{"id":39058,"date":"2018-10-04T11:57:03","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T18:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=39058"},"modified":"2020-10-27T09:26:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T16:26:20","slug":"the-rigorous-testing-behind-gore-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/the-rigorous-testing-behind-gore-gear","title":{"rendered":"The Rigorous Testing Behind GORE\u00ae Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve been outside in the rain, you\u2019re probably familiar with GORE\u00ae, best known for its waterproof, breathable and windproof GORE-TEX\u00ae fabrics. Many consider GORE the gold standard\u2014not least for their Guaranteed to Keep You Dry\u00ae promise. You might not know it, but to keep that claim, they test each and every piece of gear other companies create with their fabrics before it gets put in stores. We took a look at exactly how that testing gets done.<\/p>\n

In GORE\u2019s multimillion dollar laboratories across the globe, experts can perform more than 400 different tests to ensure the efficacy of each product. \u201cWe can test fabrics, textiles and garments in our state-of-the-art facility in a condensed and controlled form that mimics what [is seen] out in the field,\u201d said Brandon Bell, expert in textile testing for GORE.<\/p>\n

Testing begins with textiles. GORE-TEX fabrics need to meet three requirements to \u201cpass.\u201d They must be breathable, waterproof and durable.<\/p>\n

Breathability<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re heading into New Hampshire\u2019s White Mountains for a freezing winter hike. With temperatures in the 20s, you need outerwear that keeps you warm and dry, inside and out. Sweating is part of the fun, and you need gear that breathes as you\u2019re hoofing it uphill. That\u2019s where GORE\u2019s breathability test come in.<\/p>\n

One of GORE\u2019s most utilized breathability tests is called the Sweating Hot Plate<\/a>. This machine features a metal plate with pores in it. Scientists heat up the plate and place a fabric over the top, measuring how much sweat-like solution goes through the material, with the rate of breathability customized depending on the activity (walking gear requires less breathability than running gear).<\/p>\n

Twenty years ago, in addition to the widely used Sweating Hot Plate test, GORE developed their own additional test<\/a>: a water bath that\u2019s the same temperature as a human body covered by the fabric to be tested. Potassium acetate or sodium chloride, both which absorb water, are used to draw moisture up through the material\u2014then it\u2019s a matter of comparing the pre- and post-test weights to see how much water was picked up. The more water picked up, the more breathable the material.<\/p>\n

Waterproofing<\/strong><\/h4>\n

What about your trip to Big Bog, Maui, Hawaii, one of the wettest places in the world? In the high-altitude bog, you\u2019ll likely experience torrential downpour, but you\u2019re hoping to remain dry underneath your raingear. Obviously, testing of the gear you\u2019ll wear is important\u2014and you don\u2019t want to be the guinea pig.<\/p>\n

While most GORE-TEX membranes, found attached to the underside of the fabric, are waterproof, if the durable water repellent (DWR) doesn\u2019t let rain bead up and roll off, you\u2019ll probably feel wet. That\u2019s because wet fabric changes the garment\u2019s draping properties, causing the water-drenched gear to lie right against your skin, chilling you. The industry standard for DWR testing is a spray test. That\u2019s just a nozzle that sprays the fabric for half an hour. If the material continues to repel water during that time, it passes. GORE has its own internal test, too\u2014one that\u2019s too top secret to divulge\u2014but, according to GORE, it does a better job of predicting the actual effect of rain outside.<\/p>\n

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Spray Test. (Image Courtesy: GORE)<\/p><\/div>\n

Durability<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail is not for the faint of heart. The daily mileage can be long and the lack of trail makes bushwacking simply part of the trek. It\u2019s on trails like these that the GORE durability test steps in.<\/p>\n

Each GORE fabric is made of two to three layers glued together. That adhesive bond has to be strong enough to stand up to time and wear. That\u2019s why GORE has a room with more than 50 washing machines (it\u2019s extremely loud), all in a row. But these aren\u2019t your home machines\u2014these agitate the fabric for up to 48 hours straight. If the material stands up to that, it\u2019ll stand up to years of outdoor use.<\/p>\n

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Washing machines.(Image Courtesy: GORE)<\/p><\/div>\n

Pro tip? If you want to reinvigorate the DWR on your GORE-TEX garments, wash and tumble dry them.\u00a0When drying your jacket, after the jacket is initially dry (via hang dry or dryer) you must add an additional 20 minutes of drying on medium temperature in order to properly restore the DWR performance. The (low) heat, according to Christy Haywood, GORE applications engineer, will actually bring back the beading ability of your used gear.<\/p>\n

Once the fabrics are approved, the entire garment is put through the paces. In their testing facilities in Shenzhen, China, GORE has a rain room where they can drench gear with anywhere from two to 22 inches of rain per hour\u2014the upper end being for impossibly bad conditions like 13.8 inches\/<\/a>hour<\/a>, which is the U.S. rain record set 70 years ago in West Virginia.<\/p>\n

Planning a road-trip through the Colorado in the summer, where afternoon thunderstorms are plenty frequent? No problem. GORE just might put your garment through its on-road motorcycle test, where a mannequin gets doused with six gallons of water per minute. While the rain rooms are high-tech, the testing methods are low-tech. Instead of sensors, lab technicians inspect each piece of gear after the \u201crain\u201d lets up\u2014looking and feeling for water inside each of the products.<\/p>\n

However, when a garment leaks, it\u2019s not a bad sign. \u201cHaving a garment that leaks the first time it\u2019s tested means that the designers are trying something new and interesting,\u201d said Michele Leckington, design and application expert at GORE. \u201cThe most interesting and innovative brands are the ones that are most likely to have leakage.\u201d When products fail the tests, GORE simply goes back to the brand and partners with them to create a solution.<\/p>\n

Footwear<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Footwear is a whole different matter. There are three major tests: the Footwear Breathability Test (FBT), Centrifuge Test and Wet Flex Test.<\/p>\n

Imagine this: Five miles into your sweltering summer hike into the Grand Canyon, your feet start to sweat. This leads to some of the biggest blisters you\u2019ve ever experienced, and plenty of pain. But that might not have happened if you were wearing GORE gear. That\u2019s because the FBT features a sweating foot mannequin that goes inside every shoe, replicating both the temperature of the human body and its sweating process. GORE measures the moisture leaving the shoe by weight, ensuring a minimum amount of sweat can escape before letting the footwear go into production.<\/p>\n

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Footwear Breathability Test. (Image Courtesy: GORE)<\/p><\/div>\n

Some parts of the Appalachian Trail are more riverbed than hiking trail, depending on the time of year. For thru-hikers and day hikers alike, dry feet are imperative. That\u2019s why GORE\u2019s next test is the very aggressive Centrifuge Test\u2014filling a shoe with water, spinning it at 250 revolutions per minute and testing for escaping water. The thought is, if the water can get out, it can also get in. And that\u2019s no good for a GORE shoe or boot.<\/p>\n

Hiking the Camino de Santiago takes tenacity and stick-to-itiveness. Oh, and footwear that can stand up to 500 miles of day in, day out use. That\u2019s where the Wet Flex Test comes in, where a rack of foot mannequins with sensors are fitted with shoes or boots and submerged in water. The footwear is exposed to the flex of the \u201cfoot\u201d and water for over 48 hours or up to 200,000 flexes, and only passes if the sensors\u00a0don\u2019t detect water. That\u2019s intense.<\/p>\n

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Wet Flex Test. (Image Courtesy: GORE)<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, these products get outside of the lab, too. GORE does hours of field tests for many products. National Outdoor Leadership School instructors, construction workers, ski patrollers and even GORE associates take new styles out into the real world to see how they do after 100, 200 or even 500 hours of wear. Because sometimes, old-fashioned testing is what\u2019s called for.<\/p>\n

All of this adds up to products you can trust, whether you\u2019re encountering light snow in Aspen or torrential downpour in the Florida Keys.<\/p>\n

Learn more:<\/h4>\n