New Tech: Colorado company Voormi reveals game-changing single layer fabric

Active outdoor fabrics have come a long way since Charles Macintosh combined rubber and fabric in 1836, but the clothing industry is still striving towards creating a material that manages to be weatherproof, breathable and lightweight. Most materials, as good as they are, are a compromise one way or another.

Colorado company Voormi showed a new fabric called Core Construction at the recent SnowSports Industries America Snow Show, which might just represent a significant step for outdoors and cycling garments.

Most waterproof fabrics comprise several layers, 2.5 and 3 layer the most popular, with a membrane typically laminated between an outer and inner layer. Voormi’s Core Construction instead integrates the membrane right into the fibres of the single layer fibre during the knitting process, with no gluing or layering is necessary. You end up with a single layer fabric with a waterproof and windproof membrane core.

“Rather than glue a membrane to a fabric, we put the membrane into a knitting machine, knitting a yarn in and around and through the membrane, so we get a single-layer textile with a (membrane) core that’s constructed in the process,” says Timm Smith, Voormi’s marketing director in an interview with Wired.com.

He adds: “So you could have a single-layer baselayer that’s windproof but still wicks. It’s a whole new class of product where we can make a mid-layer that’s a single protective layer—a shirt I can run in and which blocks wind, but won’t get wet from sweat.”

It certainly sounds interesting, and the company are, as you would imagine, excited by its potential. There have been some interesting developments in the way cycle clothing manufacturers have approached the tricky task of providing bad weather protection. For exampke, there are now fabrics that offer a high level of rain and wind protection without the bulk and overheating risk of a traditional hardshell, with the fit, comfort and freedom of movement of a regular jersey. The iconic Castelli Gabba is a good example of this new clothing trend.

This Core Construction could have the potential to take that style of clothing to another level. Imagine a super lightweight long sleeve jersey with the wind and rain protection of a hardshell Gore-Tex jacket? Thin waterproof socks perhaps? It could make dressing for the unpredictable British winter weather much easier, but could wipe out half of our current wardrobe...

Furthermore, the company reckons the property of the membrane could be adjusted, altering the balance of waterproofness and breathability depending on the garment and its intended usage, or the environment and temperature it’s to be worn in.

It’s going to be a while before it spreads through the clothing industry. The first garment to utilise the new process is the company’s own Drift Hydro, a lightweight jacket with a wool liner and brushed hardface outer. It’s expected to cost $400.

According to the Denver Post, Voormi founder Dan English said "we see this as a game-changer.”

http://voormi.com