Polartec® NeoShell® — Polartec used the OR show as an opportunity to unveil
NeoShell, a waterproof-breathable hardshell fabric that competes
head-to-head with GORE-TEX.
It is touted as the “most breathable waterproof fabric on the market”
and for 2011 several major outerwear companies — including Marmot, Rab,
The North Face, Westcomb, 66 North, Mammut, and Eider — are onboard.
What makes it different? As I wrote in my “Hardshell Jacket ‘Rebirth’ in 2011?”
article last year, the heart of NeoShell is in a polyurethane-based,
microscopically-porous membrane that is made to repel water and breathe.
Polartec says NeoShell is different from GORE-TEX
in that it is highly “air permeable.” Translation: While other
membranes are airtight, NeoShell lets a tiny bit of air get in through a
hardshell fabric. Here’s an official explanation from Polartec
literature: “NeoShell is completely waterproof but unlike most
hardshells on the market today with zero airflow, NeoShell allows actual
air permeability. Even a tiny amount of air permeability, imperceptible
from a wind chill standpoint, accelerates moisture vapor transport
significantly.”
View the complete article at gearjunkie.com
|
|
|
RTEC CHALLENGE
