The North Face's New Breathable, Waterproof Fabric

""At CES 2019, The North Face revealed what sounded like an impossible product. A waterproof fabric that repelled the elements like rain, snow, and spilled coffee, while allowing warm air to escape in the other direction so that keeping dry in a storm wouldn’t mean you’d just end up soaked in sweat anyway. The company developed a new manufacturing process called nanospinning that weaves microscopic fibres into a complex web-life structure that can be layered with other fabrics to create waterproof garments suitable for every climate. https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_lfill,w_768,q_90/c4kjq86kkxjozfybf56x.gif https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_lfill,w_768,q_90/ezydufcwgy1uao7pdtu4.jpg Unlike traditional raincoats that can feel like you’re wearing a plastic bag, jackets made with Futurelight are actually remarkably comfortable, and genuinely keep you dry inside and out. But with price tags starting at $US500 ($720), you might want to wait a few years for the price to come down"" The North Face's New Breathable, Waterproof Fabric Might Be The Holy Grail Of Outdoor Gear ""The North Face believes it’s created the ultimate fabric for outdoor adventures: one that’s versatile enough to keep the wearer completely dry, while also keeping them cool and comfortable. Making clothing that can repel rain and snow isn’t difficult. You could wrap yourself in plastic garbage bags and hike for hours without a single drop of rain getting through. But the problem with that approach is that plastic-like waterproof materials effectively block everything trying to pass through, including air and heat. I can remember wearing a rubber rain suit while working construction jobs and still finding my clothes soaking wet with sweat at the end of the day because my body was essentially trapped inside a stifling, wearable greenhouse. .... The North Face believes its new Futurelight material will be such a game-changer. It’s been engineered at the nanoscopic level to prevent water molecules from passing through, while still allowing air to move freely so the wearer doesn’t overheat. It’s a best-of-both-worlds approach that might actually deliver as promised. To create its new Futurelight material, The North Face also developed a new manufacturing process it calls nanospinning in which a fibrous material is extruded and repeatedly layered on itself into an ultra-thin and flexible web-like structure. The unique process results in millions of nano-scale poles being produced, which allow air molecules to permeate the material, while water molecules can’t. Another big advantage of the Futurelight material is that it’s not limited for use only on raincoats. That thin nanospun layer can be bonded to a variety of different fabrics, making almost any garment completely waterproof: be it lightweight, heavyweight, insulated, durable, breathable, or flexible. Raincoats are notorious for often being stiff and uncomfortable to wear, but The North Face could potentially use its new Futurelight material on any wearable product in its catalogue, for example, a jogging suit, yoga wear, or a parka engineered to survive a trip to Everest."" https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/10/north-face-futurelight-collection-review/ https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/01/the-north-faces-new-breathable-waterproof-fabric-might-be-the-holy-grail-of-outdoor-gear/