Insul~Bright Homepage.
I found out about this material from a discussion on White Blaze. It was a thread on freezer bag cooking where Sabar, author of Freezer Bag Cooking the book, said that she makes her cozy pouches from a material called Insul-Bright (IB) and fleece. I was able to pick up some IB at my local Jo Anns fabric store. It's also the same stuff that's in pot holders that keeps your hand from getting burned. I bought one yard to make a FBC cozy. A 46"x38" piece of fabric weighs 6.3oz on my scale.
IB is basically mylar (space blanket) and polyester. The IB website says this about the fabric:
Here's some more facts:Insul~Bright consists of hollow, polyester fibers needlepunched through a nonwoven substrate and through a reflective mylar. The needled material is breathable and won’t break down with washing. The hollow fibers resist conduction while the reflective mylar resists radiant energy. The energy, hot or cold, is reflected back to its source.
* Needlepunched Insulated Lining
* Reflects Heat or Cold Back to the Source
* No Pre-wash Necessary
* Machine Wash and Dry
* Made in the U.S.A.
When I first saw this material I knew that it had definite potential for use in DIY hammock gear. The first thing that came to mind was incorporating it into an under quilt. Several people have voiced interest in using space blankets as bottom insulation in a hammock. While a Mylar space blankets does have potential because of it's light weight and heat reflective properties, it is also a very noisy material and lacks breathability, possibly causing it to actually hold water like a bath tub. Not good.
The Mylar in the IB fabric is perforated, giving it much need breathability, and also GREATLY reduces the noisiness of the fabric. The fabric still makes a slight "crinkle" sound, but I seriously doubt it would even be that noticeable. I also think that the fuzzy polyester portion of the fabric would help to wick moisture away. I really think the IB, coupled with a DWR layer of rip stop, would make a great under quilt. It was thinking about making an under quilt using the KAQ instructions, but substituting the IB for the insulation normally used
Here's some pics:
You can see the perforations in the Mylar in this picture:
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