A recent thread discussed Paramo type documents and Andy Davison of FurTech also posted on the thread. I was curious about a couple of issues so I emailed him at FurTech.
"Dear Andy Davison/Furtech
A couple of weeks ago you posted to a thread on BPL about paramo type garments. I had some questions which I was curious about which you may not have seen:
'Hi Andy
As I understood it, the softshell/paramo idea originally took off in Scotland (amongst other places) with people using non-waterproof breathable nylon jackets over fleece. So, would a microfleece and a windshirt work as well as an all-in-one garment like yours or Paramo's?
If the 'pump liner' is the difference, what is it made of?
Does the system need a certain level of exertion in order to be effective or could I sit around in near freezing, foggy sleet and rain and expect my skin to stay dry?
Does your product or Paramo's still work if the DWR wears off?
Thanks for any input you may have on these issues that I've been wondering about for a while!'"
Regards
I got the following response:
"Hi Damian, thanks for your interest. I'll try and answer all your questions:
None of the microfleece fabrics I've seen have the directional properties of the polyester FurTech lining material. Even when treated with a DWR, microfleeces tend to hold onto water when more than just a little hits them. This water then drains down inside the fabric and comes out on the inside at the hem. The integral outer fabric on our garments helps protect the DWR of the lining fabric so they continue to work even when the outer is saturated
(which often happens as condensation is removed from the system). If the DWR is completely removed (perhaps by washing in fabric softener) the garments could not be considered waterproof, however, they would still be comparable to a non DWR fleece/windshell combo and would dry very quickly.
As the Leeds University rain room tests show, the fabrics don't require heat to make them work. However, heat does help to drive humidity out of the
clothing, as it does with every other system: I tend to wear them for faster drying. No membrane is able to dry anywhere near as quickly.
Hope that answers your questions. Feel free to ask more and please have a look at the blog which has lots of detailed information.
Cheers, Andy Davison.
Visit our Blog at http://www.furtech.typepad.com
Our web shop is http://www.furtech.co.uk"
Andy said he was happy to answer any other questions people might have.
