Technology and materials glossary

At Kathmandu, we use a wide range of advanced technologies and ground-breaking materials in our outdoor products. You’ll find this glossary organised in an alphabetical order for your ease of use.

bluesign® is a system that provides solutions in sustainable processing and manufacturing to industries and brands. It encourages the textile industry to increase its efforts in sustainable processes, step by step.

bluesign aims to provide safer and more sustainable environments for people to work and live in. Products that meet the bluesign criteria:

• Have the highest degree of consumer safety
• Are manufactured with the lowest possible impact on people and the environment
• Ensure responsible use of resources

You can be sure that products on our website that are described as ‘bluesign approved’ have been made with the lowest possible impact on the environment, workers and you – our customer.

Find out more about bluesign

buzzGUARD is one of the treatments we apply to some of our outdoor apparel and accessories. It’s a safe, long-lasting insect repellent that will keep biting insects like mozzies at bay.

Find out more about buzzGUARD in this Summit Club Member Review video

Circuitex™ is a smart fibre technology that enables us to integrate electronics into our apparel. Currently it lines the pockets of a select few pieces of our travel clothing to help protect your passport or credit card information.

Circuitex fabric is lightweight and flexible – and can be incorporated into wearable garments so it’s almost invisible.

Find out more about Circuitex.

Cordura™ fabric is a highly durable nylon that we’ve utilised in some of our packs and apparel. It’s well recognised for its long-lasting durability and resistance to abrasion.

Products with Cordura are generally easy to care for.

Find out more about Cordura.

For insulation with loftier aspirations, choose a down product with DownTek™ that will:

• Repel water
• Maintain loft, temperature range and packability

DownTek aims to shield insulating air-trapping down clusters from all things wet.

Find out more about DownTek.

A pioneer of textile technology, drirelease™ is part of the best performance fabrics and activewear in today’s marketplace. It’s what helps you move more comfortably – by wicking, drying, cooling and freshening.

drirelease pulls moisture away from your skin and dries fast. We’ve integrated it into a bunch of our travel and adaptable garments. In fact we have some history here, having won drirelease’s Summer 2017 Innovation Award.

Find out more about drirelease.

An eco-friendly version of drirelease™ – E.C.O. – also pulls moisture away from your skin and dries fast. It won’t wash out, diminish over time or release harmful chemicals into the environment.

Find out more about drirelease E.C.O.

Almost all our rainwear is treated with a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) finish. DWR encourages water to bead off the surface of your fabric, preventing precipitation from soaking it.

DWR does become less effective over time – due to dirt, abrasion, body oil and washing. However, you can revive your jacket’s performance easily at home.

Find out how to maintain DWR on your jacket.

EarthColors™ dyes are made from natural waste materials that can be traced back to their source – both their location and the type of waste. They’re a more environmentally friendly way of dying clothing.

We’re excited to be utilising these high performing, revolutionary dyes that are made from non-edible agricultural waste.

Find out more about our Earthcolours Range.

When you need your gear to perform in the outdoors, even under damp conditions, consider our insuLITE™ synthetic filled products. They’ll offer you:

• High thermal performance
• Low bulk insulation
• Comfort

kidsFIT is a technology we’ve created to specifically cater for children and their growing bodies. By choosing a kidsFIT pack you’ll get a:

• Harness that’s ergonomic and optimised to fit your child
• Backpack with contours that are particular to your kid’s body
• Technology that helps prevent overloading

Pertex™ Endurance technology is a perfect material as a top coat on down jackets and sleeping bags – which greatly increases their resistance to water.

This fabric technology is:

• Highly breathable
• Water and wind resistant

It’s ideal when you need a higher resistance to condensing moisture while still letting inner moisture (sweat) escape.

Pertex™ Quantum uses a tightly woven structure to provide a light and soft fabric that allows insulation to fully loft. It’s precisely constructed from incredibly fine yarns that are designed to trap still air and improve the efficiency of your insulation.

This fabric technology is:

• Lightweight
• Windproof – to help you retain warmth and keep the cold out
• Soft to the touch

Find out more about Pertex Quantum.

Pertex™ Quantum Air is a fabric technology that gives you a balance between being breathable and wind resistant.

It allows airflow through the fabric to help regulate your body heat and keep you comfy in the mountains for longer.

This fabric technology offers:

• Higher air permeability
• A balance between breathability and wind resistance
• Weather protection during intense activity

Find out more about Pertex Quantum Air.

Pertex™ Quantum Eco technology is a fabric that utilises recycled yarns while allowing your down insulation to fully loft.

It represents a commitment to using sustainable fabric design, development and production.

Find out more about Pertex technologies.

Pertex™ Quantum Diamond Fuse technology is a fabric that’s made up of unique diamond-shaped filaments. These yarns are woven together to create an interlocking structure which can offer twice the abrasion resistant of a fabric woven with conventional yarns.

This fabric technology is:

• Durable
• Highly resistant to abrasion
• Stable over extended wear and washing
• Flat – which improves shedding of water

Find out more about Pertex Quantum Diamond Fuse.

When you’re planning an intense mountain pursuit, Pertex™ Shield fabric helps you move fast while staying comfortable. This fabric technology is:

• Waterproof
• Windproof
• Lightweight
• Highly breathable
• Packable

Find out more about Pertex Shield.

Remember polarfleece? Polartec™ was the inventor of the original synthetic fleece way back in 1981.

These days they create technical fabrics that are designed to be:

• Tough and durable
• Capable of effectively managing moisture

Easy to care for and ideal for outdoor activities when the weather’s changeable, Polartec fabrics are a superb addition to your outdoor gear.

Find out more about Polartec fleece.

Regulate your comfort in changing conditions with Polartec™ Alpha Direct™ insulation. It’s an evolutionary technology that eliminates the need for a backing fabric.

This fabric tech:

• Helps regulate warmth
• Is lightweight and fast drying
• Offers advanced breathability
• Compresses and is highly durable

Find out more about Polartec Alpha Direct.

Polartec™ Thermal Pro™ is a fabric technology that embraces unique textures which are highly breathable and enhance overall efficiency.

It harnesses a diverse variety of knitting techniques that create unique surface structures without sacrificing performance.

This fabric technology offers:

• Warmth and comfort without weight
• Quick drying
• Resistant to pilling
• High durability

Find out more about Polartec Thermal Pro.

It’s becoming increasingly important that we address the amount of microplastics in our oceans and landfills. Primaloft™ Bio™ fleece is a responsible, sustainable fabric that’s designed to return to nature as:

• Water
• Methane
• Biomass
• Humus
• CO2

Help reduce microplastics by choosing a product with Primaloft Bio. It’s best for the environment – a breakthrough in sustainable fabric.

Find out more about Primaloft Bio.

Recycolor is a blend of recycled cotton fibres with new organic cotton. A unique process is used that keeps the original colour of the textile’s waste without requiring any additional dyeing.

Some of the benefits of using Recycolor include:

• A more eco-friendly product – that’s better for the environment than using conventional cotton
• Saving energy – while growing and dyeing the cotton
• Not needing water or chemicals for dyeing

Find out more about Recycolor.

Billions of plastic bottles go into landfills every year – but by choosing products made with polyester created from recycled plastic bottles (like REPREVE™), you’ll be actively making a difference.

At Kathmandu, we’ve been recycling plastic bottles into our gear for more than 20 years. We currently prefer utilising REPREVE which is a performance technology that’s heading in the right direction for a more sustainable future.

Find out more about REPREVE.

Our insulation products contain down that’s 100 percent certified under the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) – which protects an animal’s ‘five freedoms’.

What this means is that our down is followed closely from the farm to the final product. It’s a by-product of the consumption of geese and ducks, and as a customer you can be confident that due to RDS, these birds live healthy lives without suffering pain or distress.

Find out more about Responsible Down Standard.

At Kathmandu, we’re proud to be part of a collaborative industry group delivering the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). It ensures that the wool we use in our apparel comes from progressive approaches to land and sheep management.

The standard has two key areas which are:

• To protect animal welfare
• To preserve land health

Find out more about the Responsible Wool Standard.

If you decide to keep your valuables on your body, you may want the added security of RFID blocking accessories to help prevent digital theft. RFIDtech will help keep your passport and credit card information safe.

RFIDtech is used as a wireless way of transmitting information from a chip to a scanner (or reader). An RFID scanner needs to be in close proximity to a chip in order to read its radio waves.

Whether RFIDtech is hidden in a pouch, belt bag, travel wallet or a safe pocket in your clothes, it can be your extra barrier of protection.

Find out more about RFIDtech.

Ecodown™ is a synthetic insulation that can keep you warm, even in damp conditions – and Thermore™ is a leading player in the field.

Ecodown is created from 100% recycled polyester by breaking down plastic bottles into resin, then giving them a new life as polyester fibres.

Compared to traditional down, a jacket with synthetic fill has some significant advantages, such as:

• Keeping you insulated, even in slightly damp conditions
• Not clumping or getting cold spots after being washed
• Fast drying times

Find out more about Thermore Ecodown.

The Woolmark™ brand is the global authority on wool – it works alongside Australian woolgrowers to research, develop and certify Australian wool.

Woolmark is a commitment between woolgrowers, brands and consumers on the authenticity and quality of the wool. When you see products bearing the iconic Woolmark logo, you can trust that the wool has quality, is authentic and offers value.

Find out more about Woolmark certification.