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Is it possible for modern skiers to go back to pre-plastic ski outerwear and how would you imagine your skiing day/season would look like if it did?

Paul Lutes

Making fresh tracks
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Enough performance can be maintained with non-plastic based outer wear that it would only be moderately disruptive to do. This would not be the case, however, with boots and skis. Leather boots and wooden skis would. be the end of days for me.
 

David Chaus

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It is the burning of fossil fuel that they are trying to stop. I didn't think that textiles and other uses of oil were being targeted as unfriendly to the planet.
Oh, well as long as the fossil fuels aren't actually burned, then it's totally OK to strip-mine, frack and otherwise disturb the environment in the extraction process.
 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
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Oh, well as long as the fossil fuels aren't actually burned, then it's totally OK to strip-mine, frack and otherwise disturb the environment in the extraction process.
When you say strip mine are you talking about the lithium for the batteries in EV's?
 

neonorchid

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It is an issue, isn't it?
I'm just going to cut copy and paste from Google:

lithium from Australia comes from ore mining, while in Chile and Argentina lithium comes from salt deserts, so-called salars. The extraction of raw materials from salars functions as follows: lithium-containing saltwater from underground lakes is brought to the surface and evaporates in large basins.

Excessive mining of lithium leaves the few pieces of fertile land barren. Lithium mining activities destroy the habitats and minerals that plants require to grow. So, lithium extraction is responsible for the onset of desertification in several parts of the world.Dec 31, 2021

5 New Battery Technologies That Will Change the Future
  • NanoBolt lithium tungsten batteries. Working on battery anode materials, researchers at N1 Technologies, Inc. ...
  • Zinc-manganese oxide batteries. ...
  • Organosilicon electrolyte batteries. ...
  • Gold nanowire gel electrolyte batteries. ...
  • TankTwo String Cell™ batteries.
 

Powder High

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5 New Battery Technologies That Will Change the Future
  • NanoBolt lithium tungsten batteries. Working on battery anode materials, researchers at N1 Technologies, Inc. ...
  • Zinc-manganese oxide batteries. ...
  • Organosilicon electrolyte batteries. ...
  • Gold nanowire gel electrolyte batteries. ...
  • TankTwo String Cell™ batteries.

Just wondering, how many degrees warmer will the earth be before we can develop new technologies like this and get them into large scale production.
 

neonorchid

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Just wondering, how many degrees warmer will the earth be before we can develop new technologies like this and get them into large scale production.
Sadly the pessimist in me doesn't think wild temps will do it ... perhaps the "Water Wars" will get heads out of asses:nono:
 

Ken_R

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I love natural fibers! But not the price. Example:

Screen Shot 2022-05-25 at 10.56.33 AM.png
 

James

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Not buying the price issue. You could post a dozen shirts made from a bucket of oil in Vietnam that cost the same.
Btw, Vermont once was the sheep capital of the world in the mid 19th century. There were far fewer trees then as they were cut for wood and grazing.

You can blame the spreading of Merino Sheep on Napoleon. Before he invaded Spain the sheep were really only in Spain apparently. Then they were allowed to be exported by the Spanish. Brought to the US by William Jarvis of VT. “Merino Mania” ensued.

3A0D1069-6736-439F-A28A-86EEF2DFA11D.jpeg

 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
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Not buying the price issue. You could post a dozen shirts made from a bucket of oil in Vietnam that cost the same.
Btw, Vermont once was the sheep capital of the world in the mid 19th century. There were far fewer trees then as they were cut for wood and grazing.

You can blame the spreading of Merino Sheep on Napoleon. Before he invaded Spain the sheep were really only in Spain apparently. Then they were allowed to be exported by the Spanish. Brought to the US by William Jarvis of VT. “Merino Mania” ensued.

View attachment 170052
Vermont the sheep capital on the world, who would have quests. I would have thought it was Australia but maybe it just because of the timing, a mid 19th century thing.
 

ski otter 2

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Front Range, Colorado
From what I've read, a problem with petro textiles, early ones or later developed, is they break down to small and nano plastic particles that are pervading the environment and interfere with endocrine system/glandular functions. They are already a huge problem, and many of them contain fluoro compounds at this point (literally thousands of different synthetic fluor compounds, so far three to four of them studied).
Some people do ski in non plastic gear.
Check out one of @Dan Egan's sponsors
https://www.alpsandmeters.com/
Their stuff is really well made. A bit heavy, but well made. Wool. Waxed Cotton...you name it.
The problem with most of this company's outer layer clothing is that the natural materials are on the outside (for looks or appearance?) to face the elements; and the "membrane" synthetics are hidden on the inside, closest to the body. This is the reverse of what would be most practical for skiing or mountaineering, to me, since it's the synthetics that can most often be wind and water repellent in the most lightweight and efficient manner.

The synthetic "membranes" of the above company (just thin synthetics?) are a key part of seemingly all of their outer layer products: but their synthetics are on the inside, waxed canvas/cotton on the outside. This makes little sense, to me - except for show.


Since I started skiing in the early fifties, I remember and used many of the pre-synthetic materials. (And synthetics came way before leather boots were discarded, and before those boots had buckles.) The wool was very itchy then, no smart (merino) wool, for most of us.

In these early setups, and my own now still, the natural materials are/were better (for me) on the inside, nearest the body, and the synthetics, which are best for wind and water repellency, are/were better on the outside, where they can/could do what they do best (instead of some outer heavy waxed canvas - heavy and bulky - or some other supposedly natural material that may be heavily chemical-treated or otherwise coated (wax or oil) to make it truly able to repel the elements).
 

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