I’ve been needing to waterproof, or re-waterproof a few items and just been lazy on it, but I finally ordered some Gear Aid ReviveX Durable Water Repellent (DWR) spray to try out.
Why did I pick the Gear Aid ReviveX DWR spray, well, Arc’teryx recommends it as one of the primary DWR sprays to use on their products, and, simply, it was the easiest one to find online. I looked around for a few other brands, and most places were out of stock, or just plain didn’t have any other options. If you have other DWR sprays that you like, let me know, so I can check them out!
So how well does the ReviveX work? Well, I think that’s going to be highly subjective. The material type, age of material, previous coatings that were on the material, and probably 100 other things all factor into how well something like this is going to work, especially with used products.
Application
For application, the product comes in a spray bottle, that, “works”. The bottle I have leaks a little when being sprayed, but nothing too bad… other than that it’s just a process of cleaning, spraying then drying your gear.
I found that a couple applications were required for things that hadn’t been DWR treated before, and you really have to layer the stuff on THICK. A light coating does a little, but that’s about it. One treatment might work, but you have to really soak everything. I found that a couple heavy treatments does a much better job… And if the material is not really designed for a DWR coating, like the hat example below, it works, but it’s not like a brand new Gore-Tex jacket or anything like that. So don’t expect too much, but it does help.
So out of the 10oz bottle, I was able to do two treatments to a hat and another two treatments to a medium sized jacket. In reality, for a jacket, or pants, I would say you’ll need about 6-7oz of the ReviveX to really cover things.
Directions
The process for applying ReviveX is pretty darn simple, on a clean garment, wet or dry, spray a heavy coating of the spray directly from the bottle (from 5″ to 10″). Then tumble try at normal heat until dry (assuming what you sprayed can be put in the dryer), or hang dry for at least 48-hours (or until dry).
I don’t think the process could be simpler, as far as an application perspective… Just make sure what you’re going to spray is clean and make sure to get a good heavy coverage and go a little extra heavy on high wear areas like the cuffs.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this product seems to work. It’s not like it’s going to make any old product act like it is made of Gore-Tex and has a factory DWR finish, so don’t expect that, but it does help waterproof non-waterproof things and is really designed to “revive” existing DWR finished items. I wish it was a little more like an industrial hydrophobic coating, but that’s not really what it is supposed to be.
Bottom line, at about $1.22 per ounce (USD, as of 10/8/2015), it’s a little on the expensive side; but to save that $300 jacket for a few more years, it’s probably worth a try if nothing else.
Have other waterproofing products you like to use? Let us know your favorites in the comments!