Materials knowledge center
Tactical fabric & material guide
Material selection decides more of a garment's real-world performance than any other single decision. Each page below explains what the material is, how it works, where it performs, where it fails, and the OEM options available — including the cases where it is the wrong choice for your application.
All materials
14 materials
Grouped by function: structural fabrics, comfort and climate fabrics, and protection fabrics.
Material
Cold Weather Insulation Material
Cold weather insulation material keeps a wearer warm by holding still air in a structure, not by generating heat.
Material
Cotton Ripstop
Cotton ripstop is a woven fabric made entirely from cotton, reinforced with a grid of heavier yarns woven at regular intervals.
Material
Fleece
Fleece is a pile knit or woven fabric with a raised surface that traps air.
Material
Lightweight Hot Weather Fabric
Lightweight hot weather fabric is built on a simple physical argument: less fabric mass means less stored heat, and a more open structure means more air exchange and faster evaporation of sweat.
Material
Mechanical Stretch Fabric
Mechanical stretch fabric obtains its extension from yarn and weave geometry rather than from elastic fibre.
Material
Moisture Wicking Fabric
Moisture wicking fabric moves liquid sweat away from the skin and spreads it across the outer surface of the cloth, where it can evaporate.
Material
NYCO Ripstop
NYCO ripstop is a woven fabric that blends nylon with cotton and reinforces the structure with a grid of heavier yarns woven at regular intervals.
Material
Poly Cotton Ripstop
Poly cotton ripstop is a woven fabric built from a blend of polyester and cotton, reinforced with a grid of thicker yarns woven at intervals.
Material
Quick Dry Fabric
Quick dry fabric is engineered so that moisture leaves the garment rather than soaking into it.
Material
Softshell Fabric
Softshell is a fabric system rather than a single cloth.
Material
Stretch Ripstop
Stretch ripstop combines the tear containment of a ripstop grid with the movement of a stretch construction.
Material
Water Resistant Fabric
Water resistant fabric sheds light rain and keeps a garment usable in changeable conditions, but it is not waterproof.
Material
Waterproof Fabric
Waterproof fabric prevents liquid water from passing through under pressure, and it only works as a system: the fabric carries a membrane or coating, and every seam and closure has to be sealed as well.
Material
Wind Resistant Fabric
Wind resistant fabric reduces the air movement that strips warmth away from the body.
Not sure which material fits your application?
Send the climate, the end use and the wear pattern. We will propose material options and state the trade-off between them rather than recommending a single answer without context.