[leadin]Dyneema is among the world’s strongest fibers, and it’s used in top-end outdoors gear. But for years it has been sold only in a stark white.[/leadin]
Today, the brand announced that the fiber, touted as 15 times stronger than steel, is available in black.
Dyneema is really high-end stuff. It is incredibly light and strong and found in products at the pinnacle of design.
Until now, Dyneema fiber has only been available in its natural white color. If designers wanted to use the fiber in an application requiring color, they needed to treat it post production.
But the high molecular weight polyethylene fibers are almost inert to chemicals so the colors, which could only be applied to the surface, tended to wear off.
The new black fibers are permanently colored throughout. The coloring process has no effect on any of the key mechanical properties of the fiber, nor on its smooth surface, the company cites.
Very high breaking strength and stiffness, low density, low elongation, excellent durability, chemical-, moisture-, and UV-resistance are all retained, as is the fiber’s consistency.
While this does not change the functionality of the fiber, the black coloration will give designers a new tool for product appearance. It also allows for applications in which white color would be a liability (military, hunting, fishing lines).
While a small evolutionary step, the introduction of Black Dyneema will be a welcome addition for product developers in the high-end sporting goods world.
