Tech Tuesday: Dermizax- EV

At KJUS we often say that the best part about our garments are invisible, and one of the more difficult to understand is the waterproof, breathable technology we use- Entrant Dermizax- EV from Toray. At recent clinics we had lots of questions about Dermizax and it was apparent that it's a somewhat mis-understood technology.

Dermizax-EV is a hydrophilic non-porous membrane- or in terms that are understandable it's a water loving film with no holes in it. The reason that technologies like Dermizax are hard to understand is that it "operates" at a molecular level and not physical.

Kenny at Toray USA put it like this "It breathes by moving water molecules through molecular openings in the membrane.

Basically it breathes by "absorbing" vapor molecules on one side and releasing it on the other side. The benefit of this structure is that in very high activity it is able to reduce condensation and feel more comfortable because of the hydrophilic membrane ability to effectively deal with the high level of humidity inside the garment."

The question we get most often is how is it different from Gore-Tex and why don't you use a Gore product? As stated above, Dermizax is a non-porous film, while Gore-Tex is a porous technology- has holes. The holes are large enough for water vapor to pass, but too small for water in a liquid state to pass through.

As for the second half of the question, in our tests Dermizax EV had better results and it is highly elastic and so it pairs very well with the stretch fabrics that we use, as well as being very lightweight, waterproof, and breathable.

You can learn more about Dermizax EV and Gore-Tex at their respective websites. For more detailed information on all waterproof technologies here is a great resource: https://www2.hcmut.edu.vn/~ptquan/congnghegiacongsoihh/handbookoftechnicaltextile/25F3A0ABA9AC8264FED602081E1ECA3.pdf