What is the best waterproof fabric for outdoor?
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Dear reader, have you ever been troubled by the poor waterproof and breathable performance of your clothing during outdoor activities? Today, let's talk about the secrets of outdoor technical fabrics and see how they are both waterproof and breathable.
First, we need to understand how waterproof and breathable fabrics work. This is mainly due to the film technology used in the fabric. The pores of the film are smaller than water droplets and larger than water vapor molecules, which can prevent moisture from entering while allowing moisture to escape.
1. Gore-Tex® fabric
Gore-Tex® (abbreviation: GTX) is a product of Gore Company and is considered the most trustworthy waterproof product by the majority of outdoor enthusiasts and manufacturers. The waterproof principle of GTX is a film structure, which is composed of two layers of chemical molecular films, ePTFE and PU. This structure can prevent water from outside from entering, and moisture from inside can be discharged. However, the performance of GTX requires an environment where the external temperature is lower than the internal body temperature or the external humidity is lower than the internal humidity. Therefore, it is more suitable for use in spring, autumn, and winter or during travel in snowy mountains and winter.
2. eVent® fabric
eVent® is a product of BHA, a subsidiary of GE. It improves the ePTFE film of Gore-Tex® and achieves so-called two-way flow "direct breathability", so eVent® is more breathable than GTX. However, eVent® also has disadvantages. Oil can easily clog the small holes, and then the performance will decrease significantly.
3. NeoShell® fabric
Neoshell® is Polartec's new fabric, which is twice as breathable as eVent® and five times as breathable as GTX. Neoshell® does not use a membrane to be waterproof and breathable but relies on a "sub-micron" level weaving structure to control windproof and breathable. However, the waterproof performance of Neoshell® is relatively low.
Generally speaking, the waterproof and breathable performance of outdoor technical fabrics mainly benefits from membrane technology and special weaving structures. When choosing outdoor equipment, we should choose appropriate fabrics based on our needs and environment.
