67 : Gore-Tex

1969

Practical and portable outdoor clothing (above, middle) was given a real boost by Bob Gore’s (top) Gore-Tex technology (bottom), paving the way for today’s birder- and naturalist-specific brands like Country Innovation and Páramo.

The problem of what to wear outdoors is one that birders know only too well – man-made fibres cause undue perspiration, while natural fibres are too porous and permeable. This becomes more of a problem the tougher the environment, and as birders pursue their quarry in difficult terrain and unfamiliar climates, clothing ascends the priority list. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a fabric that was as waterproof as nylon but as breathable as cotton?

Well there almost is, and its inventor, Robert Gore, was ensconced into no less than the US National Inventors Hall of Fame because of it.

In 1969 Gore was able to produce an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), or Gore-Tex to give it his commercial name, providing an affordable way to manufacture outdoor clothing that let water vapour pass from the inside but prevented precipitation from entering. ePTFE is virtually the same as Teflon, the familiar coating of non-stick cooking pans, and when layered with nylon and polyurethane to give it support and strength, the fabric is able to effectively, though not absolutely perfectly, control water entry and exit from a garment.

Though fairly universal among outdoor outer garments today, the material’s introduction was not without controversy. Only a year after its first use in 1969, Gore had to sue Garlock, Inc, for patent infringement, though this has not stopped the production of several other materials using similar principles and chemicals since.

Repeated wear often reduces the effectiveness of Gore-Tex’s water repellent covering, which can be something of an Achilles heel, but nonetheless many birders, explorers, hunters and hikers owe much of the dryness and warmth of their bodies and feet in the lonely wilderness to Gore and his ingenious fabric.