The need for caring for Gore-Tex

Gore-Tex is an extremely high-performance material for outdoor clothing. However, if it is not properly looked after, it will not only fail to perform to its full potential, but may even become a disadvantage. In this article, we hope to explain Gore-Tex in detail and help you understand the importance of looking after it.

What is Gore-Tex?

Gore-Tex is a material, although it can also be thought of as a fabric.

There is no such thing as a “Gore-Tex” type of clothing or brand, but rather, there are clothes and shoes that use the Gore-Tex material.

The use of Gore-Tex material provides waterproof and windproof properties, and so it is mainly used in outdoor clothing.

However, if you just want waterproof and windproof properties, for example, the coating used on umbrellas also has the same function. Umbrellas also keep out rain and wind.

However, Gore-Tex is used more often in outdoor clothing than the coating used on umbrellas. Why is that?

The advantage of Gore-Tex is that it doesn't let water through, but it does let water vapor through.

The Gore-Tex membrane is made up of overlapping mesh-like structures, and the gaps between them are so small that they are about 1/20,000th the size of a water droplet, so water droplets can't get through, but water vapor, which is 700 times larger than a water droplet, can pass through normally.

This means that while maintaining waterproofness, even if you wear rainwear, the inside will not become damp and moisture will escape, so the inside of the rainwear can be kept comfortable.

It was possible to make it waterproof using conventional technology, but the key point is that it has the characteristic of allowing water vapor to pass through.

Why Gore-Tex needs to be maintained

However, these are the characteristics of the Gore-Tex membrane, and in reality, the membrane is sandwiched between fabrics on the top and bottom to protect it.

Therefore, although the Gore-Tex membrane has very excellent characteristics, it is important to note that these characteristics are also affected by the condition of the fabrics layered on top and bottom.

If the fabric layers on top and bottom do not allow water vapor to pass through, then no matter how good the Gore-Tex membrane is at letting water vapor through, it will be blocked by the fabric layers on top and bottom.

This property of letting water vapor through is called “breathability”, and you will probably have seen videos of experiments on breathability using Gore-Tex materials, or seen test data on breathability, but these are all initial performance figures, and you could say they are the highest values you can get.

If clothes were made using only the Gore-Tex membrane, the moisture permeability performance could be maintained, but in reality, damage to the membrane due to wear and tear is likely to occur, so this is not practical, and as a result, the membrane is protected by the fabric.

The performance of the Gore-Tex membrane is affected by the condition of the upper and lower fabrics, so it is necessary to keep the upper and lower fabrics in a state close to new.

Specifically, it is necessary to (1) avoid a situation where dirt accumulates on the fabric, and (2) prevent the fabric's water repellency from being lost, which would interfere with its moisture permeability.

These two points are necessary.

The disadvantages of not looking after your Gore-Tex

If you don't look after your Gore-Tex, there are four disadvantages

①The breathability will decrease

As we have already explained, the breathability of the Gore-Tex membrane itself is very stable, and the membrane itself will not lose its breathability, but the performance will be affected by the condition of the upper and lower fabrics. In addition, the accumulation of dirt and the loss of the fabric's water repellency can cause a film of water to form, which prevents the Gore-Tex membrane from being able to breathe, and the overall breathability of the garment will decrease.

②   It becomes heavier

The Gore-Tex membrane itself is extremely resistant to water and does not absorb water, but the upper and lower fabrics are different. The upper and lower fabrics are made from the same materials as regular fabrics, so if the water repellency is lost, the fabric will absorb water. As a result, the overall weight of the clothing will increase.

③   It becomes easier to get cold

The Gore-Tex membrane will not allow water to pass through unless it is physically damaged, but if the water repellency of the upper and lower fabrics is lost and the fabric absorbs water, the high thermal conductivity of the water will cause the body's heat to be released to the outside. This makes it easier for the body to cool down. This is dangerous in harsh conditions such as mountain climbing. A similar phenomenon occurs when you wear a wet T-shirt for a long time and your body cools down.

④   This can lead to fatal damage to the clothing

I mentioned that the upper and lower parts of the Gore-Tex are sandwiched between the fabrics, but these are bonded together using an adhesive. This adhesive is not stable forever, and it deteriorates over time. This deterioration is accelerated by moisture, temperature and dirt, so if you leave it wet, the deterioration of the adhesive between the Gore-Tex and the fabric will cause the fabric to peel off more easily. This is a fatal damage, and I don't know any company that can repair fabric peeling.

In addition, a tape called seam tape is attached to maintain the waterproofness of the seams, but this also deteriorates over time, and the seam tape peels off. There are probably several companies that can carry out repairs to re-apply the seam tape.

Types of Gore-Tex care

I propose that Gore-Tex care be divided into two stages. I think of this as being divided into two categories: daily care and irregular maintenance.

Daily care is washing as needed. And the irregular maintenance is the water-repellent treatment.

As I mentioned earlier, the breathability that is the essence of Gore-Tex is affected by the accumulation and adhesion of dirt and the deterioration of water-repellent performance, so in order to maintain the performance of Gore-Tex, or in other words, its breathability, it is necessary to deal with both of these issues, and this is why we recommend the concept of these two types of maintenance.

I will explain this in more detail in the next article.