WL Gore announces its first major footwear development in more than a decade
13/05/2014
Named Surround, Gore said on making the announcement that the new technology would provide breathability below as well as above the foot, giving shoes that use the technology what it calls “all-round, 360-degree breathability”. It works by means of incorporating a new construction into hiking shoes or boots.
This new construction consists of five components: ventilation outlets in the side of the upper, a layer of Gore-Tex’s existing Extended Comfort membrane technology underneath the upper material, a breathable, removable insole, a new form of Gore-Tex membrane technology called Surround underneath the insole, and finally a Gore-Tex Surround ‘spacer’ component underneath that.
Gore said at the launch that it had decided to incorporate a second, more durable, new form of its membrane technology underneath the insole because it suspects Surround will be subject to close scrutiny and it believes this extra step will give a greater guarantee that Surround will work well.
It said Surround is the result of around seven years’ discussion and research and development work and represents its most significant innovation in footwear since its launch of Extended Comfort around 12 years ago.
Surround launched in a limited number of casual footwear ranges in 2013, but, following extensive laboratory and field testing, 25 outdoor footwear brands are incorporating the technology into their spring-summer 2015 hiking footwear collections. Many of them will have first examples of hiking shoes and boots with Surround on display at the 2014 Outdoor exhibition in Friedrichshafen in July.
Brands preparing Surround shoes and boots for Friedrichshafen include Meindl, La Sportiva, Mammut, Salewa, Chriuca and Zamberlan.
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