Scoop Test Of Gore's Windstopper N2S

Here's a bit of a scoop for you. OUTDOORSmagic last week spent two days in Bavaria trying out membrane maestros WL Gore's latest product WINDSTOPPER N2S.

The N2S stands for 'Next To Skin' which really sums the stuff up. In brief it's a windproof, water resistant fabric that you wear, like a conventional base layer, next to your skin. If that sounds familiar, you'd be right, it's the European market version of Mountain Hardwear's 'Transition' kit, but as we found out while testing, there are some small but significant differences.

What is It?

It's a single layer garment that takes the place of two normal layers - a base layer and a windproof layer. Gore says that it breathes as well as traditional base layers, but significantly better than a combination of base layer and wind shell.

The inner surface of the membrane - a thin polyester lining - uses two types of fibres: a water-hating one next to the skin and a water-liking one next to the membrane. The idea is that moisture is pushed away from the skin by the first and pulled towards the membrane by the second, giving what Gore call 'perfect moisture management'.

The moisture then passes through the membrane to the outside preventing the sweat from returning to the skin.

The theory is that you get fantastic versatility from one garment, saving weight and time, with no need to layer and de-layer. You can also wear it as a conventional base layer under other layers, including membranes, without compromising breathability say Gore.

So Does It Work?

Bavaria, warm, sticky hilly. Not promising. The Windstopper N2S tops feel thinner than the MHW Transition, still unmistakeably membrane-esque, but relatively low down the OUTDOORSmagic crisp packet scale. The cycling top is thinner still with a satin-type face fabric that could be mistaken for a normal top.

Both shirts feature long, long zips for extra ventilation when the going gets hot. It's the sort of temperature when I'd normally opt for a loose base layer, so I'm not really looking forward to the promised biking and hiking up to a Bavarian mountain hut.

First Hill...

The first time we hit a significant gradient, I explode into a fountain of sweat. I suspect that this would have been the case whatever I was wearing, but what is impressive is the way the inside of the garment dries afterwards. The ensuing short downhill would have been chilling in a normal, non-windproof top, but N2S takes the sting out of the wind as it ought to.

Higher up things steepen, I'm working harder and pumping out the heat and sweat. It's nasty, hot and messy, but hard to say whether it's nastier, hotter and messier than it would have been without N2S.

Same experience next day walking. Hammering up a steep hill to catch up with the rest of the group, I get very, very warm in the sun. Sweat pours etc. Again the good news is that N2S breathes well enough to dry pretty quickly once things calm down and for the rest of the - mainly downhill - walk, it's excellent.

Verdict

First impressions are that the N2S wicks more quickly than the earlier Transition version - probably because the lining material is a thinner layer - and, within reason, does what it's claimed to do. It's a close fit, because it needs as much contact with the skin as possible to work effectively.

The hot conditions didn't make things easy, but the test tops handled them reasonably and in cooler conditions, I think, would work even better and the windproofing would come into its own.

One problem, I suspect, is that even though N2S to quote Gore 'allows as much excessive heat loss as traditional base layers', the total lack of wind chill means that cooling breezes have less effect, so effectively you don't have as much cooling effect from wind. Good when you're trying to stay warm, not so welcome when you're hot, though the very deep chest zips on the test garments do help.

In cooler conditions, particularly breezy ones, I reckon it's going to work better and function as a very effective, fast-moving, 'fit and forget' layer - just like Transition really, which is hardly surprising as Transition is N2S.

Where and when can I get it?

The European version of N2S is pencilled in for Spring/Summer 2002, so won't be in the shops till March next year - Mountain Equipment, among others, will be using it. If you can't wait though, MHW's Transition should be back in the shops later this year. The initial version had a problem with the face fabric catching on sharp things and 'picking', but a new, tougher version is mooted for the winter. Neither incarnation will be cheap though and Gore freely admit that Next 2 Skin is a niche product.