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Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

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Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#31

Post by UncleOxidant »

jcampbell1 wrote: post #14

The interesting thing about Gore-TEX is that is no longer patented, and is merely a licensed trademark that brands pay for. The Gore company certifies the designs, and it goes well beyond stretched PTFE. They require a final level of breathability, waterproof seams, various construction techniques, etc. Bob Gore is known for being a savvy businessman, and this is one example of how to turn a 20 year patent into a 100…

Is this why I'm not seeing a lot of rain gear with Gore-Tex anymore? It seemed like it was pretty common about 20 years back which would coincide with the patent still being in effect.

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#32

Post by hyperhopper »

jcampbell1 wrote: post #14

The interesting thing about Gore-TEX is that is no longer patented, and is merely a licensed trademark that brands pay for. The Gore company certifies the designs, and it goes well beyond stretched PTFE. They require a final level of breathability, waterproof seams, various construction techniques, etc. Bob Gore is known for being a savvy businessman, and this is one example of how to turn a 20 year patent into a 100…

The thing is, the brand means a lot here.

I've tried probably a majority of the major alternatives. Every winter sports company will claim their version of goretex is just as good, but they all fall short, usually waterproofing, or sometimes they just suffer from the garbage bag effect.

Either way, I've spent hundreds of dollars on too many copycats to ever bother with non-goretex again. It's not financially worth it

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#33

Post by Swizec »

CharlesW wrote: post #7
weinzierl wrote: post #2

It's pretty popular in Germany and the name and logo is often found on outdoor clothing. I always wondered if the name is the same in English speaking countries, or if it's different because of its negative connotations. Apparently it's just a not too uncommon family name (Al Gore comes to mind) and also used as brand name in English speaking countries. People get so upset about Toot and Coq and Gimp, but Gore seems…

> People get so upset about Toot and Coq and Gimp, but Gore seems totally OK. For me (a native American English speaker) the context matters. When used in a name or as part of a longer name (e.g. Gore-TEX), it's totally okay. Actual gore can be upsetting, but the word itself is commonly used in content warnings and guides. "Gimp" is different than "Coq" or "Cox" (a popular cable provider in the U.S.) in that it's con…

> gimp is considered offensive to the disabled

TIL! I always thought it was offensive because of its use in bdsm.

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#34

Post by aynyc »

Just a side note, getting Gore-tex labeled product also means you get warranty from Gore-Tex, kinda like Patagonia label. My old ski jacket (Marmot) has de-laminated zipper that Marmot refused warranty on. I contacted Gore-Tex, they took the jacket in and send me a newer model of the same jacket.

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#35

Post by IsTom »

jiggawatts wrote: post #22
ThePowerOfFuet wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your links would probably be taken more seriously here if they weren't to foxnews.com. Personally I didn't even click on it just because of that, which is a shame because you made me interested up until then.

Teflon is harmless if ingested. The whole point of it is that it is chemically inert.

Not saying that teflon is bad when ingested, but asbestos and glass are also chemically inert and it doesn't make them ok to ingest.

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#36

Post by ryeights »

le-mark wrote: post #24
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #15

Don't know if it's the same, these days, but when I was more "outdoorsy," having the Gore-TEX™ label on something always at least doubled the price. We usually considered it to be worth it.

Isn’t it actually “water resistant” though? I spent a lot of nights cold and wet in gore-Tex gear. It would stay dry for a few hours but always soak through.

It is, but after a certain point the face fabric becomes saturated with water and breathability drops to ~zero. At that point your body’s own moisture can no longer escape through the jacket and you become wet from the inside.

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#37

Post by torstenvl »

le-mark wrote: post #24
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #15

Don't know if it's the same, these days, but when I was more "outdoorsy," having the Gore-TEX™ label on something always at least doubled the price. We usually considered it to be worth it.

Isn’t it actually “water resistant” though? I spent a lot of nights cold and wet in gore-Tex gear. It would stay dry for a few hours but always soak through.

It's waterproof if you maintain it. There's special detergent and whatnot.

We use Gore-TEX jackets in the Marines, and in the field you can tell who washed their gear correctly and who didn't.

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#38

Post by PierceJoy »

UncleOxidant wrote: post #27
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #15

Don't know if it's the same, these days, but when I was more "outdoorsy," having the Gore-TEX™ label on something always at least doubled the price. We usually considered it to be worth it.

I don't see much Gore-Tex(tm) stuff around anymore. I was shopping for some rain gear and I don't think it came up. Are there better materials now or is it just too expensive?

It’s ubiquitous in the mountain sports community. There are some alternatives these days, but gore is still the most popular by far.

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#39

Post by BiteCode_dev »

Wonderful fabric for mountain gear.

Unfortunately, like Teflon cooking pans, its amazing properties come from a coating with perfluorinated octyl sulfonate, a known endocrine disruptor:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7722801/

Re: Gore-TEX, a lightweight, waterproof fabric made from the expanded form of PTFE

#40

Post by _c3ag »

weinzierl wrote: post #2

It's pretty popular in Germany and the name and logo is often found on outdoor clothing. I always wondered if the name is the same in English speaking countries, or if it's different because of its negative connotations. Apparently it's just a not too uncommon family name (Al Gore comes to mind) and also used as brand name in English speaking countries. People get so upset about Toot and Coq and Gimp, but Gore seems…

actually is really sweet to re-use unpleasant words and turn them into something like; gimp… come on, it is FOSS a epic!:D
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