Rainwear pet peeves…

[Simonebag]

Following on from what rainworshipper has said, my pet peeve is that rainwear is a lot more boring now than it was about 10-15 years ago. Back in the 2010's we were spoiled for choice with great designs and vibrant colours. Now all my favourite brands have toned down the styles, colour and shine of rainwear. We seem to be moving into a gray, monochrome world with just about everything and it's hit the one thing I want to see colour and energy in. Fingers crossed styles will change and those in charge will go bold once again. I also agree to support local designers and manufacturers, who put effort into providing great quality and customer service. I was heart broken when I found out that Mountain Method in Cumbria had closed shop, excellent old school nylon/neoprene waterproofs, bombproof and would last for years. Cheap low quality Chinese imports and AI product images are a scourge of the modern age and I do my best to avoid the temptation to click buy because I know I will be disappointed. If you love something, buy quality and you can cherish it for years to come.
Simone.

[rainwearseeker]

seeing the discontinuation of classic materials such as pvc or rubber in favor of gortex while the low quality pvc materials are only from china. getting the rainwear in the classic materials can also be a lot more costly than it needs to off ebay is another.

then you have the rainwear that is either damaged, smells like cigarettes or is dirty.

[Rainworshipper]

The comments about rainwear from China only goes to show that you only get what you pay for, not just in rainwear, but in so many other things. For my own part, I have recently bought a few items from PVC- u- Like, and I've been delighted with them.

[Simonebag]

They are are fantastic company with a great range of styles and materials. So glad they are back up and running after the short break. I don't think there is any other company anywhere that is so dedicated to producing quality pvc rainwear. It's just a shame you don't see it out and about when it's raining, fingers crossed it comes back in fashion so the high streets will be a rainbow of shiny colour when the skies are grey.

[vp39]

The comments about rainwear from China only goes to show that you only get what you pay for, not just in rainwear, but in so many other things. For my own part, I have recently bought a few items from PVC- u- Like, and I've been delighted with them.

I'm not really a fan of dealing with Chinese vendors per se, but otoh I have gotten quite a few nicely-made and quite satisfactory plastic pants from them. They are generally ahead of US vendors in polyurethane - I've gotten pu items in several different colors and in prints. Most have the typical pu rustle, but I do have a couple of pu plastic pants that are less rustly than most. But most of my Chinese stuff is pvc pants. I do have one vinyl raincoat from China that I bought partly because a pair of pvc arm sleeves was included, which does seem odd. That coat turned out to be nicely made and large enough.

I have quite a few PVC-u-like things too, and would have more if I could order directly; they funnel their US business through a US company, an arrangement I don't particularly care for. Also if I were on the same island with them there wouldn't be the godawful overseas shipping charges to contend with.

[Simonebag]

Now, I do like the polyurethane rustle, so are the pu items you buy the thin vinyl frosted translucent type of material. I quite enjoyed the Gary Euroflex material it was thin, rustled softly and was silky to the touch. I'm assuming that's what you mean by PU. The other type is the thicker opaque material with a woven backing you get with PU rainwear. It sounds promising if so. I ordered a boiler suit in a material similar to Euroflex from PVC-U-LIKE a while back and it's wonderful for lounging around in. I understand it must be hard to get hold of their stock if you are not in the UK, and I just realised my comments about buying quality goods was ignorant of the fact that it can be hard to get hold of for many people. I'm sorry, and I have learned something. I also lament the difficulty in buying from brands based in places like Norway which produce rainwear to my tastes, but they don't ship to the UK. So, I just browse their websites forlornly.

[Pvc Vinyl Enthusiast]

For me, my biggest source of annoyance is the decline in the sensory and tactile quality of PVC garments/items/clothing sold by 'mainstream' retail outlets ever since the introduction of 6P-free PVC, as more and more of the 'public become feeble-minded with the alarmist and exaggerated "everything manmade is toxic" or "chemicals = bad" mindset (I can't even get a decent chemistry set for my son these days, so I've had to design one for him!).

I love a high gloss (calendered and polished under rollers) PVC, both transparent (as in glass clear, in various glass clear colours) and opaque, with a high degree of blocking (stick-slip or surface 'tack' or 'cling') and a high (around 70) PHR, with DINP plasticiser or a DINP-DEHP plasticiser blend. This is a recipe for fantastically tactile and multisensory gummy-soft, smooth and highly wet-look PVC that makes a tremendous amount of noise (squeak, pop, rustle, crinkle, crackle) with every movement. The DEHP plasticiser has a higher vapour pressure than DINP plasticiser, so for that classic PVC aroma, a blend consisting of 70% DINP and 30% DEHP replicates that classic 1990s PVC'. Increasing the PVC thickness up to 400 microns produces a deeper, more bass-like crackling, rustling, popping and squeaking, while thinner PVC (close to 100 microns) produces sharp, high-pitched rustles and crackles.

I have a number of Custom PVC rainwear and inflatable projects in the pipeline, and I am delighted that the factory I am working with is happy to produce a PVC material for me that ticks all the boxes in terms of multisensory fetish appeal.

[Simonebag]

That sounds promising, I hope the purchases work out for you. I remember watching a video which is now sadly gone about adding plasticiser to pvc to make it more supple and stretchy. I don't know how it would effect the cohesive properties and the sounds as the material interacts with itself. I have had great results using silicone oil on glass clear pvc but I can understand that it's not for everyone. Glass clear TPU has similar properties to the ones which you describe, but I don't know of any rainwear made of the same material I have found in certain brands of dry bags that did.

[vp39]

Now, I do like the polyurethane rustle, so are the pu items you buy the thin vinyl frosted translucent type of material. I quite enjoyed the Gary Euroflex material it was thin, rustled softly and was silky to the touch. I'm assuming that's what you mean by PU. The other type is the thicker opaque material with a woven backing you get with PU rainwear. It sounds promising if so. I ordered a boiler suit in a material similar to Euroflex from PVC-U-LIKE a while back and it's wonderful for lounging around in. I understand it must be hard to get hold of their stock if you are not in the UK, and I just realised my comments about buying quality goods was ignorant of the fact that it can be hard to get hold of for many people. I'm sorry, and I have learned something. I also lament the difficulty in buying from brands based in places like Norway which produce rainwear to my tastes, but they don't ship to the UK. So, I just browse their websites forlornly.

The best way to explain the PU things I've gotten from Chinese sources is to add this photo. These are all PU film; I don't care for coated fabrics. You can see the differences in surface finish. The blue top feels slightly thicker than the other items and has a more matte finish. The pink and clear panties are as thin as Euroflex, and feel even more like pvc.
To sum up, as far as US sources are concerned, PU is Euroflex, period. From Chinese sources there's quite a variety.

[Simonebag]

That is an excellent haul. Where did you buy them do they have brands?