Partners work to bring NanoGLIDE into apparel
16/12/2009
New Jersey-based developer, sourcer and producer of fabric Concept III has agreed to help develop and market textiles made with NanoGLIDE, a PTFE-based technology that wicks away moisture while also preventing heat, friction and abrasion next to the skin.
It is already available in the sock market, but Concept III and performance fabric manufacturer Kingwhale are developing polyester, nylon and poly-nylon knits for apparel and will introduce them at the Outdoor Retail Winter Market event in Salt Lake City (January 21-24).
NanoGLIDE is produced by Next Fiber Technology, a company set up by former WL Gore executive Rick Rudinger. It is a permanent, all-in-one PTFE-based patented technology for performance apparel that conquers heat, moisture, friction, and abrasion in one product for maximum comfort during high-energy activities. NanoGLIDE also bears a high UV rating as well.
“It’s a given that the consumer now expects all active lifestyle products to move sweat away from the body via one technology or another. At Concept III we are raising the bar by taking moisture management, skin protection, abrasion and comfort a quantum leap forward with NanoGLIDE,” says Chris Parkes, Concept III national sales manager.
Commercialised in 2008 and already adopted by over a dozen leading sock brands in the US, Europe and Australia, NanoGLIDE incorporates PTFE particles into polyester, eco-polyester or nylon fibres at the beginning of the fibre manufacturing process. It not only wicks moisture and dries fast through PTFE micro channels, it also significantly reduces static and kinetic friction on the skin surface and, in turn, the heat and abrasion that cause blisters and other damage to the skin. NanoGLIDE also reduces wear on the outside of the fabric as well.
Because the PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene- a fluorocarbon solid with a friction coefficient of under .01) is incorporated with polyester or nylon in the master batch and is not a coating, the features of NanoGLIDE are permanent and will not wash out, nor do they need special handling in the laundry.
Commenting on the move into apparel, Mr Rudinger has said: “Introducing NanoGLIDE first to the sock market was a slam-dunk. But using it in apparel is the obvious next move”.
Share this story:
