We asked people who are unsure about their questions about GORE-TEX® outerwear

From harsh mountain climbing to calm resting, outerwear made of "waterproof and breathable material" that is essential for enjoying a safe and comfortable outdoor environment while preventing rain from getting stuffy inside the clothes. As many material manufacturers now develop waterproof and breathable materials, GORE-TEX® Products is a pioneer of this and is perhaps the most well-known material in Japan in the outdoor world, including mountain climbing.

GORE-TEX® products have continued to evolve for nearly half a century since their inception, and in recent years there have been a variety of variations due to the diversification of activities. In the market for waterproof and breathable materials, which is already overflowing with competitive products from many manufacturers, I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that it's becoming more and more difficult to find the perfect piece for me every year.

Meanwhile, one day in June, I had the unique opportunity to speak directly to someone from Gore, a company that deals in GORE-TEX® technology. I have always had questions that would be shocked by ordinary people, such as, "Which is stronger, the 40D (denier) GORE-TEX® Pro, or the 75D thick GORE-TEX® PACLITE®?", so I'm sure I'd never miss this opportunity.

The person who answered the question was Ichizuka Natsuko, who is in charge of marketing at Nippon Goa Co., Ltd. We answered a wide range of troublesome questions, including secrets of products that we may know but didn't know, to the points to consider when choosing GORE-TEX® outerwear that even beginners can easily, and easy-to-understand maintenance and storage methods. Now, please take a moment to relax, although it's a little long!

"Membrane" and "Fabric", two faces of GORE-TEX®

- Personally, I've been with GORE-TEX® products for 20 years, but there are still some parts that I don't really understand. Although I can understand each terminology and product, I feel uneasy because I don't know the relationship between them. So today I would like to listen carefully to the GORE-TEX® products again, so please look forward to it.

you're welcome! So let's look at the basics. First of all, what do you think is "GORE-TEX®"?

-Is that, Men, Bu, Ren?

As expected, that's true. What is "GORE-TEX®"? When that happens, the first thing you can say is "membrane." This film is a fluorine-based resin film called "ePTFE" made from the mineral fluorite, and this is the key material of GORE-TEX® products. We call this a membrane in English, but products that say "Gore-Tex" all contain this membrane, whether it's shoes or gloves.

-I've been climbing this story for 20 years, so I've heard this at least once. This membrane is what is called "water vapor passes through without water droplets passing through."

This membrane has over 1.4 billion fine pores per square centimeter, and while these holes are one-twenty-thousand-thousand-sized in size of water droplets, they are about 700 times larger than water vapor molecules, so they can "not let water (rain) or wind through, but can allow water vapor (stomach) to pass through."

--This GORE-TEX® membrane itself is already waterproof, breathable, and windproof. Extremely, it's the lightest possible quality to have clothes made from this alone.

In a sense, you're right. This alone is waterproof, windproof, breathable, and soft, and light. However, in reality, this GORE-TEX® membrane alone is very thin, delicate and easily tearable, so it is not realistic to wear it as it is. Therefore, fabric is attached to the surface and both the front and back of this film to create a practical fabric (GORE-TEX® Fabric).

--It's only possible to combine multiple fabrics to create practical materials.

that's right. In fact, this part is surprisingly unknown, but the wide variety of product variations using GORE-TEX® fabrics are created through a variety of technologies and structures that suit the purpose and purpose, such as the quality, thickness, weaving, and application of the fabric that is attached to the front and back of this membrane.

--In a simple example, how to increase the thickness (= number of deniers) of the fabric to be pasted together to increase durability?

Simply put, that's true. However, in reality, we are considering many more complicated and intertwined elements. For example, when it comes to strength, the number of deniers is merely the thickness of the thread, and is just one factor that determines strength. For example, even if the same number of deniers is used, the tightly woven fabric will be stronger. However, on the other hand, densely woven fabrics become heavier and strictly speaking, their breathability decreases.

Why GORE-TEX® Products do not publish water pressure and breathability measurements

-Wait a minute, so not only does it determine whether the durability is good or bad just by the number of deniers, but does the same GORE-TEX® fabric have slightly different breathability depending on the thickness and weaving method of the fabric...
That means that, is this related to why GORE-TEX® products don't publish water pressure and moisture permeability values ​​unlike other companies' waterproof and breathable materials?

One thing is that. Strictly speaking, all fabrics using GORE-TEX® membranes have different performance. The thickness of the outer material and the woven density are high. The more weave, the stronger the fabric becomes, but it becomes more comfortable to wear and the moisture permeability decreases. On the other hand, if weave it sweetly, it will soften and improve breathability, but it will not increase its strength. There are thousands of GORE-TEX® fabrics, and in theory, each one has different breathability. It is practical to design these various characteristics of outdoor outerwear while determining the overall balance to best suit your purpose.

-I see…….

That's not all. With regard to breathability, performance changes depending on the condition of the fabric and the condition of the finished product (wear). For example, the seam tape part that is attached to the back of the seam is not breathable because it is waterproof. In other words, if there are a lot of seam tape on the clothing, the overall breathability will be reduced. The other is a pocket. Two items will definitely be less breathable than one. No matter how highly breathable fabric is used for clothing with lots of pockets, the actual breathability of clothing will be lower than that. In this way, various factors actually involve the performance of the clothing, so it is not very essential to display the performance of the fabric alone without taking this into consideration.

-I didn't know...I started to think that the published specs are really credible now.

Of course, it is certainly useful as a reference value, so I am not saying that publishing numbers itself is entirely a mistake. However, for Gore, will it really be a benefit to users by making it public? That's always the case. No matter how strictly measured, there must be a variety of actual usage situations, and spec values ​​are merely for reference only. However, if you produce numbers, it may be overrated as a good or bad performance. For us, that's not really what we really want.

-It's true that when numbers are displayed, you might feel like you understand that. I was always used to this and found myself comparing the performance of clothing using only numbers.

Therefore, GORE-TEX® products do not publish detailed numbers, but only publish minimum numbers such as "◯◯ or higher" even if they do. On the other hand, we check every detail to ensure that the product is sufficiently performing as clothing, such as pockets and printed parts, by limiting the area of ​​non-breathable areas at the design stage.

Thorough quality control of GORE-TEX® products that other companies can't imitate

--The process is just right, so please tell us a little more about the detailed checks made by GORE-TEX® products.

First of all, GORE-TEX® products that require advanced technology and high quality can only be made in designated factories with the standard of technical capabilities and equipment we expect. The performance is then tested based on the prototype that was created before it was commercialized, and although some manufacturers test this based on the condition of the fabric, the only mechanism by which the material manufacturer tests it when the product is finished is probably the only one GORE-TEX® product.

-There's quite a bit of a gap at this point. What is the actual test like?

For example, in the case of clothing, various conditions are simulated, such as physically exposed to rain while wearing it on a mannequin, and tests whether the waterproofness and breathability are compliant with the standards. In this case, even the water-repellent coating that is normally applied to the surface of the outer fabric is removed and the fabric is in a pure state. If the water repellent is effective, even if the area actually accumulates and gets wet, there are cases where the water repellent will spill over due to the water repellent. GORE-TEX® Product's policy is to ensure the waterproofness of clothing to this extent.

Waterproof and water repellent. Each one is different and each is important

-- Another thing I've never mentioned about it anywhere, so I wanted to ask about the water repellency of clothing. Sometimes I see high-water-repellent T-shirts that are said to be "playing coffee or wine," but if that story is true, I suddenly thought that in the future, waterproofing would not be necessary if the outer fabric is made to the extreme water-repellent.

These kinds of things certainly exist, but in reality, there is no one that has a very strong water-repellent finish that lasts a long enough effect to be practical.

--It's true that it's not that easy when it comes to being able to withstand the special environment of the outdoors.

Waterproofing and water repellent are different in the first place. Water-repellent performance simply repels water that is applied to the surface of the fabric at the molecular level, so it is weak to the pushing force (pressure). No matter how strong the water repellent becomes, it cannot be used as a substitute for waterproofing.

Here we will try an experiment to see at a glance the difference between waterproof and water repellent (photo below).

This is a nylon fabric with just a water-repellent finish on the surface. When pumping water from below, the water resistance reaches its limit at a certain level of pressure, and the water will come from below to top. However, since the water-repellent treatment is effective at this time, it is also clear that the water after it has come out is repelled (water-repellent) on the surface. This also shows that no matter how water repellent the water, if the water pressure is high, it cannot prevent flooding.

-Is water repellency just an auxiliary function for GORE-TEX® fabrics?

It is true that water repellency is not the three major functions of waterproofing, breathable, and windproofing, so it is not covered by the warranty, but this does not mean that it is not covered by research and development for Gore. This is because the outer fabric, which has lost its water repellency and absorbs plenty of water, will not be able to provide its natural breathability, and the clothing is heavy and unpleasant. It is certainly true that the quality and poor water repellency are an important factor in the comfort of clothing. However, it is also a complex function that involves a variety of factors, such as the ease of processing differing depending on the fabric. We strive to make it as good as possible, changing the formulation depending on the fabric and developing "GORE-TEX® SHAKEDRY™ Products," which have water-repellent properties in the materials themselves.

Next page: Choose GORE-TEX® outerwear from the "product class"

 

Choose from the "product class" for GORE-TEX® outerwear

--Now that various reality has been revealed about GORE-TEX® products, please let us know what you're feeling of unease when you actually choose a GORE-TEX® product. Is there a simple way to choose outerwear that's easy to make mistakes?

There is no special secret, but there are steps to avoid getting confused to some extent. When choosing GORE-TEX® clothing, we recommend that you first check the "product class" that is classified according to the purpose and purpose. You can see that the large GORE-TEX® tag attached to the clothing has one of three categories: "product (must-market),", "active" and "Pro."

-Is it okay to choose based on thickness, weight, and performance you want? ?

Of course, that's not entirely wrong either. However, checking each and every detail of these characteristics is clearly extremely difficult for beginners. On the other hand, checking this product class is no different from choosing these characteristics properly and efficiently.

-What does that mean? ?

The performance, functions and features required for outdoor activities, such as mountain climbing, skiing, and running, vary widely. Product classes organize the characteristics required for these various uses and roughly categorize them into three styles, making them easier to choose. Therefore, by first selecting this class according to your purpose, you have chosen the basic performance and functions you are looking for.

--I see, class names such as Pro products and Active products do not represent any individual technology. So, what are the common names of "PACLITE®" and "C-KNIT™" different from product class names?

"PACLITE® Product Technology" and "GORE® C-KNIT™ Backer Technology" represent individual "technology" used individually in each product class. For example, PACLITE® Product Technology is a technology used in GORE-TEX® products, and has the characteristics of being lightweight and packable. However, it is not strong enough, so it will not be used in GORE-TEX® Pro products. In this way, the reality is that each physical technology is linked to each category according to its characteristics. Of course, this is the case at the moment, and we are also researching and developing things day and night that would be interesting to combine this with this.

-I see, many years of worries melt away quickly. So, what exactly does each class have?

Depending on the surrounding environment and the amount of activity of the individual, GORE-TEX® products are optimized for all outdoor activities that are not extreme or stressful, GORE-TEX® Pro products are optimized for activities that frequently stop or move in harsh environments, and GORE-TEX® Active products are optimized for activities that are not particularly harsh but have a high heart rate.

Reference: Product class characteristics comparison table

type	GORE-TEX® Products	GORE-TEX® Pro Products	GORE-TEX® Active Products
Features	All-around balance	High durability High moisture permeability	High moisture permeability lightweight
Suitable activities	From everyday wear to outdoor activities in general	Activities in harsh environments such as mountain climbing, climbing, and backcountry skiing	High-load activities such as run, bike, and cross-country
Waterproof	★～★★★	★★★	★
Breathability	★～★★★	★★	★★★
Durability	★★	★★★	★
structure	2-3 layers (PACLITE® is 2.5 layers)	3 layers	3 layers (GORE-TEX® SHAKEDRY™ products are 2 layers)
Fabric thickness	various	Over 40 denier	Under 40 denier
Typical technology	GORE® C-KNIT™ Backer Technology PACLITE® Product Technology Thorough wind and rain test	GORE® Micro Grid Backer Technology Thorough wind and rain test	GORE-TEX® SHAKEDRY™ Products

-I have a question that I actually had, but what should I do if you want to choose the more durable one with the 40D GORE-TEX® Pro and the 75D PACLITE® Product Technology?

This is just a general idea, but first of all, there are several factors to strength. For example, its strength against surface wear, or tear strength, which means whether it is likely to tear when pulled. So, if you're going to use a harness for winter mountain jackets, it's better to choose Pro products over PACLITE® Product Technology. The area where the harness hits is especially scratched. It is the 3-layer Pro product that improves durability against friction. As mentioned earlier, the durability of the fabric also varies depending on the weave density. From this point of view, when choosing the most appropriate model, the trick to choosing wisely is to first prioritize what product class is, rather than small differences such as the number of deniers.

- Are there any other points to consider when choosing?

After choosing a product class, the process is basically the same as the general method of choosing clothing. There are still many small differences in the form, structure (layer), thickness and weight of the clothing, even within the same class, so it's fine to choose the characteristics that suit your activities and preferences. However, as mentioned earlier, it can only be said for GORE-TEX® products, each product class may employ a variety of technologies that reinforce and promote its characteristics. Depending on the purpose, it can often be much easier to use if you have one, so be sure to take a look at that as well.

How to care for GORE-TEX® products

-Finally, I would like to talk about how to care for GORE-TEX® clothing. I know I have to wash it. However, please tell me the details, such as frequency and washing.

First, there are two main reasons why you need to wash your GORE-TEX® products. One is to maintain the water repellency of the surface. This is very important in terms of comfort. Of the factors that reduce the surface's water-repellent function, it is rare that the original water-repellent treatment disappears, and most of the cases are caused by dirt. If you remove these, it will revive, so it is very important to wash them frequently to maintain their water repellency.

-I see.

The other is to prevent the water resistance from dropping due to the seam tape peeling off or the membrane itself getting dirty. The cause of this deterioration is often caused by sweat and sebum, but when washing, it plays an important role in keeping it clean at all times to make it last longer.

-This is the first time I've heard that if you leave dirt alone it will lose its waterproofness. But somehow, GORE-TEX® clothing doesn't mean you wear it on your bare skin, and I don't think of it as washing it all the time, but how often is it best to wash it?

For some reason, many people think that way, but that's not the case at all. Ideally, even if you don't sweat, be sure to wash it when you wear it. I have never heard of any inquiries from users saying that it deteriorated after washing too much, and in the United States, it has been found that repeated washing tests with seam tape on top are fine.

-Is it true? I never thought it would have been better to wash that much...

As for washing methods, you can use regular, regular laundry detergent that does not contain bleach or fabric softener, or as long as you put it in a net in a home washing machine, have it washed normally, and dry in the shade, it's fine (of course you will need to check the washing instructions for each clothing).

-Wow, I thought it would be a bit troublesome, like lukewarm water is better, special detergent sold at mountain supplies stores, or ironing it.

Of course, the methods we introduce are certainly more effective, but rather than using expensive detergents and using an efficient method to wash them frequently, it is more effective in the long run if you wash them frequently in a minimum manner.

-Finally, what about storage methods after washing?

Some people often leave the product just because they didn't use it when they returned from the mountains, but in reality, moisture can be transmitted from their backpack. It will deteriorate as moisture builds up, so when you get back, be sure to remove it from a stuff sack or something similar, spread it out, and store it in a dry place.

summary

It was a two-hour session in a flash, but personally, I was able to solve various questions that I had never heard of before, and as an outdoor enthusiast, it was a truly dreamlike time. As a result, the interview didn't contain much basic information, but basic information can be obtained from various places, so I think reading it along with it will lead to a deeper understanding.

In fact, in addition to what is posted here, the interview was a wide range of topics, including shoes, gloves, and tents, but we would like to spread the information that was not included here in future content.

Finally, general information and latest information about GORE-TEX® is available on this official page, so please take a look.

GORE-TEX® Official Website