SKIWEAR TECHNICAL GUIDE
The ranges
Designed to meet specific needs, our ranges offer everyone the opportunity to find suitable products.
The Apogée range meets the needs of demanding skiers who seek ultimate technicality and functionality, but also attach great importance to the sporty and uncompromising look offered by these garments.
An All Mountain oriented approach to skiing, for those who want to ski everywhere, whatever the weather.
The Snow Conditions range is aimed at all types of skiers looking for performance, warmth, comfort and versatility; in a style that is both conventional and dynamic.
The perfect synthesis of the idea that we have of skiwear for the practice of alpine skiing and leisure activities in the mountains.
Passion and daring: this is what defines the Attitude range! These products bring all the originality and the disruptive side that the most frenetic skiers are looking for.
Whatever your approach to skiing, these clothes are made for you!
This young and daring line imagined for women looking for elegance and originality brings warmth, comfort and functionality in a fashionable and chic spirit.
This is where the term Allure takes on its full meaning.
The CLASSIFICATION
In order to meet everyone's needs, we have classified the products in the skiwear ranges by level of technicality. These different levels are identifiable thanks to the "skier" pictograms on our products.
2 skiers
2 SKIERS products are characterized by an excellent quality / price ratio. These products, both technical and comfortable, are offered at a particularly affordable price level.
3 skiers
3 SKIERS products are characterized by the most appropriate technical / price ratio. In accordance with the needs of each one, these products offer a diversity at the service of the most demanding skiers.
4 skiers
4 SKIERS products offer high-end technical characteristics at a very competitive price level, offering exceptional comfort combined with excellent performance.
5 skiers
5 SKIERS products offer the very best in terms of construction and choice of materials. The elite of our products, they are designed to offer 100% performance, and zero compromises!
THE TECHNICITY
Ski clothing requires a particularly complex technical design. These use very advanced manufacturing processes, as well as innovative and high-performance materials, with the aim of providing an adequate experience.
Impermeability
The impermeability of a garment measures its ability to protect against surrounding moisture.
Impermeability, measured in the laboratory by hydrostatic pressure tests, is calculated in Schmerber (this is the height in millimeters of a column of water placed on the fabric before the water pierces it, in 1 hour ). The higher the number, the more waterproof the material.
During a sporting activity, more or less important pressures are exerted on the garment (friction, wearing a backpack, falls, etc.), it is then commonly considered that an 8000mm (or 8K) material is sufficient to stay dry in the rain during moderate intensity sporting activity.
Our garments offer waterproofing ranging from 10,000mm to 20,000mm, which is more than enough.
Breathability
The breathability of a garment represents its ability to wick away moisture produced by the body in action.
Breathability is probably the most important factor in a technical fabric. It allows perspiration to be evacuated to the outside of the garment, ensuring that it is kept dry and therefore warm.
As for impermeability, different laboratory measurements exist. The most common measures the transfer of water vapor, and is expressed in grams of water vapor that a square meter of fabric lets through in 24 hours (g / m2 / 24 hours). Below 5000 g / m2 / 24h (or 5k) the fabric breathes little, from 10k it becomes efficient, 20k being very high breathability.
Our garments offer breathability ranging from 10,000mm to 20,000mm, which is very efficient.
MAIN SEAMS TAPED technology consists of integrating waterproof seams in strategic places (hood and shoulders for jackets, buttocks and knees for pants).
Products incorporating ALL SEAMS TAPED technology guarantee perfect impermeability of the garment thanks to all their perfectly sealed seams.
Water repellency
Often associated with waterproofing, the water repellent treatment or DWR (for Durable Water Repellency) plays a much more subtle role.
A damp material (even if it remains waterproof thanks to the waterproof membrane) feels cold and uncomfortable. The wet fibers will also tighten, and thus prevent the wicking away of perspiration.
This excess moisture inside the garment is prevented by a water-repellent treatment of the textile fibers, which has the function of making water run off the surface of the fabric. This therefore prevents the fibers (which make up the fabric) from becoming saturated with water, thus preserving a feeling of cold.
It is important to remember that since water repellency is provided by a finish applied to the fibers of the fabric, its performance will be impaired over time, due to the abrasion of the fibers following washing.
And if our water-repellent treatments keep a performance of 80% (minimum) after 5 washes, it will therefore be necessary to reactivate the garment's water-repellency to guarantee it good technical performance over time.
MEMBRANE
Waterproofing and breathability are the key factors in the performance of ski clothing. They are ensured by the lamination of a waterproof-breathable membrane on the inside of the fabric of the garment.
There are several types of membranes, all of which are intended to prevent water from passing through the fabric, while allowing perspiration to escape ...
Microporous membranes (the most common) are made up of tiny holes that have the ability to be much too small to let a drop of water pass (which ensures the seal), but which on the other hand allow the molecules of water in the form of vapor (and therefore perspiration).
The fabric manufacturer Toray's Dermizax membrane has a soft structure and molecules that “move” to let the garment breathe. The molecular structure also reacts according to the temperature of the body (the hotter you are, the more mobile molecules are, and therefore the more the membrane breathes).
Raw Materials
In practice, depending on the type of use one wishes to make of it, ski clothing must respond to a technical problem, guaranteeing maximum protection against bad weather, but also comfort of use in accordance with a sporting practice.
heat
The principle is quite simple: we insert (between the outer fabric which offers a barrier to the elements and the lining which ensures comfort) a more or less thick layer of wadding which has the particularity of being "swelling", that is to say. say it traps a lot of air. As air is a high performance natural insulator, it allows the body's natural heat to remain "trapped" inside the garment. We use different types of wadding, the most efficient of which are:
Primaloft® synthetic wadding is the benchmark for insulating materials in the design of outdoor clothing. It keeps the heat released by the body, and its hydrophobic properties make it waterproof, while being extremely breathable.
SORONA® is a synthetic fiber partly made from renewable plant ingredients (37%). This fiber is then used in the form of "synthetic down" to guarantee effective insulation thanks to its high swelling power and its hydrophobic properties. Compared to nylon manufacturing, the SORONA® fiber manufacturing process uses 30 to 40% less energy, and releases 50 to 60% less greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Comfort
Nothing worse than feeling completely encased in ski clothing. To feel comfortable with your movements, the cut of the clothing is important, but also the materials used.
A "stretch" material has elastic properties, and thus offers ultimate comfort during your outdoor activities. This is why our products are designed according to different technologies using stretch materials.
2-WAY STRETCH
A specific weaving that allows the fabric to offer mechanical elasticity across its width.
4-WAY STRETCH
Thanks to the use of elastane during weaving, the elasticity is maximum, both in width and in height.
Hybrid Stretch
The combination of 4-Way Stretch and 2-Way Stretch materials provides maximum elasticity in the most strategic places (sides of the garment, shoulders, armholes, etc.).
It should also be noted that all of our jackets offer stretch linings, which guarantees consistency in the construction of each product, and therefore ultimate comfort.