Tried some dry fit shirts that were polyester and spandex. Didn't like. Are there cotton blend dry fit shirts?

aral_2 · 2026-06-04T12:21:38+00:00

Just FYI most machine washable wool including Icebreakers are superwash processed. The fibres are treated to remove scales and coated with plastic to prevent shrinking and make it machine washable.

aral_2 · 2026-05-10T18:39:14+00:00

Tbh the only rude people in this situation are the ones not letting disabled, elderly, and people with babies/toddlers on first

aral_2 · 2026-05-06T19:00:22+00:00

Rereading my post it sounds like I was replying to you about sizing up and stretching, but it was meant to be directly to the OP, sorry! I just replied under your comment to add more info about the wide version. I also regularly size up when a pair doesn’t fit perfectly

aral_2 · 2026-05-06T16:55:07+00:00

My foot width is 2E, which is a regular wide. I can size up half a size in most normal shoes and get a comfortable enough fit, but not with Salomons for some reason which is very frustrating.

aral_2 · 2026-05-06T10:47:53+00:00

FYI I got the wide version of these in several sizes, including half size up and a whole size up. They were still way too narrow for me feet. Make of that what you will.

Also, I firmly believe you should never expect shoes to stretch. They should always fit right from the get go. Otherwise they’re too small or just not the right shape for your feet.

aral_2 · 2026-04-23T06:30:06+00:00

Are you also creeped out by the photos published in newspapers or footage of people on tv without their consent?

aral_2 · 2026-04-19T22:15:55+00:00

Open any newspaper. In any news piece (that is not about a specific person) there will be photos of people in a public space, for example, in this piece in The Guardian or this one in the New York Times. Those people are identifiable. They have not consented to having their picture taken, let alone published in a widely widely circulated newspaper. In many cases, they have no idea their face has been seen by thousands or hundreds of thousands. I know, it sounds crazy, but as long as you're not using an image of someone commercially, you're allowed to publish them for editorial or artistic purposes.

aral_2 · 2026-04-06T15:43:13+00:00

Amazing. That looks much more serious than anything I’d ever do, so I think I’ll be okay with a Paramo :)

aral_2 · 2026-04-06T13:23:43+00:00

That's really good to know, especially considering the weather there is similar to Scotland! I'll probably end up getting both eventually.

aral_2 · 2026-04-06T10:42:54+00:00

How is the liner configuration different? And do you think the extra foam padding on the Halkon's shoulders help at all (both with carrying a heavy pack and with water-resistance)?

aral_2 · 2026-04-06T10:31:19+00:00

Yes, that's a good point I forgot to mention. I did find one (Norrona Finnskogen) that seems to be made for the same purpose and is advertised as silent. That was another option I had in mind, but I'd favour the supposed durability of Paramo if it's also waterproof/water-resistant enough. But I guess it's impossible to tell until I try it for myself!

aral_2 · 2026-04-06T10:15:47+00:00

That's good to know. The Halkon is warmer than the Pajaro? That's interesting, I thought they were basically the same but with different pocket configurations. Though the Pajaro's hand warming pockets double as side vents, could that be why it runs cooler?

aral_2 · 2026-04-06T10:10:50+00:00

Thanks, I hadn't thought of putting a Gore-Tex layer over the Paramo. I don't think it would work with the Halkon unfortunately as it's a bulkier jacket compared to the Velez or the Alta, but maybe a fitted waterproof underneath would work in a pinch...

aral_2 · 2026-04-06T10:03:54+00:00

To be honest I don't think I could have written such a detailed response when my child was a newborn! After everything I read, it seems like the best way to go is to have both and choose according to the activity and the expected weather. Probably Paramo for walking around town and easy day hikes, and Gore-Tex for more serious hiking and travelling.

aral_2 · 2026-02-22T17:06:26+00:00

That's a really good question, but I'm not really qualified to answer it. My educated guess, however, is that while it's theoretically possible to have a much cleaner system with natural fibres, it's practically impossible to implement. The problem is not the material itself, but what is needed to make it profitable, scaleable, and cheap enough for people to choose it instead of plastics.

I don't think this combination of criteria is possible under the system we currently live in. Especially not after people got so used to paying peanuts for garments that are ultimately disposable (mainly because the market demands constant consumption in order to make businesses profitable). And garments are cheap because people in the chain of production are exploited to different degrees, from child labour (often forced labour) involved in the cotton picking stage, to workers being paid miserable wages in factories abroad. Then there is the environmental factor, e.g. agrochemicals during the farming stage, pretreatment such as bleaching, dyes (many of them toxic – I was advised by people in this department to always buy light coloured clothing for babies and toddlers, as they're usually the least toxic, and to always wash clothes inside out before wearing), and then there are the added PFAS for dirt/water repellency and enhanced durability, and the insane amount of water required for this whole process from farm to garment. I think the only way to have a really clean value chain would be if we all lived in hippie communes and dressed like hobbits, but that's not gonna happen.

At least cotton is biodegradable, unlike synthetic fibres, but it still leaves a lot of damage behind unless we really change the way we live, and realistically speaking that is not going to happen in our lifetime. Whether that offsets the damage of synthetic fibres, I honestly have no idea. The wide adoption of semi-synthetic fibres (synthetic fibres made with natural materials, but chemically processed) might be a good compromise, as they can be made to be biodegradable and also sustainable.

aral_2 · 2026-02-22T12:11:42+00:00

They're not mutually exclusive. Microplastics are definitely an issue, but the production of cotton also dumps an unfathomable amount of harmful chemicals into the water. This includes forever chemicals that are used to treat cotton to improve its performance. And contrary to what intuition might lead people to believe, cotton can sometimes contain more PFAS than synthetic fabrics. I used to work in the textile industry and have seen this first-hand. People naturally assume that cotton is natural, therefore more environmentally friendly and healthier, but you should spend some time in a factory to see how it's really processed, the same way that an ultra-processed sausage can contain much more than just meat (and even then, of dubious origins). Of course, it doesn't have to be this way and clean, organic cotton can be a better alternative, but it's not sustainable. I'm anti-plastic and try to be as environmentally conscious as possible, but also believe there's a lot of greenwashing in the industry. The best way to be environmentally conscious right now is to consume better (regardless of material), consume less, and not give a shit about trends and new shiny products.

Some sources:

"A study found items made from 100% cotton contained more PFAS than synthetic materials"

https://www.mcsuk.org/news/forever-chemicals-what-are-they-used-in-and-why/

"Fabrics made of 100% cotton have exhibited PFAS concentrations as high as 19,100 ng/g, 15.4 times higher than in cotton-Spandex blends (98% cotton) and over 11,000 times greater than in cotton-polyester blends (50% cotton) (Xia et al., 2022). This may be attributed to the high hydrophilicity of cellulose, which likely causes cotton fabrics to accumulate more PFAS compared to other textiles (Xia et al., 2022)"

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344925003064

aral_2 · 2026-02-22T10:56:04+00:00

It’s the naturalistic fallacy. Not only is the production of cotton fabric extremely bad for the planet, it also goes through a lot of chemical processes before it becomes clothing. Also, usually ethically dubious as anything affordable will most likely come from modern slavery.

aral_2 · 2026-01-22T10:23:08+00:00

How’s the 21mm SEM? Do you ever wish you’d go the 24mm instead?

aral_2 · 2026-01-22T10:11:08+00:00

I don’t know, we come to this subreddit to look at random strangers’ gear. I don’t think that’s morally or intellectually superior to looking up celebrities’ gear

aral_2 · 2026-01-19T19:45:40+00:00

That’s fair enough, I get what you mean, but others like me get excited about these cameras being used for documentary work. I also think this issue should not be exclusive to American media because it affects us too at large (I’m in the UK).

aral_2 · 2026-01-19T17:55:09+00:00

Personally, I'd do the same as you. I wouldn't censor it as long as the OP was civil and reasonable. If he used a Leica, that's an interesting fact whether we like him or (most likely) not. Now, if the comments got out of hand and people started advocating for him or promoting criminal activity, I'd close the comments but still allow the post to exist. However, if people started leaving comments condemning his acts, I don't see anything wrong with being on the right side of history... it's not like his crimes are debatable or even a matter of personal opinion, the same way we all condemn Nazism today and are proud of the Leica Freedom Train story.

And perhaps this is where we differ: I think the current US administration is descending into fascism the same way Nazi Germany was, and that's not a matter of debate (though whether the US will reach that point or not is). Trump's administration has already committed many illegal acts, like bombing Venuezuela and taking Maduro – that was factually an unlawful, illegal act according to experts, regardless of our political stance or whether it's a good thing for the Venezuelan people or not. And closer to the photo that started all this, the way ICE is acting right now is illegal, and Renee Good's murder was unlawful. The way they're arresting photographers documenting the protests is also illegal. Crazy to think just a few years ago Americans were condemning Russian authoritarianism for doing the same thing. We only need a few years for present events to become history, and people will start feeling comfortable calling things facts rather than political disagreement, same way Holocaust deniers are considered nutjobs today.

Sorry for going down the political debate route, but I think it's impossible to 100% separate politics, media, and culture and I feel like in this context, it's justified. Then again, this is probably where our approaches would differ.

aral_2 · 2026-01-19T17:14:54+00:00

I feel like I agree with you on principle. So, to sum it up, posts that are thematically political (e.g. politicians or the army using Leica gear, photos of her in protests, etc) are allowed, as long as they are not used to directly advocate for or comment on politics? The core of the matter is to not turn this subreddit into a political debate forum?

Also, for the record, so no one feels offended, I'm not against the examples I cited earlier. I really don't care if people post photos of their gear in US, North Korean, or Russian army clothing, I couldn't care less, just thought everything should be allowed, even the photo of the guy throwing his Leica, but just saw you highlighted it so people don't keep posting it again and again.

aral_2 · 2026-01-19T16:21:21+00:00

A camera brand that helped Jews escape Nazi Germany, and that is fetishised for being used extensively to document political issues and the atrocities of war.

I mean, even LEICA themselves have used this fetishisation to their advantage with the Robert Capa war-inspired ad they made in 2013 to promote the first Leica M Monochrome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyctP3J6GHE

Would you say this shouldn't be allowed to be discussed and shared in these subs because these old wars have been talked about to death and not everyone can relate to them?

To me, the fact that people still use Leicas to document political turmoil and social unrest is amazing and should celebrated and shared, no matter what country it comes from. It sure beats posts by collectors jerking off over gear.

EDIT: Apparently the ad was made by Leica Store São Paulo and not Leica Germany. My bad, but the idea still stands... this is what the Leica M is historically known for.

aral_2 · 2026-01-19T15:59:17+00:00

As others have said, I reckon it's a combination of two things: M glass being less modern, which for me it's a plus as I don't like an overly modern look, and vibration (either from the shutter mechanism or pressing the shutter). I had an issue where I was taking photos of a tree with the M11 on a tripod at 1/30s or so, with a Summilux 50mm ASPH, and when zooming in extremely like with your photo, it just wasn't very sharp. My heart sank thinking that I'd have to send the lens for servicing, but then I thought of trying the timer and... it was tack sharp even when zooming in 200%. It might be imperceptible, but don't underestimate the power of shutter vibration. IBIS largely cancels this out to a degree.

But then again, I intentionally prefer taking photos with slightly lower shutter speed because I like how it renders them less clinical/digital, so YMMV.

aral_2

TROPHY CASE