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Pearl Izumi’s new PI Dry water-repellent fabric launches this autumnpearl izumi pi dry 1.jpg

Pearl Izumi’s new PI Dry water-repellent fabric launches this autumn

Pearl Izumi has a new water-repellent fabric designed to deal with varied riding conditions
by David Arthur @davearthur
Thu, Jul 27, 2017 11:36
2

There have been some exciting clothing developments in recent years and the most interesting have been those aimed at combatting typical British winter wind and rain with mild temperatures, and the likes of Castelli’s Nano Flex, Lusso Max Repel Sportful NoRain are two very good examples of technologies that have changed how cyclists deal with such weather conditions.

Pearl Izumi has set its sights on this market, setting out it says to “make gear that will help you thrive in winter drizzle and get out of the house right after an early season storm.” It has a three-year exclusive deal to use a new hydrophobic fabric technology that it’s calling PI Dry, intended to repel rain and road spray without compromising breathability.

pearl izumi pi dry 2.jpg

The treatment coats individual fibres in the fabric, unlike the more standard DWR which is a coating applied to the surface of a fabric, and this says Pearl Izumi means the fabric will retain its water resistance for the life of the garment - after 100 washes it says 90% of the performance is maintained. It’s also stain resistant.

The individual fibres are combined into yarns and then knitted into a fabric, so the water resistance is baked right into the material and not just coated over the top. It’s an environmentally safe process. This also allows for greater wicking properties, so breathability is improved, as well as maintaining water repellency under stretch so the fit can be improved compared to traditional hard shell fabrics. And when the fabric is wet you simply shake it dry.

- Buyer's guide to the best waterproof cycling clothing

"Extending the useful range of our thermal fabrics to riders dealing with varied weather conditions is a huge bonus for everyone," commented Alex Strouthopoulos, senior product line manager at Pearl Izumi. "The permanent finish of PI DRY means that the benefit is there for the life of the garment, so riders don't need to worry about diminishing performance if they happen to ride a lot."

pearl izumi pi dry 4.jpg

The new PI Dry fabric will initially be used in a range of bib tights, leggings, leg, arm and knee warmers, but we expect the company to roll it out to more garments in the three years it has exclusivity with the fabric. We don’t have UK prices yet, but in the US the tights will cost $140-195, with knee warmers $45 and arm warmers $35.

We look forward to getting some of the new Pearl Izumi clothing in for testing this autumn, so stay tuned for more details on this exciting new option on the clothing market. More at www.pearlizumi.co.uk

- Essential wet weather cycle clothing and gear

Pearl Izumi
pi dry
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David Arthur @davearthur

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes. 

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pjclinch | 6 years ago
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repel rain and road spray without compromising breathability

There is, inevitably, a catch...

"Breathability" is, in this instance, going to be the air permeability, and if all else is equal more is better so not compromising it is what we want, but what people typically perceive as "breathability" is lack of clamminess, much of which is to do with how well liquid water is transported away from the skin.  In fabrics like this exactly the same coating that stops rain soaking in to the outside and moving through to get you wet will be preventing your sweat soaking in and moving through to evaporate, with the result that it feels clammier than a fabric without the treated fibres when you start sweating, despite the air permeability being unchanged. 

For maximum dispersion and evaporation of sweat you want to allow the water droplets to soak in and move through, while this one works by keeping water droplets as beads which can't move in to or through the weave so easily.

The Epic treatment looks similar to this one, and it works well but is prey to this issue.  It's been around afor a few years (Vulpine's jackets are good examples) and while it does what's claimed it's not quite as wonderful as the headlines suggest and consequently hasn't taken the world by storm.

So you can't quite have your cake and eat it, because physics, but having said that this sort of thing is typically a Win in dreich conditions and a useful addition to the clothing armoury.  But not the Weapon of Choice on a nice day.

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Eddy4682 replied to pjclinch | 6 years ago
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Quote:

"Breathability" is, in this instance, going to be the air permeability, and if all else is equal more is better so not compromising it is what we want, but what people typically perceive as "breathability" is lack of clamminess, much of which is to do with how well liquid water is transported away from the skin.  

 

Breathability has a pretty clear definition, it's the movement of moisture vapour through a material.

What you are describing is wicking. If the fabric was going to be used in lightweight summer base layers and jerseys, wicking may be an important factor - as it is used in bibtights, arm & leg warmers water repellency is far more important. 

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