Our endurance jackets are designed for continuous use in the worst conditions. However, if you’re in the habit of really abusing your gear then it’s definitely worth investing in a jacket that can take repeated punishment. If you’re travelling fast and light or only using your waterproof for occasional bursts of rain in warm weather, it can be worth investing in a lighter garment. When buying a jacket it’s important to consider the trade-off between durability and weight, as more durable fabrics tend to be heavier and warmer. Our athletes understanding of what constitutes an industry-leading product and the insight they provide is vital to the design and testing process. Our prototype garments are taken to the most extreme places on the planet by people whose job it is to push outdoor equipment to it’s limits. Central to the relationship we have with all of our athletes is the regular testing of our products. The true test however, is to take the garments to the places for which they are designed. Testing fabrics here at Rab helps to ensure that we’re selecting the right materials. At Rab we use our own modified, and arguably more extreme versions, of the standard tests for durability, abrasion resistance and snagging. In addition to the exhaustive durability tests carried out by our fabric partners, we comprehensively test all of our designs both in the confines of Rab HQ and by sending them to some of the most extreme environments in the world.Īn industry standard, the Martindale machine’s beauty is in its simplicity, subjecting a sample of a fabric to a repeated rubbing motion to simulate long term wear. The trade off is, that in most cases, a high hydrostatic head results in a less breathable jacket.Ĭreating a waterproof fabric is one thing, but making sure it can stand up to the frankly ridiculous things our athletes and customers get up to is another challenge entirely. In such cases, a high hydrostatic head may become a key factor in your buying decision. The straps of your backpack, overfilled pockets, a climbing harness or just kneeling on the ground all increase the external pressure on the garment and it is often at these points of contact that moisture will seep through the fabric. Out in the field, this pressure can manifest itself in a number of ways. This measurement is known as the hydrostatic head. When we talk about the level of waterproofness in a particular fabric, we are expressing the height of that column before the waterproofing surrenders e.g. As more water is added, the pressure on the fabric will slowly increase. Imagine a very tall, open-ended laboratory test tube standing on the fabric and being slowly filled with water. The standard test for waterproofing is to build up water pressure on the surface of the fabric and measure how much it can withstand before it allows water to pass through.
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