Is there anything more dispiriting than buying a brand new waterproof jacket that promises to be highly breathable, then realizing when you're halfway up a steep trail that the inside is heavy with condensation?
You might assume that you've bought a faulty jacket, and even end up returning it, but the inconvenient truth is that brands have never been able to test how the microclimate of a fabric will generate condensation under real-life conditions – until now.
Though manufacturers have long been able to test fabric for how waterproof it is using a hydrostatic head machine, and even rate its breathability, we've never had a reliable way to see how fabric will perform when you combine body heat with cold, wet outside conditions – two factors that often present during a hike and spell damps conditions inside your jacket. A new machine called The Comparator, devised by the Scottish engineering group Ardmel, looks set to change all that.
"The environment in which the fabrics are tested is almost in Sahara desert conditions, so it's like an inside temperature of maybe 32 degrees, but it also uses outside temperature of 32 degrees and no rain," explains Arlene Kidd, Director at Ardmel Group Ltd. In other words, your waterproof gear isn't tested in conditions you'd actually need it in.
Earlier this year, we wrote about how Ardmel (which owns the outdoor brand Keela) previously revolutionized the outdoor industry with the 1979 invention of its seam sealing machine. The seam sealer allows brands to construct gear we now take for granted, like waterproof jackets and rain pants, with taped seams to hold out moisture.
That machine is now standard in the construction of outdoor gear, and Ardmel is hoping to repeat that success with the Comparator, which helps test labs determine how much condensation a fabric is likely to produce under real-life conditions. Though Kidd clarifies that condensation in waterproof gear is simply "a fact of life," she hopes the machine can help brands better choose the fabrics they use, as well as garnish customers like you with more information about how to layer specific garments for optimal success.
“This is a huge step forward for the textile industry as it is the first time we can see how garments really perform when we wear them in real-life scenarios. Ultimately this will result in more suitable fabric choices by brands, and better-performing garments for consumers.”
Kidd tells us that Ardmel has just published its findings on the Comparator and has just started demonstrating the machine to brands and test labs this summer.
