A fabric's ability to allow water vapour created by the body to escape When you do exercise (sportsperson or not) your body produces heat.
To regulate the temperature, humans have a means of evacuating this excess heat: perspiration.
When practising a sport outdoors, you can quickly feel the discomfort when you produce an intense or sustained effort (excess heat, sweat etc.). Wearing non-breathable clothing maintains this phenomenon as the water vapour generated by perspiration accumulates between the body and the jacket.
This is why it is essential to dress by superposing textile layers suited to your activity (according to the type of sport and the outdoor conditions) including a waterproof and breathable layer for protection against bad weather.
Using products with breathable fabrics allows water vapour to evacuate from the clothing so that a feeling of comfort accompanies the sportsperson throughout his/her activity.
NOVADRY technology wicks away the water vapour your body generates naturally to the outside of the fabric.
For Novadry, capillary action is the phenomenon that diffuses rainwater through the seam threads towards the inside of the product to dampen it.
Novadry puts in place adapted technical solutions to prevent water seepage in its products by capillary action.
When it is applied to a textile, it creates a protective film often used as a waterproof barrier.
A breathable coating is made with a polymer paste (mainly polyurethane). It contains the same waterproof qualities and offers the advantage of allowing water vapour to pass through (breathable characteristic).
The combination of a breathable coating and one (or more) textiles is called waterproof and breathable complex.
The combination of several layers of fabric (most commonly by bonding) to get a structure with the properties of the many bonded layers.
A component can be fabric, composite...
At NOVADRY, our speciality is waterproof/breathable components, as we combine textile layers that possess waterproof, water repellent and breathable properties.
This is the combination of a hydrophilic membrane (or coating) with a water repellent textile. A hydrophilic complex is waterproof and breathable.
The membrane (or coating) works in stages to evacuate water vapour generated by perspiration:
1-presence of water vapour in the environment defined by the hydrophilic complex,
2-the complex fills with water vapour until saturation,
3-thanks to the difference in pressure between the two internal and external atmospheres, when it is completely saturated, the complex evacuates the water vapour to the outside.
The main advantage of the hydrophilic membrane is that it does not contain pores; there is therefore no risk of obstruction by cleaning residues or crystals from salty water. Breathability is therefore constant over time.
Correct layering of textile layers can be compared to "the art of how to dress" for practising a sport outdoors.
An optimal multi-layer outfit breaks down into three parts : the first layer is composed of underwear in direct contact with the skin, the second is the thermal insulation layer and the third protects from outdoor conditions.
The Decathlon 1.2.3 concept : Optimisation of 3 versatile and complementary clothing layers that allow the user maximum comfort when practising sport
-The 1st layer is worn next to the skin and wicks away perspiration. It offers quick-drying technical undergarments in synthetic fibres whose role is to absorb perspiration and quickly diffuse it to the outside.
-The 2nd layer should protect from the cold. These garments are warm and lightweight. They can be compressible, breathable or windproof depending on the desired comfort temperature.
-The 3rd layer is the final barrier against outside elements. The products in this category are water repellent, waterproof and breathable as they are intended to protect from all types of bad weather (snow, rain, wind, etc.)
At DECATHLON, we ensure the technical quality of our garments by verifying that:
-our 1st layer garments carry the EQUAREA label
-our 2nd layer garments carry the STRATERMIC label
-our 3rd layer garments carry the NOVADRY label
The combination of a membrane and one (or more) textiles is called waterproof and breathable complex.
The membrane (or coating) is cracked by stretching to create micropores.
This technology, used by GORE-TEX, acts as a barrier against water. The micropores are too small to let water molecules through but are large enough to allow water vapour to pass under the influence of a pressure difference between the ambient environments that it separates.
Polymer examples: PVC, generally used in pipes. Polystyrene, generally used for packaging. Nylon, generally used to create synthetic fibres.
Note: Heat sealing is another process with which sealed assemblies are made.
A thermal insulator either keeps warmth in (e.g. thermal flask) or maintains coolness (e.g. ice box).
In waterproof-breathable products, it is often combined with a "mesh"-type lining to provide more comfort for the user. However, for some sports uses, they can be used without.
By layering a (breathable) coating by point, a membrane or a breathable coating, all onto a water repellent textile.
In waterproof-breathable products, it is often used as it is to provide maximum breathability for the user.
By layering a thin hydrophilic textile layer, a membrane, all onto a water repellent textile.
In waterproof-breathable products, it is used for its waterproofing, its fit and its mechanical resistance qualities.
A fabric's ability to prevent water from seeping through.
To guarantee total and efficient protection against bad weather (rain, snow, wind, fine hail etc.) a garment described as "waterproof" should meet the following criteria:
- The use of waterproof (that form a barrier to water) and water repellent (so that water glides over the outer surface of the garment) materials.
- Rigorous design and assembly to prevent water from getting into the garment (such as the use of siliconised zip fastenings or sealed seams to block water from getting in through the stitching holes or by being absorbed by the stitching thread).
The use of sealed fabrics is not sufficient to make a garment waterproof.
Internal studies by the CTRD (DECATHLON Technical research and development centre) have proven that an assembly of sewn sealed fabrics with the usual types of seams allow rainwater through the structure after fifteen minutes!
It's the reason why, beyond its waterproof and breathable fabrics, NOVADRY puts in place strict design rules that "protect" its products from all water infiltration.
NOVADRY technology prevents water from getting into the fabric.
A waterproof-breathable complex is made by combining a breathable membrane or coating with one (or more) textiles.
The number of textiles determines the number of layers associated with the complex. In this way the three large complex families can be counted:
- The two-layer complexes (or 2L for '2 Layers')
- The two and a half-layer complexes (or 2.5L for '2.5 Layers')
- The three-layer complexes (or 3L for '3 Layers')
There are two types of technology as regards waterproof-breathable complexes:
- microporous complexes
- hydrophilic complex
A fabric's ability to make water droplets glide over its surface.
Applying a water repellent (hydrophobic) treatment to a fabric means it no longer absorbs water and stops water from sticking to its surface :
The water droplets "bead".
When you add the idea of movement, water can glide over a fabric and you usually characterise this phenomenon as water repellence.
NOVADRY technology enables water to glide over the surface of a fabric.