Woodlore

Bushcraft Tips And Advice

What is Gore-Tex?

Gore-Tex^™ (abbreviated GTX) is a registered trademark of W.L. Gore Associates and best known for its use in relation to waterproof/breathable fabrics. The first commercial consumer product using Gore-Tex was a tent created in 1976. Gore-Tex was co-invented by Wilbert L Gore (1912-1986) and his son, Robert W Gore. For its invention, Robert W Gore was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.

Gore-Tex is highly recommended by outdoor enthusiasts and renowned for being the most durably waterproof breathable, windproof fabric available. These are powerful words but what makes Gore-Tex stand apart from other fabrics on the market is that Gore-Tex based fabric material will allow perspiration to escape from the garment but keep the rain out.

Liquid water cannot penetrate the Gore-Tex membrane. This membrane is waterproof, windproof and breathable and is mounted between the face fabric and the lining. The reason why this is possible is that the membrane has about nine billion pores per square inch, each of which is approximately 20,000 times smaller than a water droplet, making it impenetrable to liquid water while still allowing the smaller sized water vapour to pass through. Therefore both moisture vapour from perspiration and heat can easily escape.

It is very important to wash your Gore-Tex products regularly to maintain performance as ground in dirt and perspiration is harder to remove the longer it remains on the garment. We recommend using Nikwax Tech Wash and Nikwax TX Direct to clean and maintain water repellency.

You should wear clothing underneath your Gore-Tex garment that will allow vapour to pass through otherwise vapour will remain trapped and cause wetness. Natural woollen garments will transport moisture away from the skin where as silk and cotton will soak up the vapour.

Gore-Tex products are guaranteed to keep you dry and are suitable for extreme outdoor conditions. It is not an indestructible fabric and sparks from an open fire may cause burn holes.

We currently stock the following Gore-Tex products:

• Norrona Recon Jacket
• Norrona Recon Pants
• Swazi/Ray Mears Tahr Anorak
• Swazi/Ray Mears Bib Overtrousers

Windstopper is Gore's sister product and is similar to Gore-Tex. This fabric is windproof and breathable but it is not waterproof.

What is Ventile?

Ventile® is made from 100% cotton, densely woven from the finest, long staple fibre making it a tough but soft material. It is an entirely natural product that offers a unique level of comfort, look and feel as well as being windproof, highly breathable, very durable and quiet.

It was commonly used throughout the 70's and early 80's for outdoor clothing and its history goes back even further. Ventile® fabrics for RAF clothing went into mass production in 1943 and the military association still remains today.

Like Gore-Tex, Ventile has its place in the outdoor environment. Ventile's chief attributes are it's not coated, nor laminated, yet it's warm, wind and weatherproof to a remarkable degree and being a natural fabric can be worn around open fires.