Inflatable Jackets And Stretch XCR

We'll have more from the Spring Show in Manchester tomorrow, but here, as a taster are a couple of the latest innovations from the guys at major movers Gore.

Apart from PacLite 3 - 'I could tell you all about it, but then I'd have to kill you' - which we can't tell you about for obvious reasons, there were two big revelations from the Gore camp, one quite logical and sensible, the other, creeping stealthily along the borders of believability.

But let's start with the sensible one: Gore-Tex XCR Stretch

XCR Stretch

Gore's XCR is pretty well acknowledged to be one of the most, if not the most breathable waterproof fabrics on the market - 25 per-cent more breathable than classic Gore-Tex - and the next step has been to make it stretchy as well. What marks the new fabric out, they say, is that it manages to be stretchy while at the same time offering higher abrasion resistance.

It apparently does this by using a stretch woven fabric in the backing for the membrane and the face fabric as well, harder to make, but tougher than the more usual woven versions. The face fabric incorporates elastane and PA for stretchiness, but also fibres of Cordura to toughen it up, while the liner has PA and elastine.

Both are laminated to an XCR membrane and breathability is, they say, unimpaired and similar to the late, lamented Activent fabric. The material feels, tough and stretchy. In the form most likely to be used for outdoor kit, the stretch is around 25-30 per-cent. The stretch is one directional by the way.

The advantages should be closer fitting yet still mobile kit which will be good for unrestricted movement, but also for thermal insulation with warm air held closer to the body with no flapping air currents cooling by convection.

'For a number of years, ' says Gore's Jonathan Burnell, 'there have been stretch base layers and stretch mid layers and now with this stretch shell layer we are a stage closer to the ultimate clothing system.'

You can expect to see XCR Stretch in clothing from brands like Berghaus - see our preview of their winter 2002 kit - TNF, Haglofs, Peak Performance, Millet, Eider and Mamut.

Airvantage

Polartec, who brought the world the electrically-heated North Face MET5 Jacket might argue with that. In essence it's quite simple, while you're moving and active, the jacket stays deflated, once you stop, you simply blow into a handy mouth piece and a network of pockets sandwiched between breathable membrane walls, fills with warm, insulating air.

It may sound mad, but Gore has invested 10,000 hours of field testing in this thing, mainly they admit, because the idea sounds so stupid to begin with and it's now on the verge of appearing both in the ski market and, more modishly in designs from the like of Boss and Prada.

We asked about punctures and they produced a small repair outfit from the pocket. Air pressure is relatively low and the gilet unit Gore produces weighs just 200 grammes, so it's light as well.

It's not likely to appear in the outdoors market till autumn/winter 2003, still a way off, but it could be a fantastic solution to the insulation problems of winter climbers who intersperse periods of strenuous movement with standing motionless on a frozen ledge for hours. Could be interesting, but the proof of the pudding will be in using the stuff.