Waterproof/Breathable Fabrics
The European Standard a fabric must meet to be classified as waterproof is a hydrostatic head rating of 1,500mm. Hydrostatic head is a fabric's resistance to water pressure equivalent to a column height of water. Whilst a hydrostatic head of 1,500mm will keep out heavy rain, it will not stand up to the increased pressure put on a fabric in general use and by rucksacks etc. On average, outerwear fabrics tend to have a hydrostatic head of 10,000mm and above. Classic Gore-Tex fabric rates 28,000mm and 3 layer Gore-Tex XCR fabric rates 45,000mm! For a garment to be classified as fully waterproof, all seams must be factory sealed or taped on the inside of the fabric (or water penetrates stitch holes). Note that pockets on waterproof jackets aren't necessarily waterproof, check specific details to be sure. In addition, fabrics may have a durable water repellent (DWR) outer coating. Water repellency is a fabric's ability to make water "bead" and roll-off. Effective DWR is desirable in a fabric as water soaking into the outer fibres will inhibit breathability. DWR coatings can and do wear or wash-off (they can be renewed or re-activated) whereas waterproof inner coatings or membranes will to a greater or lesser degree last the lifetime of the garment.

A completely waterproof fabric that does not allow passage of the moisture-laden vapour generated by the body during exercise will quickly saturate the wearer as moisture condenses inside. High levels of shell fabric breathability are key to all day comfort and the best outerwear fabrics have both high water resistance and high breathability. Breathability is measured in two ways. Firstly as a rating in grammes of how much vapour a square metre of fabric will allow to pass through in 24 hours (gm/m²/24). The second method (used by Gore-Tex fabrics amongst others) is RET (evaporative resistance of a textile). Lower RET = better breathability. The more active a user's aspirations, the higher the breathability required. For general recreational use, 10,000gm/m²/24 and above is desirable. More active use and backcountry situations required far higher breathability. New outerwear solutions such as Softshell (see below) have levels of breathability not achievable in conventional hard shells.

It should be noted that breathable fabrics do not stop you sweating and care should be taken as to clothing worn beneath waterproof breathable shells. High quality base layers and fleece or insulated midlayers should in themselves draw vapour from the body and pass it outwards, thus allowing the outer fabric to do its job. Cotton clothing should never be worn as part of a performance clothing system.

Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports were key retail partners in the initial launch of GORE-TEX fabric back in 1977; this winter, we witness the dawning of a new era in waterproof/breathable outerwear with the arrival of the new GORE-TEX Pro Shell fabric. With this incredible new GORE-TEX innovation, Ellis Brigham are proud to launch in this catalogue the New Standard in technical mountain clothing.

So what is so different about this new generation of GORE-TEX garments? Integral to the new technology is the innovative internal woven backer. Replacing the old backing material, this low-density weave fabric allows more of the body’s evaporative moisture to pass quickly through the backer and the porous GORE-TEX membrane and then through the outer material. As your level of physical output increases your body produces sweat to cool its core temperature. If this moisture stays on or near your body, conductive heat loss will quickly chill you when physical activity halts or the outside temperature drops dramatically. A dry body is a warm body; therefore garment breathability is a vitally important factor.

The woven new backer’s innate ability to breathe better, significantly improves evaporative transfer away from your body and decreases the opportunity for moisture to build within the garment during physical activity. This thin, low denier material is twice as durable as traditional tricot backers, delivering twofold improvement in abrasion and snag resistance as well as significantly increased breathability. The low-density woven nature of the backer has the added benefit of requiring less adhesive during seam sealing and lamination saving additional weight and bulk and reduced seam tolerances.

Combining this new, unheralded level of breathability with GORE-TEX’s extreme wet weather waterproof performance, your levels of comfort in the world’s harshest conditions and environments has never been so good.

At Ellis Brigham, you will find the most comprehensive and complete collection of technically superior new GORE-TEX Pro Shell outerwear from the world’s best brands. Join us in this great new adventure and enjoy previously undiscovered levels of all weather protection and all day comfort.

The GORE-TEX® outerwear line offers four different shells to match different needs and levels of activity.  Here we give an overview of the different shells:

GORE-TEX Active Shell NEW®
3 Layer Integrated: This is GORE’s new flagship fabric for fast and light consumers.  Lamination technology integrates the backer textile directly into the waterproof membrane for a streamlined, very breathable package.  GORE reinforces this by stipulating that pockets must not cover more than an A4 sized piece of paper.  Active Shell is used in some light Alpine jackets as well as those aimed at fast-moving hill walkers.

GORE-TEX® Performance Shell: Designed to provide breathable comfort and durable waterproof protection, these shells are ideal for a wide range of outdoor activities.

GORE-TEX® Soft Shell: Constructed to be soft and warm with improved freedom of movement. Ideal for reduced layering in colder conditions.

GORE-TEX® PACLITE® Shell: The lightest, most packable waterproof, windproof, and breathable jackets, GORE-TEX® PACLITE® Shells are ideal when weight and space are critical. 

GORE-TEX® Pro Shell: Engineered to meet the physical demands of outdoor professionals and serious enthusiasts. Ideal for extended and extreme conditions, delivers superior levels of breathability, water repellancy and durability. 

For more information please visit www.gore-tex.co.uk

Glossary of Terms

Salomon

ClimaWIND™
Wind Resistant, water resistant & breathable ClimaWIND™ provides you with the perfect compromise between weather resistance & high breathability to keep comfortable when doing hi-aerobic & active sports while keeping protected from the weather

ActiLITE™
Wicks moisture away from the body and allows you to dry quickly when you sweat or when you get wet.

ClimaPRO™
Waterproof & breathable ClimaPRO™ fabric stops the water & rain. It also keeps you comfortable thanks to its breathability.

X-STATIC®
Anti-odor, thermodynamic & anti-static fabric

Smart-Skin™
An optimal combination of different technical fabrics/knitting in order to reach the peak of performance in any activity.

The North Face

Bamboo Carbon
Carbon from Bamboo technology is a method of enhancing the performance qualities of fabrics used for active outdoor endeavours.  Dried bamboo is carbonised at nearly 800 degrees, then ground into fine powder. The Carbon from Bamboo is blended with a polymer to form fibres that are woven or knit into fabrics

Carbon from bamboo utilizes the highly porous nature of carbon to dramatically increase the surface area of fabric.  Consequently there is more area to wick and disperse moisture which also decreases dry time.  The highly porous nature also acts as a net to trap odour-causing molecules where they can quickly decompose without releasing any odour.  Carbon from Bamboo is also excellent at trapping harmful UV rays.

Vaporwick™ Fabric
Vaporwick™ is a proprietary fabric that moves moisture & sweat away from the skin to the outer surface of the fabric where it can readily evaporate.

Apex Aerobic
Aerobic fabric is the lightest and most breathable of The North Face fabrics.  It is designed to accommodate high levels of activity in moderate weather conditions while offering the maximum amount of stretch, making them ideal for high-movement or vigourous endeavours.

Polartec
Classic 100, 200 & 300 fabrics are the reference standard for lightweight warmth and breathability. Exceptionally durable, quick drying, minimal weight with good insulation properties.

DWR – Durable, Water Resistant
DWR finishes on fabrics and zippers give long life to waterproof technologies.

HYVENT™ DT
HyVent DT is an applied Polyurethane (PU) coating combined with a DT print matrix which acts as a dry-touch, ‘Half-Layer’ coating.  This DT half layer adds durability and comfort by physically separating the HyVent coating from the skin.

ACG

Dri-Fit
Dri-Fit fabric wicks perspiration to help keep you dry and comfortable

Nike Sphere React Cool
Reacts to your body by increasing airflow to help keep you cool and comfortable when you perspire

Nike Sphere Cool
Keeps you cool and comfortable when you perspire

Sphere Dry
Sphere dry utilizes a 3 dimensional construction to help keep you dry and to reduce cling from perspiration

Mountain Hardwear

Conduit™
The Conduit membrane is supple lightweight, waterproof and breathable. The unique membrane is made up of interconnected hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules that actively work to draw moisture vapour away from the body.  This process accelerates as the moisture concentration rises, so the more you sweat the more vapour the garment transpires.

IceBreaker

Superfine
IceBreaker Superfine has ‘cool wool’ qualities. It stays cool in the heat and insulates when it’s cold.

Conduit™ Membrane
Mountain Hardwear's Conduit™ membrane fabric is quiet, supple, lightweight, waterproof and breathable. The membrane is made up of interconnected hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules that actively work to draw moisture away from the body. This process accelerates as the moisture concentration rises - so the more you sweat, the more vapour the garment transpires... it presents a continuous waterproof barrier and can maintain phenomenal waterproofness under pressure.
Conduit 3 Layer: Waterproof: 100% Waterproof guarantee for the lifetime of the garment, with a minimum of 15 metres hydrostatic head. Breathability: Very breathable <90 RET. Wind resistance: 100% windproof.

Conduit 2 Layer: Waterproof: 100% Waterproof guarantee for the lifetime of the garment, minimum of 12 metres hydrostatic head. Breathability: Very breathable <95 RET Wind resistance: 100% windproof.

Conduit™ SL fabric: Conduit™ SL garments have a shell of soft, durable, ripstop nylon laminated to the Conduit™ SL membrane, the inner liner is a a separate moisture-moving Vapour Therm polyester lining. Waterproof: Conduit™ SL is a 100% Waterproof fabric but the garment seams are not taped therefore it is only classed as water resistant. Breathability: Extremely breathable <60 RET. Windproof: 100% windproof.

Conduit™ Silk fabric: Conduit™ Silk garments have a shell of soft, durable, ripstop nylon with a Conduit™ Silk protien coating on the inner.
Waterproof: 100% Waterproof guarantee for the lifetime of the garment, with a minimum of 15 metres hydrostatic head. Breathability: Breathable <120 RET. Windproof: 100% windproof.

HyVent Fabric®
The North Face HyVent is a waterproof and breathable polyurethane-based membrane designed as a more affordable option for complete weather protection. While it is slightly less breathable than Gore-Tex® laminates it is extremely waterproof and can be counted on as a dependable protective outer layer. This combination of high waterproofness and breathability makes it ideal for keeping the elements out. To increase the comfort and breathability level of the coating, The North Face employ precise custom lining options and core venting in all garments. All Hyvent garments are fully seam sealed.

Softshell
Softshell fabrics all provide abrasion resistant, stretch, windproof and very breathable performance together with greater or lesser resistance to water penetration. In general, softshell fabrics are a three ply laminate with a very tough and tightly woven DWR coated stretch fabric on the outside with a plush fleece liner, between is an acrylate layer that bonds the other two fabrics or a laminated membrane, each assists with weather protection without inhibiting breathability (membranes are more waterproof but less breathable). These three elements work together to deliver an incredible balance of protection against wind and precipitation, very high breathability (unachievable with conventional waterproof shells), balanced warmth and dynamic stretch fit. Softshell fabric pretty much eliminates the overheat/chill-down cycle of conventional layering. For up to 90% of typical alpine situations, Softshell fabric rules!

The North Face Apex Softshell Technology
APEX fabrics address three key outdoor protective features; wind resistance, water resistance, and warmth, in one garment. Created with the ultimate outdoor athlete in mind, these Soft Shells are intended for technical end uses, from summit attempts and fast paced climbs to backcountry skiing and riding… APEX defines versatility. APEX makes the hybrid fleece/shell combination possible through its proprietary blend of a tightly woven abrasion phobic face for protection and a soft-brushed interior for performance and comfort. APEX technology is built to stretch for comfort and mobility and is treated with our Duckback Durable Water Repellent (DWR) finish. APEX garments keep you dry in a thick fog, moderate snow or light rain environment whilst breathing at a far higher rate than any conventional shell fabric on the market.

Mountain Hardwear Conduit Membrane Softshell fabric
Conduit membrane softshell fabric has superb stretch and abrasion resistance, active stretch fit, windproof protection, superb breathability combined with self-managing warmth and unique stretch Tuftape polymer taped seams giving real waterproof performance and taking softshell to the next level.

GORE Windstopper Softshell Fabric
A very durable DWR impregnated stretch woven outer is laminated to a Gore Windstopper membrane which in turn has a warm, soft microfleece laminated inner layer. Delivering warm, weatherproof and highly breathable performance combined with an active stretch fit, in 90% of alpine conditions, GORE Windstopper Softshell fabric replaces the outershell and insulating elements of a conventional layering system.

Polartec NeoShell
This is the first waterproof fabric from fleece specialists Polartec.  NeoShell is air permeable.  This means that vapour can move out through the membrane as soon as you start sweating, while traditional membranes require a temperature differential to build up before they will move moisture.  The first shells to emerge are technical mountaineering pieces with helmet compatible hoods, big pockets and tough face fabrics – such as the Rab Stretch Neo Jkt.

Mountain Hardwear Dry.Q Elite
As with Polartec NeoShell, Dry.Q Elite is slightly air permeable.  Effectively the membrane is more porous (bigger holes) which allows air - carrying moisture - to pass outward.  This works from the word go and doesn’t require you to build up a sweat for the process to work.  There is a trade off as the jacket will not be completely windproof in the way a Pro Shell is.  Only found on Mountain Hardwear’s top-end alpine mountaineering shells.