Perseverance Mills, manufacturers of the timeless Pertex fabric,
have launched a new 50 per-cent lighter version of the material on
location at Glenmore Lodge in the Cairngorms.
Okay, we were meant to be there, but the Commonwealth Games
swollen traffic around Manchester the other week put paid to that
idea and we snuck off home. But while we were relaxing with a cold
beer, the rest of the UK's outdoor press were hearing about new,
improved Pertex Quantum® and being entertained by the likes of
Alan Hinkes and pro mountain bike racer Nick Craig.
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The new fabric has an uncanny
ability to render background
scenery monochrome, or maybe it's just the Scottish
summer
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So what is Pertex Quantum®? Well, it's a new fabric that will be
available to the trade from this summer and feature in garments on
sale in the shops early next year. Brands using it will include the
likes of Marmot, Golite, Rab Carrington, Snugpak, Berghaus, KIMM,
Haglofs and Montane.
The company say that Pertex Quantum® is the lightest Pertex
fabric ever at 30g/m, some 50% lighter than any other Pertex fabric.
But despite the reduction in weight and bulk, the fabric is claimed
to retain the qualities of other Pertex fabrics, which is to say a
good balance between strength, weight and weather protection.
The extra lightness of Quantum means that it'll be used mainly in
applications where weight is critical like alpine and mountaineering
applications and presumably for lightweight backpacking too. Expect
to see it mainly in use as a shell for both down and
synthetically-filled sleeping bags and insulated clothing.
Despite missing the launch, we've actually touched the cloth
already as part of a Haglofs sleeping bag and our initial impression
was that it feels less 'cold' than previous Pertex fabrics, however
there's a test garment winging its way towards us, so we'll let you
know how it performs just as soon as we can.
Good to see a UK - Lanchashire - based company developing new
ideas. For more details of the company and fabric, see the Pertex
web site.
ben brockway
