Wicking is a fabric's ability to draw sweat away from the skin and spread it across the fabric's surface, where it evaporates faster. This keeps you drier, warmer, and more comfortable during activity and is the defining job of a good base layer. Synthetics and merino wool wick well; cotton does not, which is why cotton is avoided in cold or strenuous conditions.
Pertex Equilibrium is a family of lightweight, breathable fabrics engineered to move moisture and manage temperature during high-output activity, rather than to be fully waterproof. Often using a dual-surface construction that pushes sweat away from the skin and spreads it to dry fast, it's used in active wind shells, base and mid layers, and breathable insulation liners.
Pertex Diamond Fuse is a lightweight fabric engineered for dramatically improved tear and abrasion resistance, using high-tenacity yarns in a fine diamond-shaped ripstop grid. It lets insulated jackets and shells stay light and soft while resisting the snags, scuffs, and tears that plague delicate ultralight fabrics, extending durability without much added weight.
Pertex Quantum is a very lightweight, tightly woven nylon shell fabric known for being downproof (it keeps down fill from leaking), wind-resistant, water-repellent, and soft. It's a staple face and lining fabric for down and synthetic insulated jackets and sleeping bags where minimizing weight while containing insulation is the priority.
Pertex is a brand of lightweight, high-performance technical fabrics widely used as the face and lining fabrics of insulated jackets, sleeping bags, windshells, and rain shells. Its fabric families balance low weight, breathability, durability, and weather resistance — from airy windproof fabrics to downproof shells — making Pertex a common name in lightweight outdoor apparel.
Spectra is a brand of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber — the same class of material as Dyneema — known for an outstanding strength-to-weight ratio, light weight, and resistance to abrasion and moisture. It's used in high-strength cord, reinforcing grids woven into fabrics, and other applications where maximum strength for minimal weight is needed.
Dyneema is a brand of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber that is, weight for weight, among the strongest fibers in the world — far stronger than steel by weight, while being light and water-resistant. In the outdoors it appears as high-strength cord and slings, and as Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF), a non-woven laminate used for ultralight, waterproof tents and packs.
Denier (D) measures the linear density of the yarns in a fabric — technically the weight in grams of 9,000 meters of the fiber. Higher denier yarns are thicker, so the fabric is generally heavier and more abrasion-resistant; lower denier is lighter and more packable. It's a quick shorthand for a fabric's durability-versus-weight balance, though weave and fiber also matter.
Cordura is a brand of durable, abrasion-resistant fabrics, classically made from textured high-tenacity nylon, used where toughness matters most — backpacks, pack bottoms, gaiters, boots, and rugged apparel. It resists abrasion, tears, and scuffs far better than standard nylon for its weight, which is why it's a go-to for high-wear areas of outdoor gear.
Ripstop is a weaving technique that reinforces fabric with a grid of thicker threads at regular intervals, so a small tear or puncture is stopped from spreading. It gives lightweight nylon or polyester high tear strength for its weight, which is why it's everywhere in tents, sleeping bags, shells, and packs. The grid pattern is its visible signature.