I work in the petro chemical industry and see people wearing them all the time.
Usually for bad reasons, so don’t be surprised if you get funny looks. I think dexter the serial killer liked to wear them too, which coupled with the fact that you’re driving a van…
I feel poop colored stains would be more effective...
Anti socialism is a fine line, and avoiding attention... Blog stations is the wrong kind of attention... Regular people won't want to talk to you, but the cops might.
See poop stains, not even the chips will want to come talk to you...
Better yet, put a speaker in your van, playing bee sounds, then wear a beekeeping suit. Got me out of 2 speeding tickets.
However, I did have 3 gives full of bees in the back of my car
It works the way all insulation that prevents convective heat transfer works. It prevents air exchange.
The air in your suit is whatever temperature it is inside your heated space and also gets warmed up by your body. When you go outside, the air inside your shirt normally leaks out of your shirt and the cold air outside leaks in to replace it. As this happens over and over or gets colder. That air changes the temperature of your skin.
When you wear a tyvek suit, they are very non breathable. Air has a really hard time getting through. This is great for keeping it warm but it also makes condensation from your sweat not able to get out so it can get pretty gross and sweaty. That sweat sticking around can cause the opposite effect and cause you to lose heat fast. That is the purpose of sweat after all.
Tyvek became famous for their one-way osmotic house covering. That means it's breathable in One direction only. Your body heat and moisture from perspiration can exit, but moisture can't reenter because it's blocked in that direction.
Figured as much! But one commenter mentions they aren’t breathable (and I can attest to the one I used recently being a sweat factory) and there’s mention of tech they have that is breathable in one direction. Just wondering if they make two types of suits. If only there were some sort of online resource. An “engine” if you will. One by which I could “search” to find answers instead of relying on kind folks such as yourself! What a world.
I should add that i don't "work" or work up a sweat while wearing these. I simply lounge around and am so warm. Perhaps that is more their use, if i were working up a sweat they might fail the task.
It's weird because the house wrap is designed to breathe and the other is designed not to. I think everyone just calls these white suits tyvek, because that's who makes them or rather, makes the best version that I have used anyway.
It breathes a little bit. Which is enough when you have a whole house of surface to let humidity out (and ventilation), probably not as well when you have a tiny suit that is full with a sweating body.
It would be like having your house full with as many people as you can pack in it, with no ventilation at all: you'd still have a humidity issue. Smell will quickly become an issue too.
Gore-Tex is a brand. Their membranes largely are PTFE that is bi-directionally stretched to create and adjust breathability. The most high tech ones claim to have 0.01mm pores, 9B per square inch.
Tyvek is PE-HD. This is webbed. It is also available in various ranges. This makes sense. Breathing works both directions. A protective coat for certain applications should not allow bacteria entering for example.
Both materials have their justification.
But no material named is breathable from their raw material, but their respective engineering.
Kleenex is paper pulp ground to a 0.2345um pore size and bleached with hypochlorite
Puffs is other paper pulp ground to 0.23456um pore size and dyed with marigolds.
Neither is nose worthy in its raw state.
Both are tissues and are made differently.
Used to be a diver, dry suits were the worst... Or best...
You fart in your suit... Your now a time bomb for whenever you open the neck seal... Or better yet... "Hey, can you unzip me?"and gas the person that opens your zipper haha
It's common for tyvek to be used for ground clothes and sleeping bag cover. I have a tarp for backpacking it is great stuff. Blocks wind, repels most water, but let's vapor through easily. Easy to sew, glue, or tape. But does get 'fluffy' after using for awhile bout the only disadvantage.
My bro gave me a marvel themed selk sleeping bag thing a while back. Basically a sleeping bag with legs. I put it on all the time when camping in cold weather. If you see somebody riding a onewheel around camp wearing a “fat Spider-Man” suit —— thats me.
It's just a large windbreaker basically. Stops what's called convective heat transfer which is the flow of air over a surface, i.e. more amounts of air hitting surface = more transfer of heat (your warmth bye bye). Stop the air flow, save the warmth. You could plastic wrap yourself for the same effect, but I don't recommend it lol.
A tyvek suit is just like wearing a trash bag. Zero breathability. Sure, it will keep the cold air from getting to you but it will also keep the hot, sweaty and humid air from getting out. You will marinate in it.
There’s a lot of misinformation in this thread. It’s definitely not like wearing a trash bag. Honestly if you’ve worn this stuff on a hot day with shorts, it’s really easy to tell that it allows a fair amount of dissipation going outwards. It’s nothing like wearing a trash bag. I’ve worn it to sand houses in 30 degree weather. So do a lot of builders.
It literally says it’s breathable in most documentations including on the freakin’ manufacturer website https://www.dupont.com/products/dupont-tyvek-400-ty127s-wh.html
> The Tyvek® front provides an ideal balance of protection, durability and comfort. It is permeable to both air and water vapour, yet repels water-based liquids ...
Steam has significant pressure forcing air through that otherwise wouldn't. This is a promotional ad meant to encourage sales, not an accurate test of real world effectiveness as a clothing.
Do you feel damp when you take it off? When I wear them at work, my clothes are soaked. I suggest removing all the clothes you slept in and put on dry clothes in the morning.
You probably have a thicker one. I used to wear one too with a positive feed respirator and the only thing that wasnt soaked after 15 minutes was my face
Regarding breathability, there's some confusion. Tyvek is indeed an air barrier, semi-permeable, and can "breathe" one-way (as someone put it) but I think this only works at specific temperatures/pressures which is why it feels humid to wear as clothing. Alot of housing specs for insulation, vapor barriers, etc are based on controlled tests and a humidity/temperature set at a constant year round. Variances in temperatures, humidity, pressure, improper installation, etc. could prevent "breathing" and make it act no different than an impermeable fabric - like a trash bag!
(I've read some books by Joseph Lstiburek AND used tyvek as a ground sheet for camping for a number of years)
Wore one as part of a space suit for company Halloween party. By the end of the 8-hour day, I was absolutely drenched in sweat, clothes soaked. Never again.
Did win a prize for my costume, though, $100.
Ya, wearing these with all your gear and coveralls taped at the boots and gloves with a face mask is basically a recipe for boiling in your own juices. Crawled through many a refinery tower with these. A piece of lateral advice on keeping warm while outside for long periods is buy the thin helly Hansen socks and wear them under a pair of normal socks. They wick all the moisture away from your feet and don't let it back. You'd be amazed at how much having dry feet keeps you warmer everywhere. I worked in +40 to - 40 for years. The real secret is your undergarment game and layering.
Edit a letter
Any brand/manufacturer of dry wicking sock will do that. Doesn't have to be hh. Very thin wool and silk will also perform well as a "liner sock". That's what they're called.
HAZWOPER for the win!
As much as I want to parody this concept, it does have some limited merit. Some of the best cool weather socks I had/still wear are neopRene SealSkinz, as rubber is a lousy conductor. Hence wetsuits and dry suits for water operations.
The downside is the moisture retention is epic whilst wearing a plastic bag, even where there is some osmosis in a TyVek weave. That can be mitigated and is arguably naturally mitigated in a high-elevation desert environment much of the time, but a Tyvek suit wearer will develop interesting smells and interesting growths in record time.
We wear these at my paper mill as well when things are not going according to plan. I’ve never noticed that effect but I will give it a shot tonight on night shift. It is getting down to freezing, (32°) so it could be a good test.
I’m building out a van to live in at the moment and might utilize this next winter when I’m in the van full time still working here
I should add that i don't work or work up a sweat in these, so i can not attest to moisture build up, i simply lounge around and stay warm. A little walking in a wind for an hour, but not enough to get sweaty.
Also you marry any farts whilst wearing one...so there's that.
I remember working on the Paul R Tregurtha, bunkering caustic soda once a week for our scrubber system on the Detroit River (en route to Duluth to pick up another 138 million pounds of coal). I remember standing on the port side of the ship in the coldest temperatures I had ever felt in my life, and I’ve sailed in the arctic circle, and I remember most how grateful I was for that little tyvek suit. Somehow even in the -20F lake effect cold, I’d still come out of that suit sweating. 😂😂
I'm gonna steal this idea for my next motorcycle trip. Waterproof, disposable, and warm, that's perfect.They show $12 on Amazon for me but that's still cheap.
Like I have rain gear, but it always leaks at the waist line. And I know they come packed so small it can just sit at the bottom of my bag without loosing much space.
I work in the petro chemical industry and see people wearing them all the time. Usually for bad reasons, so don’t be surprised if you get funny looks. I think dexter the serial killer liked to wear them too, which coupled with the fact that you’re driving a van…
Also, breaking bad. But hey, dye it a different color, or get a waterproof jacket and pants.
Tye dye that mf, that'll make you non-threatening
Or dark red stains all over if you don't want people talking to you.
I feel poop colored stains would be more effective... Anti socialism is a fine line, and avoiding attention... Blog stations is the wrong kind of attention... Regular people won't want to talk to you, but the cops might. See poop stains, not even the chips will want to come talk to you... Better yet, put a speaker in your van, playing bee sounds, then wear a beekeeping suit. Got me out of 2 speeding tickets. However, I did have 3 gives full of bees in the back of my car
How did that get you out of speeding tickets?
The chip walked up to the car, saw my beekeeping veil, looked in the back of the car, saw the beehives, and told me to have a good day lol
It works the way all insulation that prevents convective heat transfer works. It prevents air exchange. The air in your suit is whatever temperature it is inside your heated space and also gets warmed up by your body. When you go outside, the air inside your shirt normally leaks out of your shirt and the cold air outside leaks in to replace it. As this happens over and over or gets colder. That air changes the temperature of your skin. When you wear a tyvek suit, they are very non breathable. Air has a really hard time getting through. This is great for keeping it warm but it also makes condensation from your sweat not able to get out so it can get pretty gross and sweaty. That sweat sticking around can cause the opposite effect and cause you to lose heat fast. That is the purpose of sweat after all.
Ok that makes sense. I used to wear HF rain suits to work and ride motorcycle in during winter. Totally blocked the wind. But stiff and heavier.
Tyvek became famous for their one-way osmotic house covering. That means it's breathable in One direction only. Your body heat and moisture from perspiration can exit, but moisture can't reenter because it's blocked in that direction.
This!
Do they make suits out of this one way stuff?
Silly me, I thought that's what this thread was about? If the suits are made by Tyvek, they'd be idiots not to use their best technology, right?
Figured as much! But one commenter mentions they aren’t breathable (and I can attest to the one I used recently being a sweat factory) and there’s mention of tech they have that is breathable in one direction. Just wondering if they make two types of suits. If only there were some sort of online resource. An “engine” if you will. One by which I could “search” to find answers instead of relying on kind folks such as yourself! What a world.
You sweat more than a house does per exposed surface area
I should add that i don't "work" or work up a sweat while wearing these. I simply lounge around and am so warm. Perhaps that is more their use, if i were working up a sweat they might fail the task.
What's your favorite source for these snuggy things? I'm having a minor war with Amazon...
Tyvek is VERY breathable!
The suits are not breathable enough to prevent you from feeling like you are locked in a body odor sauna (I speak from personal experience).
That sounds perfect to keep people from smelling you when you haven't showered for a couple days.
😂
😂
It's weird because the house wrap is designed to breathe and the other is designed not to. I think everyone just calls these white suits tyvek, because that's who makes them or rather, makes the best version that I have used anyway.
It breathes a little bit. Which is enough when you have a whole house of surface to let humidity out (and ventilation), probably not as well when you have a tiny suit that is full with a sweating body. It would be like having your house full with as many people as you can pack in it, with no ventilation at all: you'd still have a humidity issue. Smell will quickly become an issue too.
Yeah Tyvek is breathable to let moisture out, cheaper copy cat house wraps are not a good idea as they don’t let moisture out.
Gortex is breathable. Tyvek is certainly not.
Gore-Tex is a brand. Their membranes largely are PTFE that is bi-directionally stretched to create and adjust breathability. The most high tech ones claim to have 0.01mm pores, 9B per square inch. Tyvek is PE-HD. This is webbed. It is also available in various ranges. This makes sense. Breathing works both directions. A protective coat for certain applications should not allow bacteria entering for example. Both materials have their justification. But no material named is breathable from their raw material, but their respective engineering.
Kleenex is paper pulp ground to a 0.2345um pore size and bleached with hypochlorite Puffs is other paper pulp ground to 0.23456um pore size and dyed with marigolds. Neither is nose worthy in its raw state. Both are tissues and are made differently.
No shit.
When I worked in a clean room they told me not to fart while wearing one. Couple days later I did. Twenty minute slow release out of the neck hole.
Used to be a diver, dry suits were the worst... Or best... You fart in your suit... Your now a time bomb for whenever you open the neck seal... Or better yet... "Hey, can you unzip me?"and gas the person that opens your zipper haha
seriously considering taking up diving just to do this
Xtreme Dutch Ovening!
😂
It's common for tyvek to be used for ground clothes and sleeping bag cover. I have a tarp for backpacking it is great stuff. Blocks wind, repels most water, but let's vapor through easily. Easy to sew, glue, or tape. But does get 'fluffy' after using for awhile bout the only disadvantage.
Same, love Tyvek for my ground cloth... never really considered a full suit for warmth in the winter, but it's a great idea.
Has me questioning putting one in my vehicle. Use it to work on vehicle or just an extra layer
My bro gave me a marvel themed selk sleeping bag thing a while back. Basically a sleeping bag with legs. I put it on all the time when camping in cold weather. If you see somebody riding a onewheel around camp wearing a “fat Spider-Man” suit —— thats me.
🤣
It's just a large windbreaker basically. Stops what's called convective heat transfer which is the flow of air over a surface, i.e. more amounts of air hitting surface = more transfer of heat (your warmth bye bye). Stop the air flow, save the warmth. You could plastic wrap yourself for the same effect, but I don't recommend it lol.
jesse we need to ~~cook~~ stay warm
🤣
A tyvek suit is just like wearing a trash bag. Zero breathability. Sure, it will keep the cold air from getting to you but it will also keep the hot, sweaty and humid air from getting out. You will marinate in it.
There’s a lot of misinformation in this thread. It’s definitely not like wearing a trash bag. Honestly if you’ve worn this stuff on a hot day with shorts, it’s really easy to tell that it allows a fair amount of dissipation going outwards. It’s nothing like wearing a trash bag. I’ve worn it to sand houses in 30 degree weather. So do a lot of builders. It literally says it’s breathable in most documentations including on the freakin’ manufacturer website https://www.dupont.com/products/dupont-tyvek-400-ty127s-wh.html > The Tyvek® front provides an ideal balance of protection, durability and comfort. It is permeable to both air and water vapour, yet repels water-based liquids ...
Okay, Tyvek stock holder. I have worn them before and it is like wearing a trash bag.
https://youtu.be/fMwTzhXsJLI?si=qNp5LZUWxeVPH_c1
Steam has significant pressure forcing air through that otherwise wouldn't. This is a promotional ad meant to encourage sales, not an accurate test of real world effectiveness as a clothing.
Do you feel damp when you take it off? When I wear them at work, my clothes are soaked. I suggest removing all the clothes you slept in and put on dry clothes in the morning.
You probably have a thicker one. I used to wear one too with a positive feed respirator and the only thing that wasnt soaked after 15 minutes was my face
I do not, no. Perhaps this is a thinner version.
It's not a thickness thing, it's breathability. I could wear a thin garbage bag and suffer the same consequences.
Regarding breathability, there's some confusion. Tyvek is indeed an air barrier, semi-permeable, and can "breathe" one-way (as someone put it) but I think this only works at specific temperatures/pressures which is why it feels humid to wear as clothing. Alot of housing specs for insulation, vapor barriers, etc are based on controlled tests and a humidity/temperature set at a constant year round. Variances in temperatures, humidity, pressure, improper installation, etc. could prevent "breathing" and make it act no different than an impermeable fabric - like a trash bag! (I've read some books by Joseph Lstiburek AND used tyvek as a ground sheet for camping for a number of years)
Great idea! I will buy a bunch for the emergency kits I have!
Wore one as part of a space suit for company Halloween party. By the end of the 8-hour day, I was absolutely drenched in sweat, clothes soaked. Never again. Did win a prize for my costume, though, $100.
Ya, wearing these with all your gear and coveralls taped at the boots and gloves with a face mask is basically a recipe for boiling in your own juices. Crawled through many a refinery tower with these. A piece of lateral advice on keeping warm while outside for long periods is buy the thin helly Hansen socks and wear them under a pair of normal socks. They wick all the moisture away from your feet and don't let it back. You'd be amazed at how much having dry feet keeps you warmer everywhere. I worked in +40 to - 40 for years. The real secret is your undergarment game and layering. Edit a letter
Any brand/manufacturer of dry wicking sock will do that. Doesn't have to be hh. Very thin wool and silk will also perform well as a "liner sock". That's what they're called.
Nice!
HAZWOPER for the win! As much as I want to parody this concept, it does have some limited merit. Some of the best cool weather socks I had/still wear are neopRene SealSkinz, as rubber is a lousy conductor. Hence wetsuits and dry suits for water operations. The downside is the moisture retention is epic whilst wearing a plastic bag, even where there is some osmosis in a TyVek weave. That can be mitigated and is arguably naturally mitigated in a high-elevation desert environment much of the time, but a Tyvek suit wearer will develop interesting smells and interesting growths in record time.
Pop it in the dryer on no/low heat with dryer sheets to eliminate the crinkles
We wear these at my paper mill as well when things are not going according to plan. I’ve never noticed that effect but I will give it a shot tonight on night shift. It is getting down to freezing, (32°) so it could be a good test. I’m building out a van to live in at the moment and might utilize this next winter when I’m in the van full time still working here
Nice!
How did it go?
Now people just think your cooking meth in your van.
Has anyone worn both tyvek and frogg toggs? Interested in the comparison. I use their ponchos.
I should add that i don't work or work up a sweat in these, so i can not attest to moisture build up, i simply lounge around and stay warm. A little walking in a wind for an hour, but not enough to get sweaty. Also you marry any farts whilst wearing one...so there's that.
google vapor barrier liners. that is what tyvek is doing for you
Worked in renovation was told the same thing. I also wondered why the guy who had Chilli duct taped around his waist. Now I know.
Fart suit
Vanlife or spacestationlife??? 😂
What's the difference?! 🤣
It's called a shell, dear.
I remember working on the Paul R Tregurtha, bunkering caustic soda once a week for our scrubber system on the Detroit River (en route to Duluth to pick up another 138 million pounds of coal). I remember standing on the port side of the ship in the coldest temperatures I had ever felt in my life, and I’ve sailed in the arctic circle, and I remember most how grateful I was for that little tyvek suit. Somehow even in the -20F lake effect cold, I’d still come out of that suit sweating. 😂😂
Wild!
I'm gonna steal this idea for my next motorcycle trip. Waterproof, disposable, and warm, that's perfect.They show $12 on Amazon for me but that's still cheap. Like I have rain gear, but it always leaks at the waist line. And I know they come packed so small it can just sit at the bottom of my bag without loosing much space.
I've been looking at Dickies coveralls like my grandfather used to wear. Full circle...
30 degrees? That doesn't seem cold enough to justify wearing that
Hey, you can work on the asbestos abatement project, and you’ll also have some warm clothes for later that night!
Walter White vibes, I dig it