BRUNTON S PLAY TO TAP INTO THE SUN S ENERGY IS WARMING UP A MARKET FEW THOUGHT EXISTED. PORTABLE POWER BY TOM PRICE

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Derrick Evans
5 years ago
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AND THAT AGGRESSIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOPING PORTABLE RENEWABLE ENERGY IS MAKING BRUNTON THE FIRST, AND SO FAR ONLY, RECOGNIZABLE COMPANY TO TAP INTO THE POTENTIAL MARKET FOR POWERING ELEC- TRONIC GEAR

1 PORTABLE POWER POWER+ UP BRUNTON S PLAY TO TAP INTO THE SUN S ENERGY IS WARMING UP A MARKET FEW THOUGHT EXISTED. when IT COMES TO PORTABLE POWER, BRUNTON IS SPREADING OUT SOLAR VOLTAIC CELLS FASTER THAN SNOW FLAKES IN A BLIZZARD. AND THAT AGGRESSIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOPING PORTABLE RENEWABLE ENERGY IS MAKING BRUNTON THE FIRST, AND SO FAR ONLY, RECOGNIZABLE COMPANY TO TAP INTO THE POTENTIAL MARKET FOR POWERING ELEC- TRONIC GEAR IN THE OUTDOORS. BY TOM PRICE While there are many who still wonder if the greater public is ready for or even cares about portable power in the outdoors, John Smithbaker, president and CEO of Brunton, cites the bottom line as proof they are. It is probably in the top of our fastest-growing categories, Smithbaker said. It bridges all markets family camping, outdoor, marine, you name it. It s expanding pretty fast. While the idea of creating tools to run portable electronics may seem to make sense now, Smithbaker said, when I first brought up the idea internally, people giggled. But he stuck with it, correctly reasoning that with laptops, lights, cell phones and other electronic gear becoming more and more prevalent in the field, the ability to replace single-use batteries with rechargeable solar power had huge potential. His hunch has paid off: In just 18 months, the company has created a whole new market sector portable power and a slew of products. We are up on the curve now of combining tradeoff between cost, size and functionality. The larger the panel, the more power, but it also increases size and weight. I think we have that equation maximized, but not out of people s price range, Smithbaker said. Because it s a new sector, continual consumer and retail education is required. For example, with only two exceptions, the power generators recharge batteries, rather than running products outright. The exceptions are the massive Solaris (retail $399), a tri-fold 25-watt panel, which works in concert with the SOLO ($639) to both store power and convert it to 110 volts. The other product that s plug and play is the new-at- Summer-Market SolarRoll ($399), a flexible, 14-watt solar panel. Right now we re using rigid solar panels, but with the SolarRoll, you can put it on the side of your tent, and then roll it + up like a paper towel, Smithbaker told GearTrends. It s also durable and waterproof. The SolarRoll was specifically designed to run a SAT phone, which should make it popular with all kinds of globe-trotting travelers. Meanwhile, Brunton is upgrading the popular SolarPort to 4.4 watts, which will also include a USB port. While other companies are making rigid solar panels, no one else is doing portable. We re not beating our heads against the wall with a dozen competitors, but that s not to say Brunton s not having problems. In the year and half since we ve started, we now have over 600 dealers and several large chains. Everything comes with headaches, and this comes with all the good headaches, like keeping enough products in the supply chain to keep customers and retailers happy. Who knows, with problems like that, it may not be too long before other companies see the light, and jump in with their own portable power plants. 96» THE BOOK» SUMMER

2 Leg.Pwr.Fabs 7/23/03 1:32 AM Page 97

3 FABRICS FABRIC AND FIBER TRENDS ARE SEEKING TO APPEAL TO A MORE DEMANDING AND INCREASINGLY ACTIVE CONSUMER. a result, communication of C L E A N I N G the feature benefits, in a simple, understandable and easily OUT digested format, is more critical than ever. MAKE IT A SOFT SHELL Soft shell, softshell, or softshell (the hyphenated term now a Schoeller trademark that no one really appears to notice) is a category that continues to morph and search for an identity that consumers will support. Price points are coming down, thankfully, for those garments that offer comfort, varying degrees of insulation, wind-resistance and waterresistance. As a result, con- an THE CLOSET sumers are responding. EPISODE OF But more changes are on the Monster House horizon. Those suppliers that got me thinking. With no closet offer seam-taped and waterproof technologies, including space remaining to store that W.L. Gore, Event and now millionth shell jacket, I imagined DuPont with Aquator Weather the show s mad-scientist builders throwing up a threestory Protection Systems, are working very hard to address the closet with an elevator. softshell category with stretch- BY MICHAEL HODGSON able, comfortable and fully Yeah, that d do the trick. waterproof yet highly breathable Wisely, we ve decided it s easier to just narrow the wardrobe to a few pieces that take us everywhere. But, we re not the only ones rethinking our duds. This one-for-all approach was one of the trends that popped up when I checked in with the fabric gurus at Event, Gore-Tex, Schoeller, Wellman, Noble Fiber (X-Static), DuPont, Polartec, 3M (Thinsulate), Outlast and Primaloft. We asked them what today s consumers are demanding, and what they would suggest to meet those demands. that. Closets are, after all, limited in size. The jacket they are wearing on a hike needs to be the jacket they wear to watch the kids play soccer, to work in the yard, stroll for morning coffeeor shop at the mall. This clothing, which serves many purposes, must be technical yet stylish. Oh, and lest we forget that consumers are a demanding lot, they also want their garments to be softer, quieter, lighter and sport a more flattering silhouette. As a direct result, synthetic insulations have become more quiet, softer and silkier to the touch, resulting in better drape and improved performance. Thinsulate and Primaloft insulations are being embraced in garments, footwear, gloves, hats and, of course, sleeping bags. MAKE IT DURABLE Light and fast movement is driving developments of fabrics emphasizing durability-per-ounce. In other words, lightweight is great, but only if it will last or hold up to the daily abrasion of garments. If a supplier can come up with a garment technology that fits within the softshell paradigm admittedly a moving target and will mean consumers will only need one garment for all weather and climate conditions, that s not such a bad thing is it? MAKE IT FASHIONABLE More attention is being paid to fashion, and it is about time. The fashion industry is embracing technologies previously thought to be the exclusive domain of the outdoor marketplace, and gaining consumer rewards as a result. MAKE IT VERSATILE It is becoming increasingly clear that active outdoorfocused consumers are losing patience with having to purchase one garment for this and another garment for pack straps, snags from branches and underbrush, and tears and scuffs from simply being worn by outdoor athletes. DuPont s new Lycra T-400, in tandem with polyester-based fabrics, offers better fit, increased tear- and abrasion-resistance, less shrinkage and, for the fashion conscious, it s also wrinkle-resistant. So many companies are offering proprietary fabrics in their light and fast garments as well as hardgoods it is tough to keep up. As They re doing this because our technologies improve performance for lifestyle garments. Hmmm, think a touch of fashion can draw attention and consumer excitement for a traditionally function- 98» THE BOOK» SUMMER PHOTO COURTESY OF PRIMALOFT

focused industry? For the 2004/2005 seasons, metal and matte sheen are back. Pattern mixes are in, with textured and smooth surfaces combined in one fabric.

Also, look for synthetic fabrics that mimic the look and feel of wool, underscoring the increasing popularity of wool at the retail level in the last year.

4 focused industry? For the 2004/2005 seasons, metal and matte sheen are back. Pattern mixes are in, with textured and smooth surfaces combined in one fabric. Most everyone believes that warm earth tones, combined with lighter base colors and multicolor arrangements, will be the trend. Also, look for synthetic fabrics that mimic the look and feel of wool, underscoring the increasing popularity of wool at the retail level in the last year. MAKE IT MOTHER NATURE-PROOF Fabrics that ward off the effects of living with Mother Nature will continue to gain traction. The properties found in antiodor (for the fabric, not the user) and anti-bacterial fabrics will be finding their way into insulations. Silver-impregnated fibers, such as those by X-Static, reportedly offer increased insulation at less weight, anti-static properties to reduce fiber migration, odor-fighting properties, and the ability to fight bacteria, which breaks down insulations. Fabrics that fight off stains and are easier to clean, including a very interesting development from Schoeller utilizing a treatment called NanoSphere, are also being developed and you ll see those on the market this year. Outlast finally appears to be learning to communicate the message of temperature management and more manufacturers are beginning to embrace the technology as a result. If you haven t yet heard of Wellman s Holofiber because you ve been hanging out in the basement too much, you will. Lab and medical studies have shown that the fiber actually helps to increase oxygenated blood flow which, as one would surmise, is said to help increase athletic performance. Wickers and SuperFeet are big believers already. MAKE IT SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE Over the last year, retailers and consumers have bombarded GearTrends with s and calls declaring they re fed up with fabric technologies that are difficult to understand and fail to deliver on claims and promises. Perception is king, and lab tests proving one fabric is better be damned. The reality is a shopping world filled with choices of good, better and best. The best had better deliver clearly on the multitude of claims, from climate control to waterproofness, fit, design and comfort. If it doesn t perform, consumers will simply opt for good enough and choose the garment with the lowest price.» THE BOOK» SUMMER

5 FABRICS Fill power, shill power. Browse the catalogs of sleeping bag manufacturers, and you ll see fill power claims from 650 all the way up to 900. Just about every company claims at least 800-plus fill power, with many claiming 850-plus. The North Face joins Marmot this year in claiming 900. What s curious is that just six years ago, 850 fill power was considered the Holy Grail and virtually unattainable except in very limited quantities. That was the consensus of several experts, including Randy Verniers, director of hardgoods and R&D for Marmot; Wilford Lieber, president of the International Down and Feather Laboratory and Institute (IDFL); and Gary Schaezlein, president of Western Mountaineering. So how on earth can there be such an apparent abundance of down with exceptionally higher fill powers? Did global warming or a change in diet cause geese to sprout volumes of higher grade down in the last five years? Actually, it s a numbers game. We ve read and heard claims that manufacturers have, through extensive personal research and investigation, unearthed exclusive supplies that come only from private farms thus the reason that fill power claims are dramatically higher. Other assertions are equally creative, leaving us to wonder as one of our writers, Clyde Soles, intimated in an article in this magazine if the marketing departments of some manufacturers aren t actually out there hand-plucking down. What s really happened, according to Lieber, is that fill power numbers have been gradually creeping up over the last five years. He says several of the world s major down suppliers have managed to refine the way they collect, separate, wash and treat the large clusters of down. While fill powers of 800 and more are now quite commonplace, Lieber is quick to point out that, with very few exceptions, any claim of 900 fill power is simply not legitimate. We believe that several of our clients, WHAT S UP IS DOWN THE FILL POWER CLAIMS FOR DOWN ARE SOARING. DO CERTAIN LAB TESTS FLUFF THE NUMBERS? including Marmot, have a lock on the 900 power fill supply in the sleeping bag and down jacket market, Lieber told GearTrends. We are very skeptical that any other 900 fill power claims are accurate. The general assumption is that fill power correlates with better quality of down, and on the surface that is essentially true. The higher power fill the down is, the bigger the down clusters and the better the warmth to weight ratio. Less down will fill more space and when combined with super light and downproof fabrics such as Pertex, the overall weight for a sleeping bag dips even as the temperature rating remains the same. What s in a number? You may be wondering how companies arrive at a fill power number. In the United States, labs use the cylinder method to determine a number that indicates the volume that one ounce of down will fill. So, an 800 fill power means that one ounce of down fills 800 cubic inches of volume. But here s the rub depending on the test used, the fill power for a sample of down from the same lot can vary widely. There are three tests that can occur: Box Conditioning, where the down is placed in a climate-controlled box for three to five days to loft before testing; Tumble Dry where the down is tumble dried before box conditioning this test is International Down and Feather Bureau (IDFB) approved as a worldwide standard; and Water Rinse, where the down is first water rinsed in a home washer, then tumble dried, and then box conditioned. (Water rinsing is not an approved standard.) One supplier shared certified results of recent tests from IDFL. Tests from the same sample were evaluated using both the box conditioning method and the tumble dry method. Standard conditioning garnered a fill power of 850. Adding the tumble dry test raised that sample to a fill power of 890. If the manufacturer that shared its tests with us had opted for the water rinse test, it could have raised the fill power of his samples to 905, according to Lieber. But that manufacturer will have none of it, and claims only 850-plus in its literature. The problem is not with the tests. The logic behind the tests is scientifically sound. Consider that the circulation of air, coupled with warmth and humidity, will open up a down cluster, meaning that fill power will actually increase for a jacket when it is worn or a sleeping bag when slept in. By tumble drying samples, the testing labs attempt to restore the down samples to the original loft that was claimed prior to them being compressed in bales, shipped and then blown into chambers or baffles. The IDFL also offers the washing test, because Lieber believes that by first water conditioning, he can more accurately reflect the original testing numbers a supplier uses. However, there are no controls on which number a manufacturer can actually claim, so even Lieber acknowledges that very often, power fill claims in catalogs and on hangtags aren t necessarily comparing apples to apples. Things to remember: Retailers should first insist on knowing what tests manufacturers are using to arrive at their power fill numbers. Second, retailers shouldn t get caught up in the power rush to boast higher power fill numbers. Any power fill rating above 750 is very, very good, and the difference between 750 and 900 power fill is so imperceptible that it is very unlikely the consumer will ever know the difference, Lieber told GearTrends. Finally, it is very important that you pass on to your consumers that regular care and cleaning of their down products will help to maintain the power fill values. The IDFL recommends the following:» 1. Regular shaking and lofting of down sleeping bags and jackets (don t ever store them stuffed).» 2. Simply tumble drying a jacket or sleeping bag will add warmth and air circulation to the down and help the clusters to loft.» 3. Washing the down in plain water or a very mild down soap will add moisture and then tumble drying will add warmth and air circulation restoring the original loft. PHOTO COURTESY OF PRIMALOFT 100» THE BOOK» SUMMER

SHOULD YOU INHALE? EPA report sparks concern over products made with PFOA, including PTFE laminates for waterproof/breathable outerwear.

its acronym PFOA, and sometimes by C-8. The report has helped fuel suspicion that products containing PFOA may produce vapors that cause illness.

They are everywhere in our lives electrical wires, carpets, plumbing, food wrappers, ski wax and, yes, outdoor waterproof/breathable garments using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) laminates commonly

6 SHOULD YOU INHALE? EPA report sparks concern over products made with PFOA, including PTFE laminates for waterproof/breathable outerwear. On April 14, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency released a preliminary risk assessment report expressing concern over the widely used chemical perfluorooctanoic acid, more commonly known by its acronym PFOA, and sometimes by C-8. The report has helped fuel suspicion that products containing PFOA may produce vapors that cause illness. PFOA is used in the manufacturing process of Teflon products known as fluoropolymers. They are everywhere in our lives electrical wires, carpets, plumbing, food wrappers, ski wax and, yes, outdoor waterproof/breathable garments using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) laminates commonly known as Gore-Tex. While fluoropolymers cannot be manufactured without the use of PFOA according to EPA documentation, finished products are not expected to contain PFOA. Why all the hoopla? An organization called the Environmental Working Group has pointed out cases where people have fallen ill when they used PTFE tape before smoking. Others got sick inhaling vapors from perfluorinated hydrocarbon ski waxes. Front-page stories in major papers across the country, including USA Today, carried headlines highlighting the Teflon risk, and mentioned Gore-Tex, DuPont and Teflon in the first paragraph. Our sister publication, SNEWS ( received s by the dozen asking us to investigate, with more than just a few Gore-Tex competitors gleefully touting the news and pressing us to run major feature stories. But this isn t just about Gore-Tex, gang. Any ski wax or PTFE laminate, and that includes Event, is subject to the scientific review. Even the EPA is very clear that, to date, there is no empirical data that would prove that products manufactured with PFOA are hazardous. The EPA has said it does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related products. Of course, GearTrends suspects that if you got the urge to roll and smoke your PTFE jacket, or stick your head over a vat of melted ski wax and breathe deeply, some adverse health affects might be realized. However, until the EPA completes its process which involves public hearings and scientific testing we heartily suggest that everyone take the foot off the panic accelerator for a while. Exped, Seattle, introduces Skylight, a solar-powered, rechargeable LED. Made in Switzerland from high quality components, the case is an impact-resistant material that makes Skylight weather-proof. The eco-friendly lithium battery charges in any light and burns brightly up to 3 hours. The beam is visible at 1/2 mile and boasts an average 8 candlepower rating. With its onoff, multi-function switch, Skylight offers additional power mode features. And, Skylight weighs just 0.7 ounce. For information, contact Carl Brody at or cb@exped.com.» THE BOOK» SUMMER

WATERPROOF/BREATHABLE TECHNOLOGIES

WATERPROOF/BREATHABLE TECHNOLOGIES Life Time Warranty We warrant every product we make to be free of manufacturer defects. Should you have a warranty issue, return the item to us. We will repair it if possible or replace all valid warranty