Tom Routh: At the Root of Innovation | Hypebeast

With an obvious need to combine good design with top-of-the-line materials, what represents some of the most interesting developments as of late in the world of technical matrerials? It seems that among the newer technologies are the likes of Schoeller c_change with its dynamic pine-cone design which allows for the opening of the jacket pores for breathability as well as heat insulation dependent on ambient body temperatures. How do these stack up against the traditional well-marketed heavy-hitters such as GORE-TEX?

Active membrane technologies like c_change are interesting, although I still prefer hydrophobic membranes that provide the highest level of breathability with no water absorption. In my experience, I have yet to wear a hydrophillic urethane based laminate that’s as comfortable in all conditions as a hydraphobic PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) laminate. So in that respect, GORE and eVent are the top players in my mind. GORE is a marketing powerhouse, but it’s not just smoke and mirror’s, the product is legit. PTFE is literally Teflon based artificial skin that’s used for burn victims (GORE is bigger in the medical field than GORE-TEX is in outdoor). I’m not dissing the pine-cone, I just think simulating how skin functions is the best objective to be taken from nature.

One interesting new material technology is soft impact protection in which the polymers lock on impact. It’s like the corn-starch experiments you did in grade school, it can be as soft as silly putty yet essentially turn into a solid at the moment of impact, thereby spreading the load. Another one (that’s been around for awhile) is phase change insulation, in which molecules embedded in a material transform from liquid to solid at a specific temperature threshold. This can be useful to regulate comfort to a degree. Say you are skiing and you generate a lot of body heat on your descent, that heat is absorbed by the molecules and at a certain temperature it has a ‘phase change” from solid to liquid inside the molecule. As you ride the ski lift and your body temp drops, the molecules “give back” some of the heat generated on your descent while changing back into a solid. So it’s effective in regulating the temperature extremes over short cycles of less than 20 minutes… so you don’t melt down while being active and/or freeze the moment you stop.

Although everything interesting isn’t always new tech… for example Stotz of Switzerland makes a totally unique waterproof cotton, which sounds like a contradiction, but it’s not. This is the stuff that fighter pilot survival suits were made from back in World War II. The cotton fibers are woven so tightly, that when the fiber is exposed to moisture, it swells, making the textile totally waterproof. Yet when sitting in a 100 °F cockpit, the suit still breaths like cotton. Stotz is the only mill in the world that can produce the stuff and it’s even more expensive than GORE-TEX. Retro-tech is always interesting. There has been a lot of good thinking done in the past. Back in the day people were climbing Mount Everest before nylon ropes, laminate textiles, carbon ice axes and plastic boots…it didn’t stop them from finding solutions. Sometimes looking backwards reveals a good path to the future, or at least a good idea that can evolve with modern materials and processes.

It’s great to mention “retro-tech” as it seems as though people are sometimes looking in the wrong places and only forward to achieve performance standards. The new technologies sound promising to say the least. Are there any glaring weaknesses in what is available right now for materials or are you generally satisfied with the performance of what’s out there? I know that despite being labeled as quite breathable, GORE-TEX Paclite still has trouble cutting it during the humid typhoon summer months of Hong Kong.

There is a lot of great materials available today. I agree with you in regard to Paclite, and I’m not a big fan of GORE WINDSTOPPER either, although that really depends on the intended use. Breathable membranes work best with a big differential in temperature from the inside to the outside. It’s your body heat that’s driving the water vapor through the barrier and when it’s just as hot and humid outside it doesn’t work so well. So in the hot and humid HK typhoon season, you’re pretty much guaranteed to swamp out. Those conditions are handled best with a thin air-permeable softshell, or better yet a plated stretch woven, with a really good DWR treatment. Wind can whistle through while it’s still shedding water and wicking moisture away from the body. You’ll still be swampy in a swamp though. You can’t beat 100% humidity.