UKC

what is everyones opinions on TNF leaving Goretex to use their own Futurelight?

"What is everyone's opinion on TNF leaving Goretex to use their own Futurelight?"

Yawn.

They were in to showcase it to us at work last week. First impressions - very impressive tech if you don't like the feel of hardshells. Futurelight feels like a softshell on the skin which is very welcome. Comfy for sure, and with none of the annoying plastic noise of a goretex shell. They've also made the fairly bold statement on the L5 jacket (the heavier duty mountaineering one) of not including any pit zips, which goes some way to towards how confident they are in the breathability. 

I've recently been testing the Black Yak Hariana which is a new-school Gore C-Knit shell with a 20k HH and I have to say, it feels pretty poor compared to the L5 I tried out. The really cool thing about the Futurelight stuff was that you could wear it on skin with none of the weird 'damp plastic bag feeling'. This means you can use it a lot more like you would use a softshell layer now i.e. bang it on impulsively over a t-shirt etc without feeling uncomfortable, which is perfect for cragging. 

I was reasonably impressed and assuming the durability also holds up, I think it's a really strong contender. 

Goretexit...

It's about time somebody with financial clout used it in the r&d dept to come up with something new. A company like NF has such a budget and obviously sees the potential it could have. Not a big fan of the brand but lets see.

I was stood next to this hoodlum in the pub at half six. He was decked in TNF clothing and said he wouldn’t buy anymore incase the sniffer dogs could sniff through it!

IMHO Goretex has had its day - (sometime ago actually). There are far better materials on the market and they are surviving purely on their marketing and previous reputation. They used to (maybe still do) block competition by telling manufacturers if you want Goretex, you can't develop your own as they were afraid of competition

So to answer your question

I think it is great and hopefully the start of more brands doing their own to put more choice back into the market

The best thing to come out of this thread. Even though there will be another 50 comments.

Just picked up a parcel that turned out to be a TNF futurelight jacket for testing this autumn and winter. First impressions is it looks very much like modern versions of Goretex, although it is perhaps a bit softer than most of the versions of proshell that I've seen. Will have to try it out in the rain soon!

Jon - you win the internet today. "Goretexit"! Lolz.

Not one of my go-to brands but it is good to see the development of new fabrics. If it helps drive techonolgy and sustainability in the industry it's no bad thing.

It kind of seems to me like a lot of companies are trying to make their own version of Neoshell rather than Goretex these days though. Take Rab, who are now using Goretex but their in-house fabric seems more Neoshell style.

Seems like another example of technology getting easier and cheaper - various electrospun (and other methods) membranes have been here already for a long time, but a lot of development has been going on to make them more viable. While it may muddy the waters a bit again (harder to compare fabrics  against each other - but that wasn't so easy with goretex either, with their different styles, all the subtle marketing renames and different cover fabrics etc), I quite like the development  Any breaking of a monopoly is bound to be good (and the Gore marketing machine certainly did not help things)...

Just found Futurelight clothing advertised in a store in Oslo, about 700 quid for a jacket, 300 for trousers! Not for me, I think!

Not that I'm justifying it, but the actual price itself for equivalent item hasn't changed with the introduction of futurelight - so unfortunately it looks more like TNF isn't for you. I think you've picked out the most expensive ski jacket there though which is a little unfair considering most models cost in the more usual €250-€500 range. 

It's also worth pointing out that Futurelight is currently available in the Summit series only at the moment, whereas it will be across the board by next year. 

Too right! Same as I don't feel the urge to buy a new carbon bike or Tesla every year. It's all in the message!

True, the Summit FT is available for a hundred quid less.