Chutzpah in the Outdoor Industry

Insulation, Moisture Management, Odor Control & Transparency

Insulations

The Outlast Company demonstrates it has “chutzpah”. According to the dictionary CHUTZPAH means; “is the quality of audacity for good or bad. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word hutspa meaning “ insolence”, cheek or audacity.”

When Outlast Technologies (OT) started selling their Phase Change Materials (PCM) they made a big deal about it being developed by NASA which it was for use in the space suits that the astronauts would wear. I could be wrong but to the best of my knowledge it has never been incorporated in any space suits. If you were to go to the OT webs site you will find reference that suggests the PCM’s are used in the space suits. Like I said I do not believe that for one Nano second.

They at OT claimed for years the PCM’s which are beads of paraffin that absorb heat, which is true and when these beads of paraffin are incorporated into fabric that is made into a jacket for cold weather use the heat that has been absorbed by the beads of paraffin will somehow sense when you are starting to get cold the heat in the paraffin which the refer to as stored will be revered in its direction of moving away from the source, you, and then return to you as a heat source. The second law of physics deals with thermodynamics. Heat flows from its source away to cooler air. It does not turn around as OT claims. Aside from this claim they also now claim that once they apply these PCM’s are applied to the viscose fiber previously written about and then blended with down this product will and I quote; “provide an optimum heat and moisture management. The air transports body heat quickly to the performance fibers, explains Volker Schuster, Director R&D at Outlast Europe. One important aspect is that all fibers inside a filling altogether build a huge surface. And all fibers are flowed around by air. Therefore every fiber can react very quickly to temperature changes. Since the air flow is increased, this allows the PCM’s to be more active in loading and discharging. As a result temperature changes are minimized and sweating can be reduced significantly. “(italics added) I do not know this fellow but I do know something about him; one he has absolutely no knowledge of insulating materials and how they work and two he is very adept at presenting gibberish.

I quote more; “And Outlast strengthens; The new PCM filling material optimizes proactivity-contrary to other technologies that are merely transporting sweat. Outlast technology is not a wicking technology, which manages moisture by reacting to sweat and pulling it away from the skin. ( Such as cotton, silk, wool or viscose) Italics mine. Outlast technology proactively manages your skin temperature while controlling the production of moisture before it begins. That is the Outlast difference.” There is no person named to attribute this gibberish to. Imagine you are very active on a warm day and low and behold because you are wearing a garment that contains these PCM’s and as a result you don’t sweat. Maybe I should refer to this speech as “gobble-d-goop”.

They do end their news release stating the following: “by using the new down/PCM viscose blend material costs of an end product (in comparison to the use of 100% down) can be reduced while also offering an interesting added value and more performance. This offers a benefit to manufacturers as well as to consumers.” There you have it as to the real reason OT has created this product.

For the record an organization named The FabricLink Network has named this product “Universe” as one of its top 10 Textile Innovations Award winners for 2014-15. Remember that 3-M was also an award winner for their featherless down. Both of these materials are worthless and useless products and I trust that no one company will adopt them, but what do I know, the advertising dollars might just make the difference.

They do have Chutzpah!

Odor Control & Moisture Management

Microban International is now offering a new chemical to be applied to fabric that according to them and I quote; “NEW ODOR PLATFORM.” The chemical is trade named “Scentry”.The claim is this chemical will and again I quote; “reduces odor by 99 percent and will last for more than 50 home launderings.” The chemical when applied to fabric will also and again I quote; “impact the hand feel and moisture management properties of a fabric.” When I spoke with one of their representatives the moisture management property was never explained. I did not expect it would be, since it is impossible to manage the moisture coming out of a human body.

As I see it this company like many that either sell materials or treatments applied to materials for use in clothing classified as “active wear” will in some manner control as they put it the amount of perspiration that is emitted by a human who happens to be engaged in a rigorous activity. This particular company also provides chemicals that are antimicrobial. When I researched the company I found that they are engaged in the manufacture of disinfectants against mold and mildew to name some. It is my educated opinion and I have written about antimicrobials in the past that they are initially dangerous to the human body and otherwise do not work to inhibit odor. In addition I do not see a correlation to somehow controlling the amount of perspiration that humans generate.

Transparency

Allied Feather and Down Company to the best of my knowledge is the largest supplier of down to America companies that have their down sleeping bags and jackets made in Asia, probably most in China has just launched a new web site TrackMyDown.com. the purpose and I quote from the article I printed from Sporting Goods Weekly that I receive via the internet is as follows; “to support responsible down sourcing.”The article further states; “The tracking tool will provide additional supply chain transparency as users and wearers of Allied products, gear and apparel will now be able to reference the origin of their down. The launch comes as a first round of traceable down products hit retail shelves. Consumers will find a down lot number that can be entered into TrackMyDown.com and used to back track the journey of the product’s material.”

Why are they doing this (?) because they believe if you the potential customer for a down filled product know the history of the down used in the product it will somehow make a difference to you in a positive way. What Allied states at the end of the article is and I quote; “as of today Allied has helped certify over 100,000,000 birds according to the company.” What they should say is that they are responsible for the killing of over 100,000,000 birds as a result of ordering the down for processing. If they did not order the down the geese and duck farms wouldn’t be killing the bids, nor would they breed as many. And they think they are doing something just so wonderful.

As I have said in the past down when used as an insulating medium is an obsolete product. there is no quality control so the fill capacity for each quality is erroneous, its ability to absorb water whether vapor or liquid is excellent and its insulating capabilities have been over stated for years. Its only redeeming quality is the feel.

In all regards chutzpah runs rampant throughout the outdoor industry. When you go into a store or order on line always remember to ask questions about the claims that are made by these companies.