Posted by jerry wigutow on Dec 2nd, 2017
The following article was published by the outdoor industry "guru" publication SNEWS.
"White is the new black: Gore announces brand extension" The title refers to their hang tag, the new one is white.
Author:
Publish date:
Nov 30, 2017
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Find out what the launch of the white-tagged Gore Infinium line could mean for the next generation of outdoor gear.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: There is no such word INFINIUM so it can mean anything you want it to mean. There is no such word as THERMIUM so it too can mean whatever you want it to mean.
The ubiquitous black diamond Gore-Tex tag now has a sister. Today Gore announced the birth of the new Gore-Tex Infinium line, which is based around four key product launches, all aimed at areas outside of Gore’s traditional domain of durable waterproof/breathable fabrics.
Gore cannot have traditional fabrics if they do not function as stated. However, if you hand down a belief which can be traditional does that mean it is factual? In the case of the gore product goretex I guess it is factually a non-functioning entity. So that is its traditional place in history. The birth of the new line is actually the birth of a new line of B/S.
Whereas Gore has historically been synonymous with “waterproofness,” this new brand extension is more about comfort. Last year, Gore opened a new Biophysics Lab and Environmental Chamber near its Elkton, Delaware headquarters.
The gore history has been that its goretex product has demonstrated time and time again that it is not waterproof!!! When they first advertised that they had built this new lab the cost quoted was $15 million and I thought even if they spent $15 billion they would still not have a lab that was of any value. Just like all of the other existing labs like the one located at Kansas State Un., the information developed is erroneous. Gore’s first test showing how the goretex film was supposed to work probably cost $100.00 back in 1977 when I saw the demonstration and regardless how much they have spent since it still doesn’t work and all of the expenditures since will not ever make it work.
They have no idea what comfort is how can this new stuff be about comfort!
Christian Langer, global sales and marketing leader for Gore, says that the facility, which includes a 400-square-foot tunnel-shaped chamber and a 23-foot rain tower, can re-create 95 percent of the Earth’s environments, including humidity levels, precipitation, temperature, wind, and solar radiation from a variety of angles.
I have no idea where this fellow has been because he obviously just does not know or understand that a man manufactured facility that duplicates the natural environment cannot be made. He should as should all of the researchers in the employ of gore should visit the BIOSPHERE located in Arizona so they can really see firsthand an experiment that very successfully failed when it was supposed to duplicate earths weather. All of the scientists, engineers, and technicians should go there so they can learn what they cannot do.
This state-of-the-art facility, complete with removable treadmills, staircases, ladders, and ramps, and staffed with a group of scientists, engineers, and technicians who study comfort, will allow Gore to research how the human body reacts to different climates and temperatures under vastly different activity situations, and how different fabric and apparel technologies can help to improve people’s comfort and overall experience outside.
Instead of roaming around the state-of-the-art facility moving all of the equipment around they should go outside and observe humans wearing whatever garments they put on them to actually observe how these “human bodies” react to different climates and temperatures. Once a television weatherman was fired because when he started his segment on the news reporting the weather he started out as usual by saying “and now for a look at the weather” and he then turned the camera to the window so we could all see the weather. You scientists at gore take the hint.
Here’s a sneak peek at the four new, white-tagged Infinium technologies:
The term technology does not apply to non-functioning entities!
Now things are getting really deep, are you wearing chest waders and do you have a shovel, if not you should. I tried to research exactly what thermium is without any success, but we read that it is, whatever it is, is “seven times more efficient than other insulations of the same thickness”. Since it does not exist as far as I know how can it be the same thickness of something that does exist? It would have been nice if they named the other or other insulations referred too. The knowledge that exists at the gore company about insulation would not occupy the space of a gnats butt.
I have been seeing the acronym eptfe membrane so I researched what it is. To the best of my knowledge this is what they have done for years. They put a urethane coating on the film which makes it WATERPROOF! See below. As for gloves, once the temperature goes below 32 degrees wearing gloves guarantees cold hands. What follows came from the gore web site.
They just can’t keep away from saying breathable when it is not. And the monolithic film will certainly NOT allow any moisture even in a vapor state to get out of the garment.
The monolithic film on the outside of the garment will protect the inside of the garment from water coming from the outside, but it will not protect the insulation from the sweat of the person wearing the garment. if the garment is down it will be saturated and if it is synthetic the moisture will be trapped inside the garment as well, not necessarily absorbed as happens with down. So much for this film protecting the insulation used in the garment. Gore desperately wants to align them-selves with insulation, any insulation.
Langer says that the Gore Infinium launch is a targeted introduction, and that they “are working with just a few select brands in the early stages so they can work collaboratively, refine the technology, and make it understandable to the end user.”
It is my opinion that they probably went to the whole of the industry and only a few companies said yes. Of course they also want to dream up ways to present this nonsensical information to the general public “end users” and if they sell well the rest of the industry might follow like sheep. Actually I think it will fail.
GORE-TEX® INFINIUM™ THERMIUM™ footwear
From its comfort-science research, Gore was able to verify that the toes are the first part of the foot to feel cold. Consequently, when toes are warm, the whole foot feels warm. In cold weather, many people tend to wear either fashionable shoes that don’t keep their feet warm, or insulated shoes that cause feet to overheat when they go indoors, and that also aren’t stylish. GORE-TEX® INFINIUM™ THERMIUMTM footwear uses a new technology to create a thin layer of highly efficient insulation applied to the area around the toes. That allows for fashionable, comfortable shoes with a slim silhouette than can protect against cold outdoors, yet prevent feet from overheating when they transition to indoors – a proposition that seems to be impossible just as waterproof and breathable seemed to be many decades ago. For more information on GORE-TEX® INFINIUM™ THERMIUM™ footwear,
The above definition I found on the gore web site and I found it telling. It was astounding for me to read that the scientists at gore were able to “verify” in their $15 million dollar lab that toes are the first part of the foot that get cold. I was surprised to not read that the fingers were the first part of the hand to get cold.
I am convinced that gore has a test designed to weed out for hire the dumbest people who apply for work, and those are the people they hire. I am also convinced that the people who work for outerwear manufacturing companies have to take the same test before talking with the gore representatives. That way they are on equal footing.
Gore isn’t happy being a part of the reason people who buy footwear with gore film in them have cold feet a situation that has prevailed for years or that men in the military not only have cold feet but develop foot sores as expressed by the Marine Corps, and in my opinion as a result of the gore film retaining moisture in the footwear which has probably affected civilians as well.
Maybe one day the outdoor industry will wake up and accept the fact that the gore film as well as all of the other films made for the same purpose are detrimental to the products that they are put in.
Maybe someday the mass of consumers will also wake up and refuse to purchase garments that contain these films and ultimately the retail stores that sell these products will look at inventories that fill their shelves and go back to their suppliers and say here is your merchandise. Retailers do that.
I can only dream of a day when the words water-proof and breathable are not used in the same sentence. Just my opinion.