31°C, New York
Notification products, updates
A waterproof jacket that spends its life on harbour walls and cliff paths ages differently from one that mostly commutes. Salt spray leaves fine crystals in the face fabric. Wind-driven rain pushes water at the seams from every angle. Wet sand and estuary mud work their way into zips, cuffs and hem cords, while grit picked up on a rocky descent quietly abrades the inside of a rucksack lid.
None of this means your kit is doomed. It means the little jobs matter more. A coastline is a wonderfully abrasive place, and the jackets that last five or six seasons are usually not the most expensive ones — they are the ones that get rinsed, reproofed and stored properly.
The single biggest cause of a failing waterproof is dirt, not wear. Grime and body oils clog the face fabric, which stops water beading and lets the outer layer wet out. So clean it, and don't be frightened of doing so.
For older jackets with taped seams, or anything you're unsure about, hand washing in a bath of lukewarm water works beautifully. Agitate gently with your hands, never wring or twist, and press the water out against the side of the bath instead. Lukewarm is the rule: hot water can lift seam tape and distort laminated fabrics.
If rain no longer sits in beads on the shoulders and instead darkens the fabric, the durable water repellent finish has worn off. The membrane underneath is probably still perfectly sound — it's the outer surface that needs help. A jacket that wets out feels cold, clammy and heavy, and you'll sweat inside it even though no water is getting through.
Always wash before you reproof. A clean jacket often beads again on its own, and reproofing over dirt simply seals the grime in.
Once a season is usually enough for a jacket in regular coastal use, or after every two or three washes.
Drip dry your waterproofs out of direct sun and well away from radiators, boiler cupboards and the back of a hot car. Heat is the enemy of seam tape, and a jacket left baking on a rail will start to delaminate long before its time.
Once dry, hang jackets loosely on a wide hanger in a cool, dry cupboard. Never store a waterproof compressed in its stuff sack or crammed at the bottom of a rucksack for months on end — sharp folds crack seam tape and crush the loft of any insulation. Over-trousers fold loosely in a drawer, with no hard creases pressed along the seams.
Damp sheds and garages are best avoided for long-term storage. A waterproof that sits in a cold, humid space through the winter can come out smelling musty, and mould is very hard to shift from a laminated fabric.
Most of the care happens in the ten minutes after you get back to the car or the cottage. Shake the sand out of cuffs and hem, wipe salt and grit off the zip teeth with a damp cloth, and empty pockets so keys and coins don't rub holes in the lining. Hang the jacket up rather than leaving it in a heap in the boot overnight.
On the path itself, a pair of gaiters keeps mud off the backs of your trousers, and taking your pack off before sitting on wet grit saves the fabric where it matters most. If you're walking a harbour wall in spray, a quick freshwater rinse of the zips when you get home makes a real difference over a season.
Before the autumn gales arrive, give your kit a proper once-over. Look for lifting seam tape, which can be pressed back with a cool iron over a cloth, and small nicks in the fabric, which patch neatly with a piece of repair tape rounded at the corners. Zips that stick usually just need a clean with an old toothbrush, though a worn slider can often be replaced rather than the whole zip.
Do this and a good jacket will keep you dry through many winters of headland walks, beach combing and squally harbour evenings. The coast will still test it. It just won't win.
Jetty Times shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on uk coastal life, harbour towns and seaside walks for readers across the UK.
Stay Tuned With Updates
Leave A Comment