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Windstopper is a windproof breathable fabric laminate made by W. L. Gore & Associates. One of its most common applications is a lamination with polar fleece, to compensate for fleece's lack of wind resistance.
Unlike Gore's well-known Gore-Tex laminate, Windstopper is not waterproof.
Many Windstopper garments are marketed as "softshells" suited to high-output aerobic activities such as running, cycling or cross-country skiing. Because they are not waterproof, they are more breathable than traditional Gore-Tex "hardshell" clothing. However, because they are based on a solid laminate layer, they remain inherently less breathable than other wind-resistant "softshell" fabrics made by Polartec or Schoeller, which rely on built-in properties of the fabric and weave rather than laminates.
Like most softshell fabrics, Windstopper products are typically coated with DWR (Durable Water Repellent), which provides them with a modest degree of water resistance. They will wet through in heavy rainfall but can be worn comfortably in light drizzle.
Windstopper is used by a wide variety of manufacturers including Arc'teryx, Patagonia, L.L. Bean, Oakley, Inc., Galvin Green, Marmot, and The North Face.
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Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane and registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates. Invented in 1969, Gore-Tex can repel liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterproof fabric for all-weather use. It is composed of stretched polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is more commonly known by the generic trademark Teflon. The material is formally known as the generic term expanded PTFE (ePTFE).
A raincoat or also known as rain suit. In most fashion market including America, France, Asia etc, raincoat refers to both the top and bottom including trousers. It is a waterproof or water-resistant suit worn to protect the body from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats that are waist length. A rain jacket may be combined with a pair of rain pants to make a rain clothing; a rain clothing may also be in one piece like a boilersuit.
Early Winters, Ltd. of Seattle, Washington, United States was founded in 1972 by William S. Nicolai, who formed the company after creating a tent called the Omnipotent. Early Winters was the first company to create and sell a consumer product made with Gore-Tex laminates produced by W. L. Gore & Associates in Elkton, Maryland. The first product made with Gore-Tex fabric debuted in 1976 and was a streamlined, two-person tent called The Light Dimension. The tent was created by Nicolai and William H. Edwards and was marketed by Ron Zimmerman.
Wilbert Lee "Bill" Gore was an American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded W. L. Gore and Associates with his wife, Genevieve (Vieve).
A ski suit is a suit made to be worn over the rest of the clothes when skiing or snowboarding. A ski suit made for more casual winter wear outdoors may also be called a snowsuit [ˈsnoʊˌsut] and are often used by children as everyday outerwear in the winter season. Some suits are specifically made for snowboarders but most are used by either skiers or snowboarders regardless of the style.
An oilskin is a waterproof garment, typically worn by sailors and by others in wet areas, such as fish-plant workers. The modern oilskin garment was developed by a New Zealander, Edward Le Roy, in 1898. Le Roy used worn-out sailcloth painted with a mixture of linseed oil and wax to produce a waterproof garment suitable to be worn on deck in foul-weather conditions. Oilskins are part of the range of protective clothing also known as foul weather gear.
Berghaus Limited is a British outdoor clothing and equipment brand founded in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, and now headquartered in nearby Sunderland. It was founded in 1966 by climbers and mountaineers Peter Lockey and Gordon Davison, initially as an importer and distributor of outdoors products. Lockey and Davison's outdoor store in Newcastle upon Tyne, went by the name of the LD Mountain Centre. In 1972 they began designing and manufacturing their own products for sale in their shop. They gave their brand the German name 'Berghaus' which translates as 'mountain house'.
Waterproof fabrics are fabrics that are, inherently, or have been treated to become, resistant to penetration by water and wetting. The term "waterproof" refers to conformance to a governing specification and specific conditions of a laboratory test method. They are usually natural or synthetic fabrics that are laminated to or coated with a waterproofing material such as rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), silicone elastomer, fluoropolymers, and wax. Treatment could be either of the fabric during manufacture or of completed products after manufacture, for instance by a waterproofing spray. Examples include the rubberized fabric used in Mackintosh jackets, sauna suits and inflatable boats.
SympaTex is a type of fabric that is branded as waterproof but "breathable", made or licensed by SympaTex Technologies GmbH a company founded in 1986. The fabric features a waterproof, windproof and breatheable membrane that is laminated to fabrics either on its inner surface or sandwiched between two fabric layers. The latter system offers greater durability, by better protecting the integrity of the SympaTex layer from abrasion to both the outside and the inside of the garment.
Polyurethane laminate is a compound fabric made by laminating a cloth fabric to one or both sides of a thin film of polyurethane. Polyurethane laminated fabrics have a wide range of applications in medical, automotive and garment uses.
Malden Mills Industries is the original manufacturer of Polartec polar fleece and manufactures other modern textiles. The company is located in Andover, Massachusetts and has operations in Hudson, New Hampshire.
Layered clothing is a term describing a way of dressing using many garments that are worn on top of each other. Some of the layers have different, largely non-overlapping, functions. Using more or fewer layers, or replacing one layer but not others, allows for flexible clothing to match the needs of each situation. Two thin layers can be warmer yet lighter than one thick layer, because the air trapped between layers serves as thermal insulation. Layered clothing is particularly relevant in cold climates, where clothing must at the same time transfer moisture, provide warmth, and protect from wind and rain. In a hot and dry climate, clothes have very different functional requirements: they must block the radiation from the sun, and allow for sufficient air circulation. Therefore, layered clothing in the sense used in this article is largely irrelevant in hot and dry climates. The wicking layer moves the sweat from your skin, where it can be absorbed by the other layers.
The Extended Cold Weather Clothing System is a protective clothing system developed in the 1980s by the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts. The first generation ECWCS consisted of parka and trousers plus 20 other individual clothing, handwear, headwear and footwear items which are used in various combinations to meet the cold weather environmental requirements of the US military. The Gen III ECWCS is designed to maintain adequate environmental protection in temperatures ranging between -60 and +40 Fahrenheit
Craghoppers is a British outdoor clothing manufacturer and supplier that was founded in Batley, West Yorkshire in 1965. It is best known for its walking gear Kiwi range.
Ventile, is a registered trademark used to brand a special high-quality woven cotton fabric first developed by scientists at the Shirley Institute in Manchester, England. Originally created to overcome a shortage of flax used for fire hoses and water buckets, its properties were also found to be ideal for pilots' immersion suits.
Robert W. Gore was an American engineer and scientist, inventor and businessman. Gore led his family's company, W. L. Gore & Associates, in developing applications of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) ranging from computer cables to medical equipment to the outer layer of space suits. His most significant breakthrough was likely the invention of Gore-Tex, a waterproof and breathable fabric popularly known for its use in sporting and outdoor gear.
Breathability is the ability of a fabric to allow moisture vapor to be transmitted through the material.
Nikwax Analogy is a two-component fabric system for weatherproof clothing based on "biomimicry" of fur.
Mountain Hardwear is a subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear based in Richmond, California that manufactures and distributes apparel, accessories and equipment primarily for the high performance needs of mountaineering enthusiasts and outdoor athletes, as well as for consumers who are inspired by the outdoor lifestyle.
Rain pants, also called rain trousers, are waterproof or water-resistant pants worn to protect the body from rain. Rain pants may be combined with a rain jacket to make a rain suit. Rain gaiters may also be used for further protection.
