Care & Maintenance

BlueSign Gives Grangers the Green Light

BlueSign, the independent textiles standard, have inspected and approved of Grangers eco friendly working practices. Read more here.

Chemical Concerns

This link to The Independent reports concerns about the chemical PFOA and was forwarded to me by Nikwax, who don't use this chemical, and are concerned that other re-proofing products employ it.

FurTech garments can be re-proofed with any commercially available product. A comparative test of them, published by Trail magazine, can be seen here (please scroll past the first page).

All waterproof clothing requires replenishment of the water repellency to ensure breathability.

Granger's 2 in 1 Review

Jon at Outdoors Magic posted this review of the Granger's 2 in 1 clean and re-proof product. This is the treatment I prefer to use on FurTech garments, though other options are available. These independent tests at Leeds University were published in Trail Magazine (please scroll down, past the first page when the pdf appears).

Pilling

It is possible to abrade the lining of FurTech garments (and other similar fabrics). This will result in pilling, which isn't normally detrimental to the performance of the fabrics.

To reduce the risk of pilling please ensure that the touch and close fasteners on the cuffs is retracted into its garage when the garment is washed. You may also wash it inside out to reduce the risk. Also, avoid washing FurTech garments with other abrasive items, especially those with velcro tabs.

When to Re-Proof Waterproofs

How often you re-proof your FurTech garments depends on usage. For most people once a year will be sufficient, but frequent users may re-proof more often.

I tend to re-proof in the Autumn and before big trips. In the summer it doesn't matter that the outer Durable Water Repellancy (DWR) isn't so good - in fact this can help keep you cool!

Sometimes it isn't necessary to re-proof, just tumble dry, cool iron or hang on a radiator to regenerate the DWR.

Nikwax, Grangers or Storm

Any wash in waterproofer can be used to re-proof FurTech kit. However, Nikwax TX-Direct leaves a coating of wax on the transparent peak which will need to be wiped clean with a soapy cloth. Take care not to get the soap on your newly re-proofed jacket.

A comparative review of re-proofing products from Trail magazine can be seen here. http://furtech.typepad.com/care_maintenance/files/trail20proofing20story1.pdf

FurTech Hoods

The Sight'n'Sound Hood provides exceptional vision and protection by using a tough, transparent PVC peak (which doesn't degrade in the sun). This allows you to look up while scrambling, you can use it to see into wind driven rain/sleet/snow and it doesn't mask a head torch beam. Please don't hang your jacket up by it: the weight of the jacket and its contents may be enough to damage the visor or stitching. (In fact this advice probably applies to most manufacturers garments.)

The hang loop is positioned to allow the jacket to dry effectively when hanging. Please remove heavy items from the jacket pockets before using it.

Repairing FurTech Fabrics

Over the years I've carried out many repairs to these types of products.There are 3 parts to the repair:

1. Darn the inner Fur fabric using a poly/poly thread.
2. Patch or darn the outer fabric using a poly/poly thread.
3. Clean and Re-proof the garment to add water repellancy to the new fabrics and thread.

(Patches should be synthetic fabrics to avoid absorbing water.)

It should be noted that small holes in the outer fabric seldom lead to a reduction in performance and don't require urgent repair.

Re-Proofing Waterproofs

All waterproof breathable garments require cleaning and re-proofing to maintain their performance. We recommend using Granger's 2in1 Cleaner/Waterproofer.

Here's what Trail had to say about the independent tests they ran.Download trail20proofing20story1.pdf