Extra options open up with Gore-Tex Pro
07/11/2019
It introduced these fabrics to the market in 2007 and has announced that, from autumn 2020, its Pro technology will encompass three different types of waterproof-breathable fabrics, each optimised for different types of performance.
“This will enable manufacturers to create apparel featuring differing types of performance for varying end uses,” WL Gore said.
Gore-Tex Pro product specialist Mark McKinnie commented: “Until now, any brand that wanted to build a jacket with the material could choose from a wide range of different textiles, but they were all made with the same high-performing waterproof-breathable fabric technology. Now, brands can optimise at a much higher level for different kinds of performance and different activities.”
He explained that the variations will work by combining three different fabric technologies in the same piece of apparel with variations to suit the intended end use. The options are to have more ruggedness, more stretch or more breathability, but this, too, can vary from one part of a garment to another.
Expanding on this, Mr McKinnie said a climber, for example, might want to incorporate extra stretch at the back of the shoulders and arms, more ruggedness at the elbows and at top of the shoulders, and a higher level of breathability in the body of the garment.
For downhill skiing on the other hand, the most rugged laminate may take precedence over breathability and stretch.
Image shows UK explorer Mollie Hughes, who is wearing Gore-Tex Pro gear from Mountain Equipment during her current solo ski expedition to the South Pole.
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