Understanding Clothing Material :
I wanted to share my list of definitions on the different type materials you may find listed on an advertisement or while you are bored and reading the labels. I highly recommend you do some serious research before spending money on a product that does not suit your needs. Generally, you need layers of clothing that is water proof/resistant, wind proof/resistant, breathable, hydrophobic, durable, abrasion resistant, warm and functional to your needs. Hopefully these definition will help in your selection. I'm sure their are other materials vastly beyond my list so if you find one send it to me so I can include it.
Acclimate: A treated polyester used in underwear garments.
Acrylic: A name for soft, washable, colorfast, synthetic fibers derived from polyacrylonitrile. Used in base-layer insulating fabrics.
Activent: Gore’s windproof and water-resistant/breathable fabric that is designed primarily for highly aerobic activities.
Baffle: A sewn chamber in an insulated garment or sleeping bag that keeps insulation from shifting to prevent cold spots.
Ballistics cloth: A thick nylon weave used in clothing, packs, and luggage for reinforcement.
BiPolar: A fabric technology by Malden Mills that creates a two-faced polyester fabric that react to the different conditions on each side of the surface.
Boiled wool: Wool that has been hot washed and felted to give it a tighter, more weather-resistant weave.
Borglite: Fuzzy, high-loft polyester fabric made by Borg that is often used for glove and mitten liner, hats and extra-warm mid-layers.
Camp-Tech: Waterproof/breathable coated nylon fabric.
Capilene: A treated polyester base-layer fabric. Surface is treated to make the fabric hydrophilic (water lover), while the core remains hydrophobic (water hater). This combination lifts water away from the skin toward outer clothing layers without soaking the fiber.
ComforMax IB: A new ultra-thin windproof fabric made by DuPont that’s used in outerwear.
Continuous filament: A term that describes a yarn made up of indefinitely continuous fibers.
Coolmaz: DuPont’s naturally hydrophobic polyester often used in outerwear linings and light layering garments.
Cordura: DuPont’s abrasion-resistant, texturized nylon fabric usually used for making backpacks.
Cotton duck: Heavy woven canvas treated to make it water-resistant.
Denier: Measurement of fiber weight used to express the yield, or thickness, of a thread or yarn. Higher denier means larger fiber and stronger material.
Down: The soft undercoating feathers of geese and ducks. Naturally warm, soft, and lightweight when dry, but useless when wet, used in insulated garments and sleeping bags.
DryLoft: A two ply laminated shell fabric from Gore that’s designed specifically for insulating parkas and sleeping bags, wind-proof, roughly twice as breathable as Gore-Tex, but only a third as waterproof.
DryTec: MontBells proprietary waterproof/breathable fabric coating used in mid price rain gear.
DWR: Durable water repellent. Treatment applied to outerwear fabrics to help keep them from becoming saturated. Requires periodic touch-ups, such as medium-heat machine drying, careful ironing, or wash in or spray on treatments available in outdoors stores.
Dynamic: A highly abrasion-resistant nylon, used to reinforce Gore-Tex outerwear.
E.C.O. Fleece: A synthetic fleece made from 89 percent recycled soda bottles.
EcoPile: Synthetic fleece that is 100 percent post-consumer recycled from plastic soda bottles.
Elements: REI’s proprietary rainwear fabric made from Supplex with a waterproof/breathable coating.
Gore-Tex: Gore’s microporous membrane that, when laminated to an outer fabric, keeps rain out while allowing perspiration vapor to escape. Garments of three layer construction looks like a single layer of fabric.
Gore-tex LTD: A version of Gore-Tex in which the microporous membrane is laminated to the garment’s lining rather than the outer shell fabric, improves moisture transfer. Used mainly for aerobic-activity apparel and skiwear.
Gore-Tex XCR: A version of Gore-Tex in which the membrane is laminated to a windproof, breathable, but not water proof liner fabric, commonly used in sweaters and wind-wear.
Hand: Drape or feel of a fabric, as in " the fabric has a soft hand".
Hoolofil: A single-hole polyester insulation used in sleeping bags and apparel; most often found in bargain brands.
Hidrophil: Nylon that’s modified to become hydrophilic so it transports moisture outward; commonly found in outerwear liners.
Hydrophilic: Water loving. Example cotton.
Hydrophobic: Water Hating; used to describe water-repellent characteristics of shell fabric.
Impermeable: Fabric that allows moisture to travel to the outside of the garment.
Laminate: A composite fabric made by gluing layers together; often used to describe waterproof/breathable fabrics like Gore-Tex.
Loft: A term used to describe thickness of insulation materials high loft is thick and fluffy; low loft materials are thinner and denser.
Lycra: DuPont’s version of spandex.
MemBrain: Marmot’s proprietary waterproof/breathable membrane that responds to changes in your body temperature by changing its molecular shape. In other words, when you’re hot, the fabric pores open up for breathability; when you’re not generating heat the pores close.
Microfiber: Extremely fine, tightly woven fiber that combines natural breathability with wind and water resistance. Used in performance outerwear.
MVT: Moisture Vapor Transfer. A term used to quantify how much water vapor a fabric can transfer from one side to the other.
Nomex: A nylon fabric that has been modified to raise its melting point and increase fire resistance; most often used in uniforms for fire fighters, race car drivers and pilots.
Nylon: A term for fiber made from synthetic polyamides extracted from coal and oil. Used widely in outdoor clothing and gear.
Olefin: A propylene/ethylene-based synthetic fiber that’s hydrophobic, quick drying, colorfast, and has good hear retention. It’s subject to shrinkage and sudden meltdown in hot dryers.
Oxford Nylon: A super heavy-duty basket-weave nylon cloth commonly used in basic rainwear and tent floors.
Packcloth: Typically a nylon fabric of medium weave with a urethane coating on the back to give it some water repellency.
Pertex: A particularly soft microfiber rip-stop nylon used for light windbreakers and sleeping bag shells; highly water resistant, but not waterproof.
Pit Zip: The underarm zippers found in higher-end outerwear.
Polyester: A synthetic fiber that features quick drying time, high strength, abrasion resistance, and crease resistance; frequently blended with cotton, rayon, or other synthetics.
Rayon: A generic term for fibers derived from trees, cotton, and woody plants; has a shinny appearance, dyes and drapes will and feels silky.
Semi-permeable: Fabric that allows some moisture to travel to the outside of the garment.
Storm flap: A piece of cloth tat protects an opening (usually a zipper) on a garment Keeps out wind, rain, and snow.
Tri-blend: Any fabric consisting of a blend of three fibers.
VBL: Vapor barrier layer or liner. Generic name of a thin, plastic-like layer of clothing that traps heat vapor in extremely cold conditions.
Waterproof: A term used to describe garment that block out water completely.
