I claim to knit "weatherproof" garments. If you claim to knit as tight as I do, your fabrics should do anything that my knitting does - without limit.
A pool of water on a sweater is a nice visual aid, but it is not test for weatherproof. Fog droplets in still air move at almost zero speed - rather like a pool of water beading on the sweater. Real rain drops fall at ~ 20 mph in still air. A weatherproof sweater can withstand a lot of water hitting it at 20 mph. Test for it. I do. My test uses a high pressure nozzle throwing 12 liters/min at the sample.
To a sailor, "weather' means wind. I test to be sure my gasneys will keep me warm in a cold gale (35 mph). Test for it. I do.
Wind will accelerate the rain drops or ocean spray to more than 20 mph. Test for it. I do.
In the 18th century, cod fishermen in the North Atlantic worked from open boats and hand knit sweaters that would keep them warm and dry in a 48F gale. ("Frostbite" time for bare skin = 30 minutes.) When the weather got bad, they put on another gansey, and oil skins. However, their Jerseys and Guernseys were warm to a degree that you cannot imagine. That is what I test for - Can I knit as warm as they did? And, I always seek better. What is your standard?
I wear my ganseys in the rain and in the wind. And when conditions get bad, I wear them 2 at a time, under a commercial fisherman's foul weather gear, with proper accessories. I admit it, that combination is warmer than what the old timers had. They were very tough. In the real world, it does get colder than freezing, the wind does blow harder than a gale, and I have fished in places where 20 feet of rain per year is normal. I figure that my sweaters are just sort of minimum competence for a working fisherman's shirt. If you want to say that you knit as tight as I do, then prove that your sweaters have minimum competence for a working fisherman's shirt.
If you want me to prove things, then turn-about is fair play. We test for minimum competence.
A pool of water on a sweater is a nice visual aid, but it is not test for weatherproof. Fog droplets in still air move at almost zero speed - rather like a pool of water beading on the sweater. Real rain drops fall at ~ 20 mph in still air. A weatherproof sweater can withstand a lot of water hitting it at 20 mph. Test for it. I do. My test uses a high pressure nozzle throwing 12 liters/min at the sample.
To a sailor, "weather' means wind. I test to be sure my gasneys will keep me warm in a cold gale (35 mph). Test for it. I do.
Wind will accelerate the rain drops or ocean spray to more than 20 mph. Test for it. I do.
In the 18th century, cod fishermen in the North Atlantic worked from open boats and hand knit sweaters that would keep them warm and dry in a 48F gale. ("Frostbite" time for bare skin = 30 minutes.) When the weather got bad, they put on another gansey, and oil skins. However, their Jerseys and Guernseys were warm to a degree that you cannot imagine. That is what I test for - Can I knit as warm as they did? And, I always seek better. What is your standard?
I wear my ganseys in the rain and in the wind. And when conditions get bad, I wear them 2 at a time, under a commercial fisherman's foul weather gear, with proper accessories. I admit it, that combination is warmer than what the old timers had. They were very tough. In the real world, it does get colder than freezing, the wind does blow harder than a gale, and I have fished in places where 20 feet of rain per year is normal. I figure that my sweaters are just sort of minimum competence for a working fisherman's shirt. If you want to say that you knit as tight as I do, then prove that your sweaters have minimum competence for a working fisherman's shirt.
If you want me to prove things, then turn-about is fair play. We test for minimum competence.
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