Apparel

Yesterday I mused on function versus form in the apparel industry, where beauty in design often comes at the cost of versatility, performance or comfort.…

I have a weird theory that the outdoors industry is ahead of the game in the world of clothing and apparel. My logic is that…

Arc’teryx designs and manufactures outerwear that’s pricey, high-performing, and highly modern. According to company press materials, its design team doesn’t focus on incremental advancements, but…

In this second, brief — and final! — installment of my “High style in the great outdoors” coverage, I look at a so-called “windshirt” jacket…

High style in the great outdoors used to entail a flannel shirt and some stout leather boots. Now you’re as likely to see The North…

Helium is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, inert element, and it exists only as a noble gas except in extreme conditions. What that has to do…

Gore-Tex may have the name. But the new kid in town is eVent, a waterproof/breathable laminate manufactured and marketed by the BHA Group Inc., a…

Gore-Tex may have the name. But the new kid in town is eVent fabrics. While, sort of new. Though the brand debuted more than five…

Schoeller Textil AG is up to some whacky fabric engineering, again. . . For what it’s worth, Schoeller Textil AG, a Swiss textile company, is…

For warm summer rains, the Zealot will feel clammy. And for the coldest winter days, the thin shell may feel a bit paltry, no matter…

The stretchy, nylon-based fabric used in the making of the Cloudveil Switchback jacket is designed to mimic the smooth shell of a beetle. It also…

Until the early ’90s, Styrofoam cups and food containers were the norm in the restaurant business. Now, recycled paper products dominate, being pushed into popular…

Most of my outdoors cohorts wear athletics tights for sports like mountain biking, backpacking, and adventure racing. Though you’ll catch me in tights on occasion,…

The old standby cotton T-shirt doesn’t have much of a place in the outdoors. Even beyond the “cotton kills” adage, the average cotton shirt is…