aren't dirty, but need a little DWR help.

Jared Chrysostom wrote:

I read an explanation of this once. Heat causes the DWR substance (whatever it is) to wick along the fibers of the laminate and it basically rebuilds the DWR. 

Sometimes I just toss a jacket in the dryer when it's starting to wet out. If the fabric isn't visibly dirty, this might be all it needs.

You’re right. At a very basic level, heat is energy, which is used to “reconstruct” the dwr