materials

LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD

Published in Sporting Goods Business June 14, 2017

When I read the following articles I decided to publish it in its entirety adding my comments as I saw fit. All comments are in italics.

New materials from Polartec, PrimaLoft and W.L Gore & Associates are redefining buzzwords like light, warm, compressible, waterproof and sustainable.

Redefining words suggests that those in use are not explained sufficiently in the current dictionary, and I agree that their use today is not what is described in any dictionary when referring to the products these companies produce.

Writer: Carly Terwilliger

Every hiker, cyclist, mountaineer and climber has their favorites – favorite location, favorite route and favorite go-to article of clothing. These are the pieces that, year over year, are tried and true. They’re worn, tested in the field, repaired with duct tape and worn again.

Though people may profess loyalty to a certain brand or style, in the end it’s materials that earn their diehard devotion. The next-to-skin layer keeps you comfortable, the insulation keeps you toasty and the protective outer layer keeps you dry. The technology that performs all these feats has been around for years, yet every season we hear about new advances that are warmer, lighter, more breathable – in a word, better.

So how do material manufacturers and the apparel companies that utilize their wares convince consumers that it’s time to let go of their favorite baselayer or puffy and embrace what’s new? We spoke with Polartec, PrimaLoft and W.L. Gore & Associates to find out.

The writer spoke with the representatives of these companies who have no knowledge of insulation; Polartec and Primaloft, and one company that has sold a lie for 40 years. Then again the write also has no knowledge so she writes what she hears; true or not.

“There is both a philosophical and commercial answer here,” said Mike Adams, mountain sports garments business leader, W.L. Gore & Associates. “Philosophically, new materials and technology developments move the industry forward.” And on the commercial side, “new technologies and their associated interesting stories sell products by giving consumers a new reason to buy – and for good reason if the performance has improved or the aesthetic is trend-right.”

From what I have seen from the Gore Company is the same product packaged differently for 40 years. 40 years ago it did not work as advertised but the language used to sell it to the public has. There are suckers born every day. Philosophy is the pursuit of knowledge, and in the 40 or so years of the Gore Company’s existence selling Gore-Tex they have not learned it does not work. Commercially they have been successful promoting a lie.

.

And speaking of trends, no matter who you talk to, simplification is king. “These days, when people are getting dressed, they’re looking to put on one piece that’s warm and windproof, and if it’s waterproof that’s great too,” said Karen Whittier, product manager, insulation at Polartec. “In the past, it’s always been about layering up. We want to come up with solutions that keep you warm without a huge number of layers.”

Imagine one piece of clothing that is warm, windproof, and waterproof; someone should tell Karen it does not exist. Also Polartec does not make insulating materials in the true sense of the meaning of what insulation is as used in garments. Then again Karen is not knowledgeable in the field of insulation.

Forty years ago, the idea that a garment would both keep you dry and allow the escape of perspiration was “completely revolutionary,” said Adams. “Today, we think about things like truly adaptable insulation that allows one garment to provide a level of performance that requires two or three garments, or perhaps the air permeability of a t-shirt combined with the protection of a waterproof shell.”

.

The idea of maximizing the performance of something as basic as a t-shirt may also have seemed alien in decades past, but Mountain Khakis, for example, has developed a version of the staple that’s loaded with features. Noah Robertson, co-founder and director of product development at the outdoor apparel brand, touted its line of Passage tees that leverage Fresh Guard technology, are UPF 50-plus and are “made with a blend of “Tencel, polyester and Spandex Drirelease.”

That roll call sounds like an ingredient list for a recipe, a metaphor reinforced by Polartec’s Whittier, who observed that most challenges are discovered and solved in a “cooking stage” in which materials are developed with an eye toward “more warmth without weight, compressibility and easy care” in addition to concerns about sustainability.

As I showed in my latest video the new Polartec fiberfill product does not have more warmth is very compressible yes, and not easy to care for, as I read the care instructions. Every company in the outdoor industry desiring to make or use materials that have more warmth without weight, a good trick, compressibility, this where they excel and easy care, a joke.

And as materials are updated and developed, said Adams at Gore, the need for “breakthrough product innovations” that “take a form or solve a problem that would not be readily recognizable to a consumer” emerge. “To use a very basic example,” he continued, “in the 1800s, consumers would have asked for a faster horse, not an automobile, simply because the product form wasn’t envisioned.”

At Gore they have a problem i.e. their product doesn’t work and they are wrong their product does not solve any problems, it creates them.

Whatever they’re cooking up, PrimaLoft President and CEO Mike Joyce said, “Designers not only seek more efficient insulations to keep consumers warm, but also provide benefits of synthetics including water resistance and packability.” And especially for serious outdoor athletes, garments must also be simultaneously comfortable and tough, with enough durability to take a beating.

This guy is wrong that designers “seek more efficient insulation”; if they did these so called designers would be using Climashield since it is far more efficient than PrimaLoft ever was or will ever be. Primaloft is a poor throw back to what I was selling in the 1960’s.

Alex Lauver, product manager of outerwear at Outdoor Research, observed that the brand’s athletes “kept asking for a comfortable style to wear at the crag with some cotton in it that wouldn’t end up with a bunch of holes.” Lauver and his team answered the call with a new Cordura cotton blend in both knit and woven for Spring 2018. For his own personal favorite, Lauver touts the performance of Outdoor Research’s new Interstellar Jacket, which features Ascentshell technology that “adapts so fast to changing conditions … Living in the Pacific Northwest, I keep one at my desk and in my pack at all times these days.”

If you called this guy and inquired as to how this inanimate material could miraculously adapt to changing conditions he would not know what to tell you or would offer gibberish comments He is talking out of his hat.

An all-purpose jacket to stash in your car, desk or pack seems to be a popular go-to among materials experts, as Adams also named a “prototype unlined Gore-Tex jacket with our new PFC-free DWR” as something he’s loving to wear right now. Pieces featuring the new technology will launch in parts of Gore’s collection in the Fall/Winter 2018 retail season. Finally, Joyce relies on a Patagonia Nano Puff that incorporates PrimaLoft’s Gold Insulation Eco. It’s “eco-friendly, performs great in wet weather, wicks sweat, keeps me cool on warmer days and warm on a fall hike and packs into its own chest pocket,” he said.

Gore has this new water repellent without pfc’s that might if in large enough quantity like the size of the Atlantic ocean damage the environment. However, it is still fabric laminated to ptfe film I expect.

As for the Primaloft product, made from recycled soda bottles I guess, but what is important to know is that the guy from Primaloft is wrong about its ability to wick, IT HAS NONE. He obviously does not know or understand that synthetic material does not absorb anything versus natural fibers such a COTTON, WOOL, SILK AND RAYON. And the guy claims to know about insulation; REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do-it-all apparel requires materials that pull double and triple duty, with one of those duties being sustainability and environmental friendliness. The new Polartec Power Fill is made with cruelty-free, 80 percent post-consumer recycled content. And PrimaLoft Black Insulation ThermoPlume, Joyce explained, is a “synthetic that acts as a true replacement for down and enables brands to replicate the design aesthetic and the manufacturing process of a down garment.” With Canada Goose facing increasing resistance for its use of down, such high-performance alternatives are well-positioned to grab an increasingly large chunk of the market.

Cruelty free material (?), does that mean the material used to make this bogus product did not hurt anyone before it was converted into the non-functioning material that Polartec calls insulation. As for the Primaloft product referred to it is no different than all of the Primaloft products that have proceeded it, so it does not work any better or at all.

As for Canada Goose, the Wiggy parkas are warmer and less expensive. And of course Lamilite has no detrimental effect on anything.

But laudable as it is, social responsibility isn’t everything. The Canada Goose example also cuts the other way, proving that fashion continues to be a powerful force. Simply put, “People want to look good,” said Whittier, although she added that “we are aware of environmental concerns, so we’re always looking to use materials that have thermal properties that are still environmentally friendly. Still, she continued, “for several years now, people have been talking about athleisure and cross function.”

I have offered to sell Lamilite to Canada Goose a number of times since Lamilite is very friendly to the environment especially geese and has the thermal properties that exceed down from geese.

Following that logic, if a high-performance insulation is wrapped in a slick, eye-catching package, it’s bound to reach a more diverse group of consumers. “Outdoor garments are doing more and more these days while looking better,” Lauver commented. “The line between good looks – dare I say fashion? – and function is gone.”

“IF a high-performance insulation is wrapped in a slick, eye-catching package, etc.” people will buy the garment. In this article there was no mention of a “high-performance insulation”.

Each and every person interviewed has no particular knowledge of the subject. In my opinion they fit the description of a politician. Just saying whatever comes to mind in the hope of fooling the listener. In this case the listener i.e. writer of the article had absolutely no idea what was being told to her because she has less knowledge than the story tellers.

Once again in the event that the writer or those interviewed think I am wrong each and every one of them is welcome to come to Grand Junction Colorado to demonstrate with proof that I am wrong. So far I have yet to hear form anyone from these companies accepting my previous challenge.

PS I was informed today that what I thought was a continuous filament fiber being used by Polartec calling it "powerfill" is a chopped staple fiber no different than primaloft or any other chopped staple fiberfill batting.