SealSkinz Gloves and their Waterproof Breathability
Lots of people have heard about how SealSkinz Gloves are waterproof and at the same time are breathable. To many people this sounds like a contradiction in terms and so rather than wondering how this can happen here you will find a brief outline of the technology involved. Thanks to some excellent design by SealSkinz parent company Danalco and Dupont, the outdoor clothing manufacturer has come up with a number of ideas that have passed rigorous testing before being released to the market.
The result is what is known as a hydrophilic membrane which is a membrane that is completely without holes and is totally non-porous. In other words the membrane is totally waterproof against water as there is no way for the water to pass through. When wearing SealSkinz gloves you can dip your gloved hand in to the water and bring it back out safe in the knowledge that you will be completely dry.
The next obvious worry is about sweating and getting your hand wet that way because the membrane doesn’t let water through which has already been stated. This is where the clever bit really happens because it’s the vapour that gets passed through the membrane. That sounds like the membrane is porous when this action is described but it really isn’t. The vapour gets transmitted through by molecule to molecule which means that the hand stays dry.
The reason this works so well is because the hotter your hand gets, the quicker the vapour can be transmitted. This is because it’s generally colder outside of the glove and this is why they are worn. So the hot air inside the membrane is under more pressure than on the outside and this is what pushes the molecules from one membrane molecule to another. It’s a perfect example of making something work in its natural way for your own benefit.
SealSkinz gloves are made according to strict testing and have been proven to work on the job and in laboratory conditions. One of the tests that is undertaken has been created to measure breathability by the British Standards Institute and their test called BS 3424: Part 34: 1992 Method 37 is what has allowed SealSkinz gloves to prove beyond a doubt that their claims are true.
If you were required to come up how many glove makers were ISO 9001:2000 registered, then you would find it hard to find another. There are only a few manufacturers of apparel in the world that has achieved this registration and Danalco is very proud to have SealSkinz representing the company and actually using this technology. If a company is only as good as its last product then SealSkinz gloves have proved that they are very good indeed.