Ventum outer layer?

**Trague** · 07-30-2015, 05:56

Hello Forums, fledgling DIY'r here. I've made a couple gathered end hammocks with knotty mods and paired them with bishop bags. I'm now starting to think about quilts. However, I've a fabric inquiry.

Zpacks sells a fabric 'Ventum' which looks pretty phenomenal on paper. .7 oz/yard, highly water resistant, downproof, and wind resistant, as well as being ripstop. But, I cannot find any examples of people using the fabric and reviewing how it works in real-world applications.

I have been thinking of using it for the outer layer of a down underquilt as it looks ideally suited for that purpose.

Has anyone used this fabric, or know anything about it?

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

**Caconym** · 07-30-2015, 07:46

Hmm, curious. I have no experience with it myself, but if it's as good at blocking wind as it says, you might be on to something.

Here's my play at devil's advocate: does it need to be water resistant? What are you going to be doing where water would be likely to get on your quilt, or is it just a precautionary measure?
My worry would be that that water-resistance would keep the vapour produced by your body from escaping, thus wetting the down from the inside. A lightweight alternative would be Argon67.

Surely others with more quilting experience than I possess will chime in.

That said; order some, make a test quilt, and report back! You could be on to something great

**Firesong** · 07-30-2015, 07:53

Water resistant might simply refer to dwr/ calendered.

WV · 07-30-2015, 11:23

We have come into a time when vendors are putting their own names on fabrics, and there are enough similar ones with different names that the distinctions are beginning to blur for me. I look at fiber type (nylon/polyester), weight, downproof (yes/no, if claimed), dwr (yes/no), ripstop (yes/no, and pattern, if unusual, but I doubt that it's worth obsessing over). If all or most of these characteristics don't suit me or aren't listed, I don't buy it. Getting back to Trague's question, maybe you can compare Ventum to another fabric that has similar specs. There probably isn't much (if any) difference.

**craige** · 07-30-2015, 12:41

I agree with WV.

I doubt zpacks would use sub par fabrics for their gear but it is expensive compared to what is available from the likes of Dutch or rsbtr and slightly heavier although that could be down to dwr and the rs threads. I don't think my quilts will ever be in a situation that having ripstop will be a big deal.

**Scotty Von Porkchop** · 07-30-2015, 13:17

Following what WV and Craige say that there's a few similar fabrics out and they are getting very hard to understand one from another, I've never heard of ventum before let alone seen it.

One thing I will add though is that in my experience a fabric weight of about 0.6/7 Oz is the point at which they become much more difficult to handle as the machine can easily add unintended folds, puckers and pull the fabrics. Still ultralight has great cool factor so I sewed a 0.5oz primaloft recently ;-)

**MattK** · 07-30-2015, 15:02

Well, from zpacks website, it looks like they use it for both the liner and shell of their sleeping bags. Since their gear is aimed at people who plan on using it every single day for 6 months, I would assume it is pretty good stuff. IIRC, Joe usually "tests" out all gear designs by sending out a few on thru-hikes. So, it would likely be a safe bet to use for your UQ project.

On paper, it sounds very similar to Dutch's Argon 67. I used that in making a TQ, and I love it. Soft, breathable, good dwr. Can't speak to the downproof since my quilt is Apex. FWIW, Argon 67 from Dutch is $7/yard cheaper for what many around here will attest to as being a high quality fabric for quilt making. It is also pretty durable. I know of at least one person who made a small (day use) hammock out of it, and has hung successfully at least a couple times.

**Violent Green** · 07-31-2015, 22:54

Ventum = Fair DWR, very low breathabilty 3cfm if I remember correctly. For reference, Argon67 is +40cfm. Very downproof.

I would go with Argon or Membrane10 without a second thought.

Ryan

**Michael_qrt** · 08-05-2015, 23:28

Bit of a late reply but I have some of the Ventum fabric although I haven't made anything from it yet. My impression is that it's a top quality fabric and will do the job of a quilt shell very well. It is considerably less breathable than Argon 67 but the Argon 67 is very breathable and will offer less wind resistance. Membrane 10 is somewhere between the two on breathability. All are very nice fabrics and have their place depending on your desired properties, for what it's worth I think the Ventum is breathable enough not to cause problems in a quilt shell but you might want something more breathable for an active wind shell (though zpacks do use it for this, so it must work OK for some at least).