Down and Primaloft are officially obsolete!

[sprocket]

Wow! I guess the future is now. I found this article y'all might be interested in. How soon before this stuff makes it into the mainstream "techie" clothing? Is my brand spankin new Mountain Hardware Spectre SL down bag already "old school" now? Check it out :
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=399812&page=1

[grrickar]

Wow. These two quotes really got me:
"A couple years ago Hugo Boss made elite jackets from the material," he said. "They discontinued them because they were so warm — they were unzipping them in Antarctica. The trick is to find the right balance of thickness."

"The process leaves behind a network of interconnected silica material (the same material that glass is made from) that is 99.8 percent air and provides insulation that is two to 10 times better than existing insulations."

99.8 air - awesome.

[Doctari]

OOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!

I want that!!

For me, on the AT, I only need it in the sleeping bag, but WOW!!

I probably only need it to be 1" thick or even less.



Can't wait!!

Doctari.

[SGT Rock]

Another mirical fabric. OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!

I wonder if they will ever make GoreTex obsolete? Ummmm,wait a sec...

[sprocket]

Gore-what? . I see silk thin gloves and half ounce "mid" layers....packin' down to the size of a peppermint pattie! BouYEAH! 0 degree single wall tent SWEATLODGES! Half pound 15 degree bags! Oh....Oh......OH!....er..sorry, had an "accident"

[steve hiker]

May have a problem using it in clothing and sleeping bags, at least at the present stage of development:

"Aerogel is warm, but it's not ideal for things that are constantly moving — you break it up."

Nonetheless, it'd be real interesting to take a sneak peek at gear 20 years in the future. Though I doubt anything could surpass the cozy comfort of a good down bag.

[The Solemates]

Absolutely amazing. I truly hope that it does find its way into the clothing and gear markets. (applauding modern day science)

[hungryhowie]

yeah, aerogel comes up every once in a while. Cool stuff, but no way to effectively implement it into a usable system. Maybe they'll figure something out. I saw a video once of a butane torch striking the underneath of a piece of aerogel, and a person touching the other side. The thermometer never climbed. The aerogel (1/4" thick, maybe?) stopped the heat of the butane torch. wow.

-howie

[Mags]

Yep..maybe another 20 yrs from now it will be useable on the consumer level.

Amazing how long down has held up as the "champ" of lightweight and warmth despite all the synth. fills over the years. Heck, fleece has only replaced wool starting in the 1980s. Hmm, now that I think about it..such companies as Smartwool have made wool the fabric of choice for many people..again!

Makes me wonder if the Down vs. Synthetic discussion will be replaced by Aerogel vs. Down discussion in 2025!

[Streamweaver]

The only thing that is obsolete ,is the word obsolete!! But boy how folks love to walk into that one with their eyes wide open!! Streamweaver

[Newb]

What's "Down" and "Primaloft"? I wear the skins of animals cover myself with leaves and branches to sleep. Primitive never goes out of style.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

This is going to put alot of Eastern European Goose -Pluckers out of work. Won't be a pretty picture down at the Union Hall when the news hits. If someone could just invent a miracle fiber that keeps you cool, and repels skeeters, no-seeums and blackflies.........

[tarbubble]

how well does it compress? we might have to be walking around with huge rolls of areogel strapped onto our packs.

[rocket04]

Did you guys see the pics of this stuff? I mean, it's straight out of Star Trek!

[dje97001]

Okay... who knows, but here:
http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~aerogel/outreach.html

It looks like you can purchase some, and help fund their continued research. Maybe you ultralight gear manufacturers should order a few samples and see what you can do! $25 bucks for a piece of it.

[SGT Rock]

Maybe put some in a hammock underquilt. I think compressability might suck though.