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Paramo - The Fabrics
Fabric breathability on its own is not enough – it’s essential to avoid a build up of water in your clothing when you are working hard. Too much moisture in your clothing will lead to sudden and rapid cooling when you stop and rest.
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An adult working hard can produce upto 1 litre of sweat per hour – no ‘breathable’ waterproof can transfer that amount of water as moisture vapour, even when the outside air is dry. In fact, most breathable waterproofs stop transferring moisture altogether in cold, wet and windy conditions, leading to an uncomfortable and dangerous build-up of water in your clothing. |
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Sweat is produced more at some parts of your body’s surface than others – unless that moisture is spread it can’t evaporate to cool you down. The less efficient your evaporation of sweat is, the more sweat you produce – leading to even greater build up of condensation inside your clothing.
Directional® Fabrics keep you more comfortable and safer because they move both sweat and liquid water to where your body needs it to be:
To the outside of your garment to keep you dry and therefore warm
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spreading it evenly around your body to keep you cool and prevent it ‘pooling’.
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Combine Directional base layers and fleeces with Directional waterproofs and you get a clothing system which lets you control water and air movement to achieve the optimum body temperature whatever the weather and whatever your activity.
Nikwax® Directional Textiles between them provide the four key functions that are important in any outdoor clothing system:
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1. Wicking |
Comfort in the outdoors depends on achieving the right balance between these four functions to suit the weather conditions, your activity level and your physiology.
Nikwax® Directional Textiles Family Tree
Click on an individual fabric or fabric group below to find out more
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Analogy |
Parameta |
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| Fabric name: Parameta® A |  |
Key benefits:
How it works:
2. Parameta® A fabric draws perspiration away from the skin and spreads it rapidly over a large surface area. 3. Moisture spreads and evaporates to ensure maximum cooling |
| Fabric name: Parameta® T | |
Key benefits:
How it works:
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| Fabric name: Parameta® S |  |
Key benefits:
How it works: If you are working hard or are hot you need to wear the smooth face of the fabric next to your skin, which holds water close to your skin to evaporate and so keep you cool. 2. Smooth, water-attracting face of the fabric worn next to the skin holds water next to the skin to cool the body 3. Fleecy face of Parameta® S |
| Fabric name: Parameta® X | |
Key benefits:
How it works: 1. Skin surface 2. Parameta® X fabric draws water away from the skin to keep you dry, allowing air to be captured between fabric and skin to warm the body. 3. Water is directed away from the skin |
| Fabric name: Nikwax Windproof |  |
Key benefits:
How it works: 1. Skin surface 2. Parameta S is shown here worn next to the skin drawing water away to keep you dry 3. Nikwax® Windproof's closely woven microfibre provides wind proofing and Nikwax durable water-repellency. 4. Wind is deflected away from the body, while perspiration as water vapour can escape. If treated with Nikwax Waterproofing® products it can also provide durable and renewable water-repellency. |
| Fabric name: Nikwax Analogy Fleece |  |
Key benefits:
How it works:
1. Skin surface 2. Parameta® S is shown here worn next to the skin, drawing water away to keep you dry. 3. Nikwax Analogy® Pump Liner pumps water away from the body. 4. Nikwax® Fleece outer fabric allows air to be trapped between Pump Liner and outer to give insulation. 5. Outer fabric is treated to give Directional water-repellency, deflecting water away from the body. - Nikwax® Fleece can be combined with Nikwax® Windproof to provide a fully Directional waterproof and windproof system. |
| Fabric name: Nikwax Analogy Waterproof |  |
Key benefits:
How it works:
1. Skin surface 2. Parameta® S is shown here worn next to the skin, drawing water away to keep you dry. 3. Nikwax Analogy Pump Liner pumps water away from the body. 4. Closely woven microfibre outer provides windproofing and Nikwax durable water-repellency. Air is trapped between Pump Liner and outer to give insulation. 5. Wind and rain is deflected away from the body while perspiration and condensation as liquid water or water vapour can escape. |
| Fabric name: Nikwax Analogy Insulator |  |
Key benefits:
How it works:
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| Why Analogy? |
Nikwax Analogy® got its name because of the way it mimics animal fur in providing both insulation and water-shedding which works in all conditions.
In the same way that seals, otters and bears keep warm in very wet conditions, the Nikwax Analogy® Pump Liner pushes liquid outwards to keep you warm and dry inside.
Not only does this give superior waterproof protection from the elements – while both Soft Shell and conventional waterproof breathable fabrics can only cope with around 20% of the sweat you produce when working hard, Nikwax Directionality will pump away all of it.
The special characteristics of Nikwax Analogy result in significant advantages over conventional waterproofs and Soft Shell:
- Warmth – providing warmth as well as waterproofing allows you to leave some of your insulation layers at home.
- Works as effectively in all conditions – Both conventional waterproofs and Soft Shell fail in conditions of high humidity, while Nikwax Analogy® continues to pump water away whatever the weather.
- Soft but very strong fabrics – because Nikwax Analogy® doesn’t need coatings or laminates to work, the fabrics are much softer and more flexible but just as strong and tough.
- Silent – Nikwax Analogy® is rustle-free, a pleasure to walk in or with.
- Not compromised by puncture – You could fill a Directional Waterproof garment with pins, take them out, wear the garment in the rain and still stay dry! Puncture of the outer or inner fabric will not lead to leakage.
- Renewable – The performance of Directional Waterproofs can be indefinitely renewed by caring for them with Nikwax products, while conventional membranes can eventually crack and cannot then be repaired.
Testing and standards
As well as our in-house laboratory facilities in East Sussex and our panel of very critical gear testers all around the UK, we call upon the independent testing facility at Leeds University, the ‘Rain Room’, to ensure that our stringent standards for the Nikwax Analogy® label are consistently maintained.
| RAIN ROOM TESTING |
| The Rain Room at Leeds University Textile Department (UK) was especially built and donated by Nikwax to enable the realistic and independent assessment of outdoor fabrics as garments. |  |
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The process of testing is as follows:
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The results: Standards Guaranteed by the Nikwax Analogy® Label
| Nikwax Analogy Pump Liner - the Directional liner that transfers liquid water from one face to the other. | |
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Minimum static water transfer face to face |
300gms per hour |
| Maximum water content after 30 minutes static draining | 20% |
| Nikwax Windproof – the outer fabric treated with durable water-repellency. | |
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Minimum tear strength |
20 Newtons |
| Maximum air permeability | 2.5 cubic feet per minute |
| Spray rating | 5 |
| Nikwax Analogy Directional Waterproof - these two fabrics combined. | |
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Minimum four hour resistance to 3cm of rain per hour. |
