Water Repellency Test

How water repellency differs between the water-resistant wovens, softshell laminates and wind-resistant fabrics we offer for outer layers, and whether that difference is large enough to change the outer fabric a buyer should specify for exposed, wet-weather use. The test compares our own fabrics against each other under one method; it is not a certification of any fabric against an external standard. It is intended to give a buyer a fair basis for comparing quotations that name different fabrics and different finishes.

Water repellency is the specification most often written from a supplier's claim and least often verified before bulk. For a buyer the consequence shows up late: an outer layer that wets out in the first serious downpour becomes heavy, cold and slow to dry, and the unit that issued it treats the failure as a purchasing failure rather than a fabric failure. Repellency also decides how a garment is perceived, because a surface that beads water reads as capable while a surface that darkens and clings reads as cheap, even when the underlying fabric is sound. Without a single method applied to all candidates, quotations can only be compared on wording, and the buyer carries the risk of the gap between a claim and a delivered lot.