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Technical Tuesday

By oktober 14, 2015 Technical Tuesday

MATERIAL OUTER LAYER

Why is your outer layer material so important? Because you want to stay dry, warm and comfortable, all day in any weather condition!
Ski clothing needs to be waterproof, windproof and breathable. These factors are essential to feel comfortable in any weather condition for a full day on the slopes. There are many fabrics on the market that are used to make ski clothing, but there are only a few real engineered materials. The biggest difference between having a ski jacket made of basic fabric or having a jacket made of specially engineered fabric is the quality of thewaterproofing and the breathability. This means that basic ski-fabrics can keep you dry for a while but you will feel like wearing a raincoat (no body heat can escape). Also, basic fabrics will not always keep you waterproof for a full day, which is not what you want when you are out there, playing in the mountains!

MORE TECHNICAL INFO

The combination of waterproofing and breathability is essential for a comfortable ski jacket. Sweat escapes while your body heat keeps you warm. The level of the waterproofing of a technical material is measured by a water column value. Ski garments sold in average commercial stores normally have water column values between 5.000 and 8,000 mm. VISOR uses the specially engineered fabric Torey Dermizax™ EV, which has a minimum water column of 20,000 mm. This enables you to enjoy a full day of skiing in any weather condition without feeling cold or wet.
Breathability is another key factor for the technical performance of an engineered material. When your body temperature rises you want the body heat and your sweat to be transported away through the fabric. Breathability is measured in g/m2/24h (grams/square meter/24 hours), with higher scores indicating more breathability. Dermizax™ EV has a minimum breathability of 20,000 g/m2/24h, which makes it far superior to commercial clothing that averages a value of 5,000 g/m2/24h.

While there are other name-brand fabrics that also have good breathability, Dermizax™ fabric is unique because it has no pores. The structure of other engineered brand fabrics will get damaged over time because dirt and water will enter its pores. The combination of no pores and an unbelievably high water column value and breathability is made possible by extreme engineering. This is why VISOR uses this exclusive and high-quality product!

The Toray Dermizax™ membrane is made of a stretchy material that is extremely flexible. This smart, heavy-duty fabric has moving polymer molecules, which move faster when the temperature is rising. This means that when the temperature between your body and the fabric increases, the material will respond by adjusting its breathability. When it is cold and you don’t want your body heat to escape, the polymer slows down and the heat loss is reduced to a minimum.

Dermizax™ membrane does not have pores so dirt or salt crystals (from salt water) can’t block the membrane and reduce its performance. Moreover, water can’t stick to any pores, which means that the expansion of freezing water cannot damage or reduce the membrane performance. This ensures the performance of Dermizax™ and its unique functions even after many years of use.

The real technical fabrics also make a huge difference because these are intensively engineered and thoroughly tested in all conditions. These expensive technical materials use specially engineered, patented fabrics to archive its high waterproof and breathable measures. This is why they are only used by the more high-class brands to ensure the quality of the product. VISOR works with engineered fabrics from the brand Toray Dermizax. For us, this is the Ferrari of technical fabrics!