Gore-Tex's Evolution [Outdoors]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Ievfi9tWOhs/gore+texs-evolution

Gore-Tex is about to take another step forward in its dominance of artificial wet weather skin. Now, they can fuse together outer layers with foreign inner layers, to two great results.

Gore-Tex's most capable shell materials have always had to be stand alone, making them a little bit like wearing a crinkly sheet or garbage bag (without the sweat build up, of course). They're taking their 3 layer shells and bonding them to interesting inner liner materials in an extension of their "comfort mapping" tech. So, if the chest and back need insulated, they can attach a piece of fleece there; or padded armor on elbows and shoulders; or antimicrobial liners on armpits. The sub brand isn't new, but before, comfort mapping involved sewing, opening up the potential for unsightly seams and water leakage. Now they heat press the new layers in, so that there are no extra punctures in the outer layers, and things like pockets can be sewn now into the inner materials without causing punctures, either. The materials will be breathable, but not as breathable as the naked Gore-Tex layers we're used to now. But it would be nice to have a jacket while peeling off a few undergarments. (I'll take some pants with built in butt and knee padding, please.)

The other tech is called X-trafit. Most multi-layer gloves get some parts turned inside out when you take them off. Also, multi layer gore gloves have reduced mobility, grip and finger feel because of the slipping of each layer against another. X-trafit gloves fuse the inner and membrane together, while a grippy material between the inner liner and the outer shell makes the entire thing feel as if it's one piece of material. The only downside is that these gloves are not going to be as warm as those with many different components.