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Atsko Water Guard and Sport-Wash
Initial Report by André Corterier
Date: 2005-NOV-07
Year of manufacture: 2005
Manufacturer: Atsko
URL: http://www.atsko.com/
MSRP: 8.58 USD (Water Guard, 296 ml/10 fl oz)
MSRP: 7.40 USD (Sport-Wash, 532 ml/18 fl oz)
Introduction:
The Water Guard spray is meant to apply a Durable Water Repellent layer to polyester or
nylon clothing. To do this, the instructions say I'm supposed to spray the clean, dry item with the spray until the
surface appears wet, let it dry and then "heat-activate" the DWR with an iron or in a dryer. Supposedly, the DWR
layer will allow water to bead up on the clothing's surface and run off, rather than soaking the fabric. Obviously,
this would be a great boon for clothing that isn't ordinarily water-repellent. The DWR is also meant to renew the
factory DWR which waterproof/breathable membranes require to work properly. The reason is that while the membrane
may be waterproof, it is breathable only as
long as the layer above it is not soaked through. Once I see "wet-out" of the top surface of my rain gear (meaning
that the top surface darkens with moisture instead of it running off) I know that while I still won't get wet from
outside, my chances of getting wet with sweat from the inside go up dramatically.
To ensure a good DWR application, I'm supposed to first clean the item in question with Sport-Wash. This
detergent is intended to wash off completely, which not every other detergent does. According to the manufacturer,
detergent residue will interfere
with the DWR application. Sport-Wash is also meant to be able to restore the functioning of other DWRs. Translating
what I think I understood of the explanation for this, the detergent residue which is likely present on rain gear
will reduce the surface tension of the rain water which hits the garment, thereby allowing the water to pass the
DWR coating instead of beading up on it. Sport-Wash is also meant to fluff up insulation layers (including down!)
and possibly reduce the weight of items by completely ridding it of residues (be they dirt or detergent).
Atsko recommends washing in a commercial front-loading washing machine. I assume this is meant to provide washing
with a horizontal turning axis of the water drum (which eliminates the need for an agitator). Living in Germany, our
standard household washing machine is a front-loader. The garments will be washed in that.
My Intial Test Plan:
Ho, ho, ho! What couldn't use the ability to repel rain? Let's see: I haven't gotten my hands on any of the new
"softshell" garments which supposedly repel "most" light rains and mist etc. while being ultra-breathable, so why
not make my own? I have a pair of polyester pants, very light and comfy, which disappointed me somewhat when the
first drop of water that hit it vanished into the fabric, leaving a dark spot. I guess there was no factory DWR on
that garment. I think it could use some (might save me having to dig out my rain overpants a few times). Oh, and
while I'm at it, my polyester flannel-type shirt which I like to wear while hiking could use a DWR, too. As could
those polyester pants of my daughter when we go hiking, and the Polartec jacket I wear when it gets colder.
Hmmm... then there's my rain jacket (I've been noticing wet-
out lately), maybe my shoes (running shoes), my backpack (I'd have to use a hair-dryer for the heat activation) and
possibly my sleeping bag...
The only problem I see is that all my polyester and nylon clothing expressly forbids ironing on hot or drying on the
high setting. In my experience, excessive heat is something all synthetic clothes have problems with. However,
Atsko promises "superior" results compared to other DWR treatments even if used with lower temperatures so that should
be all right.
TRIAL: SPORT-WASH
Down Bags:
I first washed my old down bag with the Sport-Wash. It hadn't seen too much use and only a few washings, but it
seemed like the perfect candidate as my daughter had just spilled some apple juice on it. I had mopped up what I
could and let the bag air dry afterwards. I weighed it before washing and it came in at 1365 g (48.15 oz). The loft, with the bag
fluffed up and spread out evenly, was just over 6 cm (2.5 in). Having washed the bag, I had it in the dryer four
times for three quarters of an hour each (along with two tennis balls to help fluff it up), fluffing it up in
between cycles and afterwards before letting it air dry completely for two days. Afterwards, the loft seemed unchanged
(I take good care of my down bags) but the weight was down (no pun intended) to 1344 g (47.41 oz). Nearly an ounce
of weight loss!
This so surprised me that in order to check my results (in a way), I decided to launder our other bag, as well. This
is a nearly identical one, except that it's right-zip vs. my left-zip one. The other bag weighed 1336 g (47.13 oz)
before laundering, with an identical amount of loft. After washing and drying, it weighed 1328 g (46.84 oz) - not
quite as severe a weight reduction, but a weight reduction nonetheless. Maybe the larger weight reduction of the
first bag was due to whatever stayed behind when the apple juice had dried.
The loft of the bags seemed to recover as well as it did with the special (expensive) detergent meant only for
down.
Hiking Clothes:
I also washed most of my standard hiking clothes (and a pair of my daughter's pants) with the Sport-Wash,
consisting mostly of the items I wished to treat with the Water Guard later on (see above). Atsko strongly suggests
running a cycle on empty or otherwise making sure that there are no detergent residues still left in the washing
machine before doing so. I had just washed my second down bag with the stuff, so felt free to proceed directly with
washing these.
After washing and drying them, my hiking clothes felt much like they usually do (they are mostly light, flexible
clothes which feel soft without needing a fabric softener). They smelled clean, though I did notice the absence of
the detergent smell my very recently washed clothing tends to have. (I forgot to weigh each item before washing.)
Rain Jacket:
I washed my
rain jacket
with the Sport-Wash, also. I had recently seen signs of wet-out on it so thought that the DWR might benefit from being
washed with this stuff. I washed the jacket, sans spin cycle, and let it air dry. However, biking to work in
it the day thereafter clearly showed that the DWR had not been improved one bit. It occurs to me, however, that I
have never washed this rain jacket in a washing machine - I guess the DWR had been worn off naturally. It would
seem natural that washing it with Sport-Wash alone would not suffice to improve a DWR which no longer exists. So I
guess I should have used some of the Water Guard on my rain jacket.
Pros/Cons:
Pros: Seems to rinse well. Definitely lightened up my down bag.
Cons: Requires pre-washing the machine, which is wasteful.
TRIAL: WATER GUARD
Application:
Spraying the pants was easy enough - the fabric darkened perceptibly where it was coated with Water Guard, so I felt
it was a simple matter to achieve a thin, even coating. I left the pants to air dry thereafter before putting them
in the dryer with the shirt. The shirt had been more difficult - as the surface of its fabric isn't smooth, it was
both harder to achieve a good coating and harder to tell when I had done so. This probably contributed a large part
to my finishing the spray can towards the end of that garment. There was only a whiff of the spray left in the can,
so I used this on the shoulders of the shirt to be extra sure where it counts the most.
So much for all the other things I felt like testing this stuff on.
Drying:
The three items went into the dryer for half an hour (they were dry already, so I felt this should be sufficient to
heat them up). Afterwards, they felt and smelled exactly like they had before the treatment. This made me quite
suspicious. Somehow, they didn't appear changed at all. But...
Trying Out:
I then proceeded to run water over the clothes under the faucet. The result was one hair short of miraculous: The
water ran right off the pants, apparently without so much as touching them. When I turned off the water, whatever water
was still in the process of falling also ran off the pants and I then held pants which were completely dry to the
touch. The effect was not as pronounced with the shirt, although the water ran off the flannel surface as well. A
few drops stayed behind, however - I guess that it's again the smooth surface which allows the DWR to achieve full
effect.
Pros/Cons:
Pros: The initial water repellency is astonishing.
Cons: Difficult to work with rough-surfaced garments.
Test Plan:
My test plan is somewhat reduced by the fact that I have only been able to apply the DWR to three garments. These
garments will be worn a lot and will likely experience all kinds of precipitation, fog and mist. I will observe how
well they shed water in the field, and for how long they do so. They will be washed exclusively with the Atsko
Sport-Wash to maintain their DWR. As I have ample experience with the two garments I will be wearing, I should be
able to report on any loss of breathability as well. To that end, I guess I will take my hiking pants jogging, as
well (which I have done before).
Testing Location and Probable Conditions:
In this region, the probable test period (October to winter) will typically see temps between -5, maybe -10 C (25, maybe 14 F) and 25 C (77 F). For
precipitation we'll have fog and drizzle as well as rain in fall, some snow in winter. Fall tends to be windy.
I plan lots of day trips, likely a few overnighters, but have nothing concrete planned yet (no big hikes planned yet during the test period). I hike
in hilly, forested terrain which starts a 15 minute walk from where I live and extends for about 30 km (20 mi) in most directions. This includes hikes
in the Kottenforst State Park, the Siebengebirge Nature Preserve (Seven Mountains – bit of a misnomer there, they top out at 461 m / 1512 ft), the River
Rhine and the Ahr Valley. Elevations range from 60 m / 200 ft to the above-mentioned 461 m / 1512 ft, paths tend to be well-maintained though I do not
always stick to them. That said, while the total elevations aren’t anything to write home about, the elevation changes one can encounter can (and
sometimes do) add up. So my hikes are closer to a walk in the woods than to a walk in the park...
There are many paths I haven’t seen yet, but I am catching up. I day hike often (though often not even the full day), which could also be described as
an extended walk with my daughter (as long as we’re gone for at least half the day and I carry hammock and cook gear – and occasionally her – we consider
it a hike). My overnighters tend to be "mini-adventure" solo trips. Often, it’s a distance I could cover in one long day, which I prefer to cut into two
half days by starting Friday afternoon. Lets me get some solo backpacking done without impacting my family time too much.
Personal Biographical Information:
Name: André Corterier
Gender: M
Age: 33
Height: 1,85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight: 80 kg (175 lb)
Email: andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde
Home: Bonn, Germany
Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking in my late teens using Europe’s "InterRail"-System – weight hardly mattered, as we were on
trains a lot. I recently rediscovered backpacking and have started out slowly – single-day 24 km (15 mi) jaunts
by myself or even shorter hikes in the company of my little daughter. I am getting started on longer
hikes, as a lightweight packer and hammock-camper. I’ve begun upgrading my old gear and am now shooting for a
dry FSO weight (everything carried From the Skin Out except food, fuel and water)
of about 10 kg (22 lb) for three-season camping. Not quite there yet.
Read more reviews of Atsko gear
Read more gear reviews by Andre Corterier
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