K44 enclosed cape from PUL not waterproof..?

[Peter Haaswijk]

Hello,
I bought last week a cape from PUL.
It is sewn not welded. A friendly lady from PUL wrote me in an E Mail, that they were double sewed,to make them waterproof.
PUL writes :....K44 enclosed cape with no front or rear seams for complete smooth protection produced in soft PU/PVC Material. The cape has an attached drawstring hood and has all seams doubled sewn..../
This morning I walked in a strong rain ,and after 5 minutes I felt moisture on my head .(I have not so much hair anymore...)
The lenght of this type of cape is nice ( 54 inches=135cm ), no wet legs , but I get wet at the top...
What to do ?
Greetings,Peter

[pete]

I sweat a lot through my head, and it is normal for me to feel moisture on the inside of my hood very soon after starting a walk in the rain with the hood up. I suppose a hood would have to leak immediately and badly for me to notice the leak.

[Peter Haaswijk]

Hello Pete,
But it is not only the hood, but also my shoulders who become wet
And ''soon '' was in my siuation in 1 minute ,so heavy was the shower!
Greetz, Peter

[Hugo]

Peter, I would suggest a heavy shower first. You can also hold the hood like a bag, pour water in and see if it gets out, do the same with the shoulder parts.

I have the same cape, shiny yellow on the inside, rough side out, a really cool cape for men and women alike, and I don't understand why I still have concerns wearing it in public. Too bad, it is too long to be used on a racing bike, but perhaps I can get a shorter version.

I have taken a shower in this cape and didn't find a trace of water getting in. Perhaps yours is faulty and in that case, PVC-U-Like should replace it. It seems that it is a big company and therfore, I recommend email or even a written letter. Written requests get much more attention than phone calls, because they are automatically filed and can't be forgotten that easily. So, if your tests fail, tell them about your tests and kindly ask them for a replacement.

[Hugo]

After posting, I had another shower with my cape, just to make sure. The other shower wasn't for testing the cape. Still dry, I put on the cape, stepped under the shower and moved around in order to have water all over the cape for a while. Then I stepped out again and reversed the cape to check the inside. It was completely dry except for some spots around the collar. After this test, I am pretty sure that you were unfortunate only, do ask PVC-U-Like to replace the cape with another one.

[Hugo]

Any news, Peter?

[Ron]

I always wear a rain proof baseball cape under my hoods when wearing a cape, that way they hood stays also nicely on and it also protects my face from the rain

[Hugo]

Ron, I think you mean a baseball cap, not a baseball cape. A cape is a long overcoat without sleeves, that covers most of the body and it would not fit under a hood.

[Peter Haaswijk]

Hi Hugo,
I see there is still interest for my ''problem''.
As I told earlier, I have asked PUL , before I buyed the K4 cape, if it was waterproof. They (PUL) sent a friendly mail and told that it was sewn twice. So I thought it was waterproof. But in the meantime time went on, ( there was a problem because of the delivery ,nobody was at home and the cape went back to PUL.)I received the cape in about 15 September,and now the time to send it back is gone.
In October I have treated the inside of the seams with an adhesive glue ,that not solves the pvc,and it helped enough, so far as I can see.
The last 2 months it has not rained very much ,so I am still waiting .The moisture that comes down , is called snow...

And now I wish you all an happy 2011 !
Greetings, Peter

[Ron]

Of course I meant cap, must have been a Freudian slip.