Climbing
Gear Review
The North Face has released a new fabric technology, and it’s seriously sweet. The outerwear company debuted their new Futurelight line at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and it looks pretty amazing. The team at North Face has blended breathability with waterproofing in an innovative way.
Futurelight achieves both waterproofing and breathability by way of microscopic holes in the fabric. The technique is called nanopsinning and it has been used in the tech and medical fields previously. However, The North Face saw the unlimited potential for use in outdoor gear purposes. During the manufacturing process, a polymer material is sprayed through more than 200,000 nozzles creating extremely tiny holes in the fabric. What this new design means for us outdoor enthusiasts is that we may never feel the need to take off the shell while skinning up a mountain or during a gnarly approach. The outerwear giant will be releasing the new technology in tents, jackets, and gloves in the near future.
“Right now, the expectation from a waterproof product is something loud, crunchy, muggy and unpackable, With Futurelight we can theoretically use the technology to make anything breathable, waterproof and for the first time, comfortable.” Scott Mellin, Global General Manager of Mountain Sports at The North Face announced during a press release.
This technology is also a game changer in customization for different climates and sports. The nanospinning technology can be used in all kinds of different fabrics which allows the North Face to make deep winter jackets and light, running or cycling jackets all the same without sacrificing comfort and with superior breathability.
The new line of gear was recently tested by North Face Athletes in the Himalaya. Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison used the new gear on an expedition to summit and ski 27,940 ft Lhotse in the Himalaya.
“In all my years in the mountains, I’ve never experienced a product that moved and performed as well as Futurelight. It is creating a new paradigm for what I expect out of a waterproof material.” Hilaree Nelson Speaking with SportTechie
The North Face plans to launch the FutureLight products in the fall of 2019.
Options are certainly great, but how is this different from any of the several waterproof, breathable fabrics already out there. TNF seems to be congratulating themselves for coming up with something better than your basic polyurethane membrane, while completely ignoring the fact that multiple truly breathable waterproof fabrics already exist and have for literally decades.