Garment Information and Care
How To Take Care Of Your Professional Products
WATERPROOF GARMENTS:
Prolong the longevity of your waterproof/breathable outer shell protection.
Very dirty garments can act as a wicking agent that will allow moisture to pass through the waterproof fabric. Do not wash at prolonged high temperatures, wash at no more than 40oC and you will not damage the heat instilled characteristics of the dropliner. Use light detergents and rinse twice to eliminate residue. Dry on very low temperature settings to maximise. Hang drying is prefered.
A light ironing on a warm setting helps restore the chemical finishes of the outer fabric. If using a restorative, try to avoid the 'wash-in' varieties. The breathable ability of the fabric can be inhibited as this process coats all surfaces. Nikwax market an effective spray-on solution which is beneficial to the performance of the fabric.
Beware! Products that require dry cleaning or warn against machine washing are not suitable for professional use. Some off-shore waterproof breathables are manufactured with unsatisfactory standards of seam sealing, deficiencies of this sort are difficult to detect and may only emerge after some months or under heavy stress just when you don't need it to happen.
Webbing Materials:
Much is made of the infra-red reflective (IRR) properties of camouflage prints. IRR properties of materials are rendered less definite when smeared with grime. For example, light coloured dirt is almost certainly less IRR than the fabric that is covered by such dirt. This means that the laboratory conditions where such materials are researched and tested cannot replicate the real conditions in which fabrics are required to perform. The best overall solution is to ensure that you are not encountering an opponent equipped with IRR detection devices in either brand new off-the-shelf product or in a garment that is smeared with dirt much lighter than that of the surrounding terrain!
Furthermore, IRR materials offer little protection against thermal imaging (TI). Arktis have the ability to achieve a TI resistant level of performance. Black clips on webbing items are becoming more detectable on modern imaging equipment. Arktis have switched to mainly olive green clips where the clip is larger than 3x3cm. Many manufacturers are ignoring this point.
If, after all this, you feel compelled to clean and wash your webbing, light soapy water is the best way to go about it - with a scrubbing brush or old toothbrush for the smaller hard to get at areas.
