Frag Out! Magazine

Polartec alPha The „stuffing" of the jacket is the latest development of the Polartec, a leader in the advanced fabrics industry, known mainly from such products as Polartec Micro, Polartec PowerStretch, Polartec PowerDry and their military FR variants used by best brand worldwide. The first invention which was introduced by Polartec to its offer which fulfils another market niche was a laminate with the NeoShell membrane, and most recently the Alpha insulation. A story of development of this synthetic insulation is rather interesting since its development was initiated by the USSOCOM, which undertook to develop the next edition of PCU system – then a demand for a new kind of the insulation surfaced. Besides the leading manufacturers of these materials, also the Polartec came up with its solution and it was their product to receive the highest scores among the evaluators. Tested parameters were following: thermal insulation parameters, resistance to wind, resistance to wear, drying time and breathability. The final results had to be better than insulations available at that time on the market. Polartec Alpha met those rigorous requirements, both during the laboratory trials and field tests (a manufacturer proposed 18 variants of product). At the end of 2012 the Polartec presented the Alpha insulation lining to the wider public, and since the autumn 2013 it was finally available from top outdoor and hiking clothing manufacturers. This what differs Polartec Alpha from the other synthetic insulations, is a stabile structure, which allows to avoid the down lumping and moving of the insulation inside the clothing. It was achieved by applying continuous layer of the insulations attached pointwise to the very thin nylon fabric constituting at the same time an lining – there is no need for doubled quilting to create the down chambers as the Alpha is sewn only to the one side. In fact it is more a knit than synthetic down-style insulation, conceptually similar to the fleece with the high loft structure, and Polartec is an expert in this field area. Its unique knit structure allows for the use of highly breathable lining fabrics which permit body heat and moisture vapor to move through the insulation. This air permeability allows for warm air to move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration creating a more even distribution of warmth with-in the garment. available colours of the level 3a • Alpha Green • Retro Khaki • Black • Multicam • AOR1 • AOR2 www.fragoutmag.com

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