The decision to ban PFAS-based chemicals from clothing was welcome for a number of reasons. While they do offer some excellent performance characteristics – especially in hi-tech, weatherproof clothing – these ‘forever’ chemicals can take 1,000 years to decompose and find their way into the life-cycle of living organisms, including the human body.
But what’s good for the planet in general terms might not necessarily be good for cyclists in specific moments when they find themselves excessively hot, or cold, or wet. So cycle clothing manufacturers and companies such as Polartec – who produce the high-performance fabric from which manufacturers make their garments – have been innovating at never-seen-before levels to come up with new solutions to the age-old question of keeping riders comfortable.
Hardcore AirCore
One of the first fruits of this endeavour is Polartec’s brand new AirCore fabric.
AirCore, which has been developed for Castelli in partnership with Polartec, has been described as rewriting the gold standard of what high-performance cycling gear can do. It offers both water repellency from the outside but also allows incredible levels of breathability, and therefore protection from perspiration.
Steve Smith, head of cycling at Castelli’s parent company, MVC Group, even went so far as to say: “It’s hard to fully explain how revolutionary AirCore fabric is. Its properties achieve something that’s never been done before.”
So what can it do? Firstly, let’s deal with weatherproofing, which is where those pesky PFAS chemicals really had in impact. In AirCore’s case, though, it is both essentially windproof and essentially waterproof – testing has shown rain would need to fall with 6.25 times more force than it usually does to permeate the fabric – without needing any PFAS.
Why use the word ‘essentially’? Well, in real-world conditions, AirCore’s abilities to hold back the wind and rain are truly impressive. However, unlike most other weatherproof fabrics, AirCore is not completely impermeable.
Instead, it has been engineered to let in a very small, almost imperceptible amount of air. This leads to its ‘revolutionary’ breathability, with the air picking up perspiration-induced moisture and carrying it outside the garment, ensuring riders stay dry.
Unique approach
The technology used to engineer this performance is unique. The AirCore membrane is produced via a process called ‘electrospinning’, where a hydrophobic proprietary polymer is pushed through a hypodermic needle charged at 20,000 volts. Under pressure, it emits a thin jet of microscopic filaments – approximately 100 times smaller than a human hair – which fall like snow to create an incredibly tight membrane that still allows air to permeate it.
The end result, Steve Smith at Castelli says: “has far exceeded what we ever thought possible. Not only have we developed a fabric that is off-the-charts in terms of breathability, it is also highly water repellent, lightweight and windproof, as well as being incredibly stretchy and comfortable.”
So let’s look at a trio of trailblazing garments that are the first to go into production with AirCore fabric.
Castelli Perfetto RoS 3 Jacket Men, Women – £280
Available in both men and women-specific designs, the Perfetto RoS 3 jacket is cut for comfort and speed, but now with the added element of AirCore breathability and weatherproofing.
While the ability of the AirCore fabric is the obvious star of the show, the Perfetto RoS 3 does come with some other important additional features, such as: reflective taped shoulder seams for extra rain protection; zipped ventilation openings on the sides of the chest; top-and-bottom opening YKK Vislon main front zip for easy sliding, with additional wind and rain protection cover; three rear pockets with drain holes; longer tail to protect from wheel spray; reflective detailing at the pocket bottoms; and a high collar to guard against drafts.
The men’s Perfetto RoS 3 jacket is available in the following four colourways: Rich Red/Black Reflex, Light Black/Silver Reflex, Mocha/Black Reflex, Pool Blue/Black Reflex.
The women’s Perfetto RoS 3 jacket is available in Hibiscus/Black Reflex, Pool Blue/Black Reflex, Mango Mojito/Black Reflex, and Light Black/Silver Reflex.
Castelli Alpha 150 Jacket Men, Women – £360
Castelli markets its Alpha 150 Jacket – again available in dedicated male and female fits – as being simply: “The ultimate winter jacket.”
It’s easy to see why the brand can say this with some confidence. Along with the groundbreaking outer layer of weatherproof and breathable AirCore, the Alpha 150 uses Polartec’s awesome Alpha inner liner, for heightened insulation with minimal excess weight, along with excellent moisture management.
In addition, there’s a double-opening front to allow independent ventilation of the AirCore and Alpha layers; a top and bottom-opening YKK Vislon zipper with weather-protective cover; a high collar and double cuffs for extra warmth; a convenient zipped key or money pocket on front side; three rear pockets; and reflective piping at bottom of pockets.
Built to excel in temperatures ranging from -2 to 10°C (28-50°F), this truly is the garment you want for winter riding.
The men’s Alpha 150 jacket is available in Light Black/Black, Mango Mojito/Black, Brilliant Orange/Dark Gray, and Deep Bordeaux/Clay.
The women’s Alpha 150 jacket is available in Light Black/Black, Depp Bordeaux/Brilliant Brilliant Pink, and Hibiscus/Black.
Sportful Fiandre 2 Jacket Men, Women – £240
Finally, Castelli’s sister brand, Sportful, has also got in on the AirCore action with its fantastic Fiandre 2 Jacket: the most advanced winter cycling jacket the company has ever made.
Created to meet the demands of committed cyclists riding through the coldest months of the year, the Fiandre 2 Jacket has been designed for fast-paced training or racing in windy, rainy and cold conditions.
As well as its AirCore powers, the Fiandre 2 also features a dual zip for easy ventilation on the move; pockets with object retention technology for added security; and the ability to be used all the way down to -5°C.
The men’s Fiandre 2 jacket is available in Black, Teal Blue, Bright Orange, and Gold Leaf.
The women’s Fiandre 2 jacket is available in Black, Pompelmo, and Teal Blue.
For more information about Polartec’s AirCore fabric technology, head to Polartec’s website
16 thoughts on “Polartec’s new AirCore fabric ushers in new era for breathable, weatherproof cycling clothing that doesn’t employ PFAS chemicals. We look at some of the first garments to use it”
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It’s just melt electrospun
It’s just melt electrospun polyethylene, which was developed in 1981. I’d be interested what’s proprietary about it.
PE also hangs around in the environment for decades or longer, and doesn’t really degrade. Both PE and fluoropolyers result in micro plastics, and the only marginal benefit to PE is it is more prone to chemical degradation.
I don’t think this represents massive step forward for the environment.
A brief google finds numerous
A brief google finds numerous scientific studies involving electrospinning, does not reveal any other clothes made out of electrospun textiles, and even the wikipedia article only says the method has the “potential” to be used to produce garments.
So if no-one else is using electrospinning to produce garments, then it does sound like a pretty significantly novel approach. The “proprietary” claim could relate to numerous aspects of production. The fact that electrospinning is an established technique in general is no hinderance to patenting the specific method used to produce a fabric with desirable properties for use in clothing.
I don’t know much about how it compares environmentally. I would note that concerns regarding PFAS include they are frequently released into the environment during production, and there is evidence that they are harmful to life. Long term persistence in the environment is only one part of the picture.
OnYerBike wrote:
It was actually the reference to proprietary polymer I was commenting on. Seems oxymoronic if the plastic is also recycled.
As to the rest, sure, lots of room for innovation. It’s kinda what I do for work. Mind you it took about 30 seconds to find a reference to electrospun membranes in garments from 2010 and since electrospun and expanded membranes are fairly well known alternatives, use in a garment per se wouldn’t be inventive anyway, so the innovation(s) will be fairly specific. Also behind all the marketing it’s just another option to replace expanded.PTFE, including expanded polyethylene which is also now widely used.
On production, polyolefin production isn’t exactly the poster child for cleanliness – but it’s recyclable once you’ve made it I suppose. The manufacturing issues for PTFE were mainly associated with PFOA toxiticy, but that’s been phased out. Really the bad press now is environmental longevity of the plastics themselves.
“Recycled-proprietary”
“Recycled-proprietary” oxymoron – like it! I’ll add that to my collection of marketing BS, alongside the perennial “New improved – original recipe”.
Pertex Shield Air, The North
Pertex Shield Air, The North Face Futurelight, and Outdoor Research Ascentshell are all electrospun membranes that have been available for years.
Anonymousattorney wrote:
PE is not just the polymer itself. Its ultimate properties depend on additives included in the mix, like plasticizers or UV-absorbents as well as chemicals giving it the right structure (both as individual fibers and as the final fabric).
Speaking of recyclability: even though PE is a plastic, it is recyclable. So once its lifetime is over, generally it can be recycled relatively easily. PTFE is not, period. One caveat here, though, is that we don’t know much about the recyclability of the aforementioned additives, so we what we’re reading here could just be greenwashing.
Are these ‘new’ garments
Are these ‘new’ garments designed with the pro in mind? How will they perform on the average person ? I wish I could generate the heat that a pro must do from having a stella FTP . Hell even on an endurance ride they must be somewhere near my max. What I want to know is will these jackets keep me warm when I might only be putting out 150 to 170 watts for most of my ride?
I’m prepared to believe some
I’m prepared to believe some of the hype, but not yet, at full price.
I’ve been very impressed by my ageing perfetto, and there’s always the option of a long sleeve mid layer.
I’d like some gloves in this new stuff too. My perfetto gloves are great, delicate but luxurious. More breathability for the hands would be good, sweat build up makes my hands get colder.
You can find them on ebay at
You can find them on ebay at ,£180
We’ve a review coming very
We’ve a review coming very soon on the Perfetto 3 – watch this space.
Wore mine in 6 degrees for a
Wore mine in 6 degrees for a 2 hour night ride last week, pushing out c 180 watts. Had a rab merino long sleeve on underneath, very thin. Warm enough. A little bit cold on the centre of my back, the sweatiest part, but entirely comfortable. A good mix of warmth and breathability. Certainly warmer and dryer than an endura sl goretex jacket and the same rab top.
The problem with pros is they
The problem with your reference to pros is they are extremely skinny, spend far more time in the saddle than an average casual rider and ride at much faster speeds which all together doesn’t help with retaining body heat. So I would say they are far more likely to suffer in cold temperatures than an average specimen with +20% body fat. But ultimately temperature perception is a very personal thing. I have a mate who is totally comfortable riding with no gloves for hours at dry 5 deg. C, whilst if I tried doing that my hands would be completely numb within no more than 10 mins.
You think they’d fit the
You think they’d fit the models with garments where the arms are long enough. As soon as those pictured stretch their arms out to hold handlebars they’ll get cold wet wrists. Like the woman in the first photo.
I like these winter publicity
I like these winter publicity photos where the models have jumped on the bikes for 30 seconds,with serious race faces,and haven’t got gloves on.Tougher than me !
This will be an updated
This will be an updated version of Polartecs neoshell material. I was lucky and bought gear when it first came out (mainly Sugoi) and was then discontinued, because Gore tex was trusted and household name I think ? It’s amazingly breathable ?