You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Summer 2022 I bought a ~£200 Alpkit waterproof which has seen light / very occasional use. This winter it was starting to soak though and leak so I went into Alpkit to get their advice and was sold a bottle of Nikwax.
I have used this before with a washing machine to useless results so this time I thought I'd use a completely clean baby bath - no risk of detergents degrading the results. So 7.5l of warm water measured and into the bath alongside 150ml of the nikwax as per instructions. Hand washed, rinsed and drip dried for 24 hours before a 30 spin in a tumble drier to "activate" it.
Today I hopped in the shower with the jacket over a t-shirt and...
Not a single bead of water was to be seen. Jacket immediately soaked though and wet t-shirt inside 2 minutes. You can actually see where the water has seeped through the fabric, not the seams, on the inside.
Basically a fairly expensive jacket at end of life inside 2 years of light use.
Is there any treatment/hope to re-waterproof a jacket and make it serviceable again? I'm fairly annoyed at sadly yet another pretty crap experience with Alpkit clothing.
bah!
This stuff? I usually buy it in a spray bottle and let it hang to dry and then tumble it, water beads off. I don't use the washing stuff, but I use handwashing powder. Never had an issue.
Nikwax won't stop a jacket leaking.
If that is happening then the membrane has gone and you need a new jacket. I would be going back to alpkit again.
Maybe they didn't understand that water was going right through
I sent a Balance (bought 2020) back to Alpkit for testing as it wetted out on the shoulders following re-proofing. It failed their testing and I was sent a newer version which was nice of them.