GORE-TEX Pro Products: From Revolution to Evolution

The new generation of GORE-TEX Pro Garments has arrived. Providing extremely rugged, durable, waterproof breathable protection, they are now PFAS-free* with a lower carbon footprint**. This groundbreaking range of products is the result of years of research and development. Created with the feedback of mountaineers, skiers and guides to be the gold standard for extreme-conditions outdoor clothing.

The evolution of GORE-TEX Pro Products is the next step in a journey which the GORE-TEX Brand has been on for over half a century—from a basement in Delaware to the pinnacle of outdoor performance. So, to paraphrase David Byrne, how did we get here?

A couple of years later, Bill’s son Bob managed to crack the puzzle with the ingenious brainwave of using PTFE in handy tape form—and melting it right around the cable. This might not sound like it's got much to do with performance outerwear, but bear with us here, this development gave the Gore family the courage they needed to continue their research into PTFE’s potential and the revelations that were around the corner.

The next leap came in 1969, sort of by accident, when Bob was on the hunt for more efficient and economic ways to get the most out of PTFE. Stretching and pulling just led to rips and tears. But when Bob gave it a sharp, fast yank, something different happened. The sudden, extreme motion created a membrane that was super-tough and filled with tiny holes, big enough to let water vapour out, but too small to let water in. Bob had inadvertently created the ideal wet-weather fabric. 

Waxed cotton was heavy, plastic fishing cagoules were sweaty and perhaps the most advanced technology of the day, a tightly-woven blend of nylon and cotton known as 60/40, often used on mountain parkas, still let the water in once the clouds opened. You’d think at this point we’d say something like, “And then came GORE-TEX Products,”—but it wasn’t until 1975, after a good few years of ignored phone calls, that an outdoor clothing company finally saw the importance of this revolutionary technology. 

The story goes that Seattle-based brand Early Winters was trying in vain to make a single-wall waterproof tent when GORE salesman Joe Tanner happened to give them a call. After a now-ubiquitous test involving a cup of hot coffee, a rubber band and a swatch of fabric proved the powers of the GORE-TEX Membrane (the steam would pass through, the hot beverage wouldn’t), the brand was convinced and in 1976, they launched tents and jackets using the technology. Once the glowing reviews flooded in, other brands quickly followed. 

Even back then, the core principles of GORE-TEX Products were firmly in place, ticking the boxes for breathability, water and wind resistance. Sandwiched in between a durable outer shell and a comfortable inner layer, this radical fabric soon became the gold standard for outdoor gear—with a ‘GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY’ Promise (a service still provided against all GORE-TEX Products today), doing exactly that.

The not-so-secret-sauce is a new membrane called ePE—an expanded polyethylene that’s half the weight of the original ePTFE membrane, but still just as tough. This new technology also cuts out the PFAS*, eliminating forever chemicals for a lower environmental impact, without compromising performance. 

Fine-tuned over more than a decade, the new ePE membrane has been rigorously tested. Both in GORE-TEX Labs' specialist environment, which simulates the kind of extreme weather conditions that mountaineers often find themselves in, and in the field with real-world feedback from brands like Arc’teryx, Patagonia and Mountain Equipment.

The results speak for themselves: GORE-TEX Pro Gear is for when only the best will do. 56 years after Bob Gore discovered the GORE-TEX Membrane, the bar has been raised once again.

*Made without intentionally added per- and polyfluorinated substances; may contain trace amounts.

** Through the laminate’s innovative membrane and select textiles (per Higg MSI).