Here’s a tip for sewing patches that I use every time… Every couple of inches tie off the thread just like when finishing, but don’t cut it…just keep stitching. This way, if it breaks or is caught and pulled and then comes loose the thread will never work it’s way out more than a couple of inches. Virtually indestructible patches. I use this method with everything I stitch.
Been so curious about those iconic pants for so long now. The Colorado bush definitely will be easier to perform some bushcraft with these. Thank you for the amazing videos you do!
After a late 40s 'growth spurt' I ended up with a few pairs of pants that don't fit so well. I've been turning one into a 'bush bag' and another into gaiters. I've been looking for a simple wax application method just like this to wax them without having to use liquid wax: I have a nosy pitbull that would figure a way to spill it on me! Your patches have inspired me to make a pair of waxed denim chaps to wear over waxed pants for rainy days. Thanks for this vid! Simplest and best explained method I've seen and likely the last.
Very nice. I will be moving back to my home province of NS in August and once settled, I am going to make me some waxed pants based on your instructions.
I made a few waxed cotton pouches, one for fire kit and one for food, and I ended up using my wife’s hair dryer to melt it in 😅 With how long just those 2 pouches took (I applied about 3 layers also), I can only imagine how long those pants took! Cheers! 🇺🇸🤝🇨🇦
Thank you so much for sharing, I always wonder where you got your pants and now I know, I looked a buying a pair of waxs canvas pants and they where 400 dollars usd.
Great video buddy! I have been waiting for a tutorial for a long time, now it's time to try your process. Unmelted application seems better indeed. Thanks for the video
Been looking for a good instructional video on how to make these. You have definitely done a fantastic job on the video like all your others and made it extremely easy to follow along. Luckily beeswax is very easy to come by in my area to make that mixture. What are your thoughts on using a heavier grade leather on the knee patches?
At first they will be stiff and a little uncomfortable. After hiking in them once or twice they will soften and become more comfortable. Thanks for watching!
While obviously not a budget option I personally like and use Fjällräven pants (like Keb or Vidda Pro) and they even sell their own wax and I wax those depending on season. Works great in the swedish winters, through the summer. Their mix is something like 70/30 cotton/polyester which is a great mix for when you’re not waxed up, they dry extremely fast. Probably less fireproof though. Btw, a hairdryer works great for melting the wax into the fabric.
I use the Vidda Pro’s also, great trousers! I typically wax the bottom half of the leg and the seat, keeps moisture out from walking through brush or sitting on logs but also stay a little more comfortable..
I also love my Vidda Pros. I use wax, but I use a steamer rather than an iron and it works great. I just spent a week in Ireland and they're perfect for west coast adventures.@@Ben-rq5re
I was wondering if you could use Scotch Guard water repellant instead of the wax. Obviously it would be much more expensive to buy it, but it would be a lot easier to apply. Also, years ago, I used to play ice hockey and my equipment would smell pretty bad after a couple of games. So I would make up a mixture of bleach and water in a spray bottle. I had to dilute the bleach really well because I didn't want it to bleach out my equipment. I would spray it on and it worked really well to get rid of the bad smell, and my equipment didn't have a strong odor of bleach afterwards. (Too bad the rest of the guys on the team didn't do that! LOL!)
I'm unfamiliar with that product so I can't really say. If it's a water repellant spray I'm sure it would work Not sure about the longevity/how often it would need to be reapplied. The bleach spray would probably work quite well. I use a 50/50 alcohol/water spray on my boots to keep them from smelling which would also probably work. Thank you for watching! Happy trails.
Great clothing. I have a pair of tin cloth pants that are over 25 years old. Sadly, Filson seems to be more of an urban hipster brand now, and their clothing is mostly made off shore. I was a Filson dealer for years until they started going down the hipster road and doubling their prices. They have a factory outlet on Broadway in New York City. That says a lot in and of itself. Rent there is over $60 a square foot. BUT the good news is that they last so long you can find them used sometimes.
Well!....that’s 48yrs of being on this planet having no clue that I NEEDED a pair of wax pants....until tonight!! (begins checking all the labels on his trousers...)
To set your wax in clothes the by far easiest way is to apply the wax to the entire garment and place in a black garbage bag and place in the sun for a hour. Repeat the process for how many layers of wax you want. I’ve worn waxed clothes for thirty years and it works every time which is way easier that heating small sections like this.
I bought this wax brand 'Otter wax'. It says to just store the garment in a warm dry place for 24 hours but I've done so much to it and it seems like it still hasn't set. I've used a hair dryer on it for like an hour, let it set in a black trashbag in the sun for several hours (it got up to 88 degrees today), rubbed in the wax more with a brush. But you can tell there is still white wax on them. So now I just put them in my attic in a black trash bag because it gets hot up there. Might just leave them there for a couple days.
Thanks for the great video! Was always loving the look of your pants, and wondering how you made them. Will definitely try to make some too! Best regards from Austria 😊👊🏽🔥🏕️🌲
If you use dental flass or similar thickness thread, I would double the thread as it will have much less of a tendency to create a tearout. The best to use is 100% cotton thread doubled up, at least, and hand wax coated by drawing it through the same wax you use for the pants. If you want to make extra, sure, there is little to no tearout. After doing the whip stitch, go back through the holes in a zigzag. This can be a little overkill for some and time-consuming, but it will make them last much longer with little to no tearout.
Detailed, well explained, useful and entertaining. The quality of your videos never ceases to impress! I've been hiking for a few years now, buying "sports store" quality stuff which have been mostly dissapointing. I wish I had found your channel earlier on so I would've realized that there are better ways to do things even if more difficult/time consuming - what you are doing is actually enjoying nature, while I've been only visiting. Best regards from the land of a thousand lakes, looking foward for the years to come!
You just blew my mind! You did the best tutorial I’ve ever watched! From comfort, to explained reasons behind each step, to quantity! You gained a new subscriber! I’m gonna have to make me a pair of these now! Ty!
I have no idea why this is so fascinating to me? I have no intentions of ever going camping or needing wax pants, but I am just so enthralled with it all. 😂
There may very well be a point within our lifetime when we find ourselves doing something akin to camping, whether we intended to or not, so having these ideas and little bits of information might be really useful one day. Even if it's just anecdotal from watching videos like this. It's better to at least have the idea rather than not having a clue. Just being interested in this stuff puts you ahead of people who have never considered a way of living that isn't facilitated by qr codes.
For hand sewing i uae a bandaid and a dime placed so that it makes a thimble. I have sewn such things forvyears..like 55 years and never again did i have a needle going thru my finger backward.,and my "" thread" of choice is 50 lb fishing line..not monofilament...,
I sewed a pair of moosehide mukluks to canvas and it was a beast. I ended up putting a dime between two layers of leftover hide and duct taping it to my thumb. 🙂
Fairly labor intensive. I prefer thinning silicone caulk in naphtha and soaking the garments in that because it is very fast, silicone lasts a long time, it is way more fire and heat resistant, and adds very little weight (and if you do the thinning ratio right, you can keep the material more breathable). I also prefer using linen or hemp over cotton because these are stronger and slightly more insulating when covered in silicone, wax, or the like. That is because both linen and hemp fibers are hollow tubes, and unless they are soaked with water, they are good at stilling air and thus insulating. Linen is slightly better than hemp because the fibers tend to be finer, and finer fibers are better at still air (though, more so in layers or loft), and it also feel softer on the skin (the larger the fibers, the more scratchy a material feels). The downside is that linen tends to be more loosely woven than cotton and so it will be less water resistant (though, this is better for summer because it breathes far better). A good tip is that if it is very wet, or very cold, wearing some polypropylene (PP) baselayers underneath will help to keep you dryer and warmer, at low weight. But wear some odor reducing underwear underneath these, because PP tends to build up and retain bad odor quickly and easily. A note on wool: There are two things that I really like about wool and one thing that I really dislike (and which outweighs what I like). What I like is that wool is great at reducing odor and it is extremely fire resistant. What I dislike is that it absorbs A LOT and holds onto moisture once it is wetted out. Treating it with lanolin helps to make it more surface water resistant, but it still absorbs a lot of moisture vapor. On a side note, if you want a pair of pants that is very water resistant (if the weave is tight) and dries very fast, using 100% polyester pants and treating with silicone accomplishes that. Nylon is the next best. But if you're doing a silicone treatment, the pants/materials have to be free of DWR type coatings, otherwise the silicone will not adhere to the fibers. Obviously these have issues with melting in relation to sparks, so they are not the best with being close to open fires a lot.
I've always loved the look and performance of waxed canvas clothing and tarps... as a result, Filson and Frost River have gotten a lot of my money over the years. Looks like I'll be making my own from now on... as much for pride's sake as for the simplicity of it. Great video... thanks for sharing! Peace to you from Alaska.
Another great video my friend. My choice was to buy a pair of heavy cotton bibs, they already had the extra knee patch on them. And yes I bought them a size bigger. I like the bibs because it does give you extra flexibility in your movement with a little extra protection. I actually bought this pair longer then my size so I can roll the cuff inside about 8 inches for extra snake protection.
For leather or wooden handles, you could add birch tar - it's a natural antiseptic. 50/50 ratio for leather and apply 100% to wooden handles. It's the best treatment from mold, too, and is nontoxic.
I didn't do a very good job on those older videos. This version has a lot more info. I greatly appreciate your continued support! You've been around for at least a few years if you remember those old videos. Happy trails my friend!
Obviously a Labor of love! I have waxed several cheap haversacks I bought from Coleman's Military surplus for $10.00 each and they make great stove/cook kits and a range bag. I also waxed several bush hats and a couple of ball caps for wet weather use and they work very well. The rain runs off them, no problem. I mixed beeswax with the general wax you can buy for canning but I have no particular formula yet. Just what looks right! I always wondered what it would be like to wax a jacket let alone pants. I may eventually give it a try one day. It must take a lot of patience to rub it into the material as you do. I just brush mine on with an old paintbrush while the wax is hot and wet. It does clump that way. I then use a blow dryer to spread it out. The method I use from RU-vid tends to make the fabric a bit stiff but I work it a bit and it seems ok. Thanks for sharing what you do to make your gear water-resistant. I always get something very valuable from your videos be it knots, camping tips, etc... I like that you actually use the stuff you show out in the bush before our very eyes. It makes a big difference. God Bless and stay safe out there. I will continue to watch. Doug.
If they are properly waxed; of course they will be totally waterproof, 100%. Easy to wax any cotton type material; get paraffin wax (eg candle wax) and bee wax but what this video missed is to add some mineral oil (baby oil!). Mix everything together by placing a pan into another larger pan with boiling water which ensures the mixture cannot burn. Pour the mixture into moulds and let set - at least one hour. I make mine the size of bar of soap - I use silicone cake moulds. ‘Crayon’ on the wax and then use a heat gun to melt into the material - it’s easy to see where more wax is required as sparse areas will be lighter coloured. Once the wax cakes/bricks have been created it takes about 15 minutes to wax a coat completely.
@@jasonplugowsky3086 45/45/10. I have a silicone muffin mould to make 6x cakes per time. Small pieces end up in a clean jam jar and can melted to combine into a new bar. I use a DeWalt heater gun after waxing to ensure good penetration. Hope this helps.
I found my waxed pants to be much colder than regular pants, jeans or wool, not my favorite for fall winter use. They are also heavier which I did not appreciate. Mine were from Filson, I like the possibility of making my own. Would an electric iron do the same job as the hot pot of water?
This is great! Good to hear a solid wax mixture to use. I run both my anorak and fjellräven pants through the tumble dryer after a complete layer of wax. And then 3 times more or less, until Im out of wax. The wear and tear parts get priority. A tumble dryer makes the wax soak in so incredibly even and almost remove any marks of any wax have been applied. Ironing though, has the worst result I've seen. It works, but it's not very effective. Solid heat on a larger area at the time absolutt makes it fun, and satisfying.
I've been a subscriber for quite a while. After watching your first pants waxing video I rushed out and purchased the pants and waxes. Off to work I went and wound up with a pretty good pair of waxed pants for snow and cold weather in where I lived in Colorado! Last year I moved to Arizona. 🥵 I'll try them again on one of our really cold 60 degree winter days. Thank you for all your help, knowledge, and videos.
Thank you for tuning in! The fire bans have been lifted and I'm heading off to the woods in the morning. Trip videos will be returning shortly. Happy trails my friend!
Wow! What a great idea and so enjoyable to watch! This is something I’d like to try. It’s a good project to do in winter, a few hours or so in an evening now and then like you said. I think they looked really good. I subscribed after watching this. Thanks for sharing 👍
You could spray the inside and out side with 100% isopropyl alcohol to disinfect them. It works great for boots and any other garments that you don't want to or can't wash in soap and water.
all I can see is the danger of waxed cloth pants while hiking and back packing good for keeping dry but if you get to close to your fire at night good bye
I bought a pair of carhartt pants with double knee fabric and brushed in melted wax from a croc pot. Then put them in the oven to melt excess into the fabric. Can’t wait to go camping
First thing I noticed watching the first video I saw of yours was you pants. My initial thoughts were where the hell did you get those. The fact that you’ve put labour in to creating them just encourages me to try my own pair. Maybe see if I can’t add a custom pocket or two for essentials.
Thanks for sharing I use a heat gun to wax all my items. I as well as you believe 100% cotton is the best outerwear. I ha e about 3 pairs and 2 waxed tarps I use. Keep the videos coming and stay safe
I has a pair of Frog Toggs that melted to the back of legs when I was just warming myself at the fire. Luckily they were an outer layer and I had jeans under them, otherwise I would have got burned. I have one question thought, you mentioned that the waxed pants are not waterproof, only water resistant. Do you find that to be a problem when out in the backcountry in the rain? How do you deal with the added moisture, getting cold etc? Thanks.
Nice video. I love my waxed hiking pants, they're from Fjallraven, one of the lighter weight fabrics, certainly not dirt cheap but also not hundreds of dollars/euros. Sturdy mixture of 65% polyester and 35% cotton, waxed 2 or 3 times with beeswax. Windproof, much more resistant to abrasion, water repellent to a degree (and indeed certainly not waterproof). Because of the fabric mixture and the fact that the cotton is thoroughly waxed, it doesn't hold that much water so especially in windy conditions, they dry out real fast. That baking/parchment paper is also ideal when you iron in the wax, very useful.
man... gotta give it to you bro. i just use hair dryer . you are very patient person. being frugal is good indeed ! i have fjallraven and using greenland wax is insufficient. i will try your 70/30 mixture
If you're ever interested in a different thread, Ritza Tiger Thread, or Maine waxed thread are two awesome choices. I use Ritza .8 Waxed thread for all my leatherwork and it is a dream to work with and perfectly waxed.
