[Slim Jim]

Is it safe to wash Ventile pants?
I could find nothing on the tag about care so I’m assuming it would be ok to throw them in the washer.
They are 100% Cotton, obviously.
Any help would be great.
Thanks

 

[Slim Jim]

I know when they get wet the pants become stiffer, so I was wondering how they would do in the washer.

 

[Doctor Damage]

I don't really know, but it's probably safe to use "cool" and "gentle" settings and for heaven's sake don't use the dryer, just let them drip dry. Or to be really safe: hand-wash them in the bathtub with a bit of detergent, then rinse a couple times, then drip dry.

 

[Semper Jeep]

I have a pair of RRL chinos that I'm 99.9999% sure are Ventile (if they aren't they are some fabric very close to it). I've had them for a few years now and always wash them on cold, put them in the dryer for a few minutes to get most of the moisture out and then hang them to air dry. They've held up well and I never notice any shrinking except maybe a tiny bit after the first couple of washes but that was so long ago that I cannot recall exactly how much.

@Slim Jim is correct though that they do get pretty stiff after going through the washing and drying process but they break back in pretty quickly after wearing them for a few minutes. I've found that if the legs are really wrinkled or twisted that it's best to iron them while still a bit wet otherwise those creases like to stick around all day long, especially down near the leg openings.

 

[Commander Caractacus Pott]

Orvis used to sell Ventile pants a few years back. I would wash them and line dry. Since they were for field use, I never felt compelled to iron them.

 

[Himself]

Ventile is so tough and tightly woven that it would be hard to hurt. You can hang to dry to avoid wear and tear from the dryer, which I do anyway.

Years ago I had some ventile chinos that I used for snow skiing. Though I only used them in fair weather, they never wet through, were completely windproof, and were less sweaty than Goretex.