Angrysparrow and I have been joking about IX being applied to every insulation need... if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail! I've enjoyed trying lots of different things, but the truth is that there are things that IX does not do well at all. I've tried it in clothing, UQs, TQs, inserts, and balled up inside a hammock sock.
So, what have we learned about IX recently?
- IX is a vapor barrier, no matter what the manufacturer says about perforation. The point is, it behaves as one.
- IX is compressible, meaning you can compress the low density polyehtylene layer and lose the insulating properties. It's hard to compress it in a stuff sack, but it is compressible as a thin layer insulator.
- IX must fit well in order to insulate well. It is therefore difficult to make an IX-only UQ. That's why my IX hammock sock works, but my IX-only UQs do not. IX inserts work well if they are fastened to an existing UQ.
- IX works very well on the outside of a down or synthetic UQ.
- IX works well (like a space blanket) on the inside of an UQ.
- IX works well on the outside of a TQ, such as supplementing a thin synthetic quilt, or wrapping the footbox of a TQ.
- IX works extremely well balled up loosely in a Garlington insulator.
- multi-layer IX-only UQs have not done well in cold weather; they might be great in milder weather.
The most effective uses I have found are the IX Hammock Sock, and one yard of raw IX inside the PeaPod or UQ. Those two applications have been very successful. I anticipate that IX in the outer shell of a KAQ will really KA!
- MacEntyre
Bookmarks