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Hydroweave - The fabric designed with Cool in mind

A breakthrough in the fight against heat and body stress

AquaTex is the manufacturer of Hydroweave ‘performance enhancing’ fabrics. This newly patented evaporative cooling technology provides a versatile composite fabric to be used in a wide variety of consumer and industrial heat stress cooling apparel applications.

Hydroweave technology improves the performance and endurance of the wearer by reducing the amount of energy wasted cooling the body and battling heat stress. Harnessing the power of evaporation, Hydroweave actively cools the wearer while helping to maintain core body temperature, provide comfort, enhance performance, and help eliminate the hazards of working, playing, and competing in high heat stress environments.

Hydroweave was designed to meet the needs of a broad range of commercial and industrial cooling requirements. A multipurpose fabric, its lightweight construction makes it ideally suited for a wide variety of garment applications. Hydroweave’s simple appearance belies its high-tech construction, which delivers long-lasting evaporative cooling while keeping the wearer dry. This package provides durability, separates the wearer from moisture, and acts as the critical conduit for exchanging user heat with cooling comfort.

The technology

Hydroweave is a revolutionary, newly patented “performance enhancing” (PE) composite fabric, representing the first real breakthrough in personal cooling technology.

Hydroweave technology improves the performance and endurance of the wearer by reducing the amount of energy wasted cooling the body and battling heat stress. Harnessing the power of evaporation, Hydroweave actively cools the wearer while helping to maintain core body temperature, provide comfort, enhance performance, and help eliminate the hazards of working, playing, and competing in high heat environments.

About Hydroweave

• Hydroweave is a lightweight, flexible fabric, used to manufacture a wide-range of personal cooling garments and products.
• Only Hydroweave uses the patented, 3-layer evaporative cooling technology developed by AquaTex Industries, Inc.
• Fast, easy five-minute activation
• Soaking Hydroweave in water for five minutes activates the cooling process * Hydroweave’s advanced fibrous batting (PolySorb, AraSorb) captures and evenly distributes water throughout the entire garment. Because Hydroweave has a finite water absorption capability - it cannot be over soaked.
• As water evaporates from Hydroweave’s fibrous batting it actively cools the wearer while its shell and lining keep the wearer dry and comfortable.
• Cools ‘dry’ without the feel of moisture or gelatin.
• Delivers up to eight hours of cooling comfort.
• Easily reactivated.
• Thermally conductive, wickable inner lining allows body heat to escape.
• Hydroweave is available in a variety of outer shell fabrics and colors to support a wide range of applications.
• Garments made of Hydroweave are rugged, reusable, and machine-washable.
• Flame-Resistant Hydroweave is available for protection from flame and as a barrier to radiant heat sources.
• Meets or exceeds NFPA, SFI, and TPP specifications.
• Can be used to construct a variety of products without the limitations of loose granular polymers, ice-packs, phase change or capillary products.

The Construction

Hydroweave is a Performance Enhancing (PE) fabric that cools through evaporation. Designed with three layers, when soaked in water the middle layer absorbs and holds moisture. As the water evaporates from this layer, Hydroweave cools the wearer while its shell and lining keep the wearer dry.

Outer shell

The breathable outer shell can be made from a variety of fabrics and colors to address a wide range of applications. Since the technology behind Hydroweave is active evaporative cooling, the shell must be breathable to allow moisture to evaporate from the batting. An ideal Hydroweave shell fabric breathes well, but absorbs very little water. Commonly used shell fabrics include:

Poly/Cotton - A balance of breathability, durability, and cost.

EcoSpun - A very durable poly/nylon fabric with low water-absorption characteristics made from recycled soft drink bottles.

Synthetics & Blends - Polyesters, nylons or the combination.

TuffWeld - A special blend of Lenzing FR and Kevlar makes TuffWeld a very durable fabric that is breathable, flame resistant, and readily sheds molten metal splash/slag.

Nomex - The industry standard for flame-resistant applications, Nomex combines good durability with the breathability and low water-absorption characteristics needed in a Hydroweave shell fabric.

Absorbent batting

Hydroweave’s batting is a combination of super-absorbent polymer fibers that are blended into a fibrous batting to enhance the evaporative process. The special water-retaining fibers in the batting charge quickly and deliver a slow, controlled release of moisture, enabling hours of cooling comfort. Two types of batting are available. Custom blends and thicknesses are available to meet specific cooling requirements.

• PolySorb - A blend of polyester and super water-absorbent polymer fibers

PolySorb is the heart of Hydroweave NFR (non-flame-resistant) products and is available separately for special construction requirements.

h AraSorb - A blend of flame-resistant (aramid) fibers and super water-absorbent polymer fibers. AraSorb is the heart of Hydroweave FR (flame-resistant) products and is available separately for special construction requirements.

Conductive lining

The inner lining is a conductive barrier that keeps the wearer dry and readily carries heat into the Hydroweave batting. This layer allows perspiration to escape while conducting cooling to the body. The liner keeps moisture away from the wearer, is permeable to body vapor, and readily conducts the cooling from Hydroweave’s batting to the wearer. Hydroweave is available with the following linings:

• Nylon taffeta - This lining is not a membrane and does not keep the wearer as dry as other configurations. Nylon taffeta eliminates the need for a substrate, providing a durable, cost-effective finish where dampness is not a concern.
• Polyurethane - Available in FR and NFR varieties with high MVTR (moisture vapor transfer rate) in a proven product routinely used for glove and shoe linings. Hydroweave laminates polyurethane to its standard products sealing all stitching on quilted goods. Polyurethane keeps the wearer dry, providing top performance and durability.

Three layer design

Hydroweave’s patented three-layer design starts by combining special hydrophilic fibers (fibers that attract water) and hydrophobic fibers (fibers that reject water) into a fibrous batting core. The batting is sandwiched between a breathable outer shell fabric and a thermally conductive, inner lining. This package provides durability, separates the wearer from moisture, and acts as the critical conduit for exchanging user heat with cooling comfort.

Soaking Hydroweave in water for five minutes activates the cooling process, charging the hydrophilic fibers with moisture. The hydrophobic fill evenly distributes and surrounds the charged fibers with air, creating an ideal environment for evaporation. When moisture in the batting evaporates, heat is removed, cooling the surrounding area while the conductive lining transfers cooling to the wearer. When in contact with the wearer’s skin heat passes directly from the body to Hydroweave based on the difference in temperature between the body and the garment. The heat that transfers to Hydroweave is released to the outside environment by evaporation of the water in the garment. Because of the even distribution of water-absorbent polymer throughout Hydroweave’s batting, cooling is provided evenly throughout the entire garment and can continue to cool for up to eight hours depending on the degree of garment contact, environmental conditions, wearer physical activity, and type of outer clothing worn.

Hydroweave - Cooling the body

Conductive cooling occurs when heat passes directly from the body to Hydroweave based on the difference in temperature between the body and the garment. Evaporative cooling occurs when water evaporates from the surface with the surface becoming cooler because of the heat that is absorbed by changing a liquid into a vapor. Whereas the cooling effects from conductive cooling are limited, evaporative cooling provides considerably more heat removal than conduction alone. There is little impact of the water temperature in Hydroweave on the effectiveness of cooling. Even when the water absorbed by the garment becomes warmer from conduction of heat from the wearer’s body, evaporative cooling is provided at nearly undiminished levels.

The effectiveness of this cooling is dependent on the amount of moisture in the air or relative humidity. At low-to-moderate relative humidity, more evaporation can take place and garments made of Hydroweave are more effective in cooling the wearer.

Hydroweave is quilted or bonded together and offered with a variety of shell and liner fabrics to give the clothing designer an array of design choices.

Standard applications include:

Policemen
Road crews
Construction workers
Airport ground personnel
Lawn maintenance crews
Sport and field applications.

How does Hydroweave cool the body?

Hydroweave functions as an evaporative heat-sink. The water stored in Hydroweave’s batting evaporates to cool the wearer. Coolness naturally migrates to warm areas and Hydroweave’s conductive lining facilitates the transfer of the cooling to the body.

It works even in fully enclosed applications When used under a barrier suit or beneath body armor, Hydroweave is an effective passive heat-sink. In tests at Auburn University, vests made of Hydroweave were activated with tap water and placed on subjects beneath a protective barrier suit. In this tests the subjects walked on a treadmill until a 2 degree centigrade rise in core body temperature was detected. Students wearing vests made from Hydroweave were able to continue work an average of 16.7% longer than those without a cooling vest.

Hydroweave FR

For flame resistant (FR) applications, Hydroweave is made entirely from flame resistant materials and is manufactured with differing shell fabrics as well as different AraSorb batting blends and weights to achieve the thermal performance characteristics needed for your application. Hydroweave is ideal for the manufacture of new lightweight garments where dissipating heat has the potential to improve performance, productivity, and safety. Flame Resistant applications include:

Military applications
Firefighting
Metal and foundry workers
Racing drivers and pit crews
Chemical manufacturing environments

In temperature extremes Hydroweave demonstrates exceptional Thermal Protective Performance (TPP). Hydroweave is an effective barrier to heat, actively cooling the wearer and forming a shield to radiant heat sources. Independent testing by Intertek Testing Services determined that Hydroweave’s FR standard composite delivered a dry TPP rating of 27 and a TPP rating greater than 150 when activated, or roughly 75 seconds before injury. In a comparative study to determine the likelihood of steam injury, Hydroweave was shown to offer greater protection than conventional flame-protective fabrics, wet or dry.

Hydroweave meets or exceeds the following specifications:

NFPA 1971 SFI 3.2A/5 Dry SFI 3.2A/20 Wet TPP 27 ~ 43 Dry TPP >150 Wet

Activation

Soaking Hydroweave in water activates the cooling process. When activated, special water retaining, hydrophilic fibers in the batting capture and lock in a finite amount of water. The hydrophobic fill evenly distributes and surrounds these water-charged fibers with air, creating an ideal environment for evaporation. This combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers delivers a slow, controlled release of moisture, enabling hours of cooling comfort. There are several quick and easy ways to activate Hydroweave.

* Package Activation

* Submersion

* Machine Activation.

Package Activation method

If your Hydroweave garment came packaged in a zip-lock activation package, you can use this method to quickly and easily activate your garment. Remove the Hydroweave garment from the zip-lock activation bag. Fill the activation bag with water until it reaches the ‘Fill Line’ printed on the bag. Place the folded garment into the bag. Zip-lock the top of the activation package. Shake bag slightly and lay flat for 15-minutes. Remove the garment from the activation package. It should not be necessary to wring excess water from the garment. Wipe off any excess moisture from the inner lining (the side that you wear next to your body) with a paper towel or dry cloth.

To make a Zip-Lock activation package

If the manufacturer did not package your garment in an activation bag, you can make your own activation package by using a heavy-duty zip lock plastic bag. This bag should be large enough to hold the folded garment comfortably. The typical Hydroweave garment will need no more than 16 ounces of water to activate. The amount of water needed to activate the Hydroweave garment will depend on the size and type of garment. Fill the bag with 12 to 16 ounces of water and follow the instructions given above. To enhance the cooling effect of your Hydroweave garment, you can store the activated garment, in its zip-lock package in a refrigerator or cooler.

Note: To avoid the formation of mold, activated garments should not be left in the activation package for more than 24-hours. Hydroweave garments should thoroughly dry before storing.

Submersion method

Soak your Hydroweave garment in a sink or container of cool water for 5 minutes to charge the special absorbent fibers. Because Hydroweave has finite water-absorbing capabilities, you cannot over soak or overcharge your Hydroweave garment. Remove excess water by wringing out the garment. Towel dry the inner lining and outer shell.

Machine Activation method

To activate larger garments, blankets, and wraps, presoak in a washing machine without soap and spin dry.

Caring for Hydroweave

Hydroweave is a machine washable fabric. With proper care, your Hydroweave garments can withstand up to 200 washings.

Wash

1. Pre-treat surface stains with stain remover.

2. Presoak Hydroweave in the wash for 5 minutes to fully activate the garment.

3. Add mild detergent. Chlorine bleach should not be used.

4. Wash on gentle cycle, rinsing twice. For ready-to-use convenience, take garment directly from the wash, seal in a plastic bag, and store in a refrigerated container or ice chest.

Dry

1. Line- or machine-dry on low heat.

2. To prevent mildew, store garments only when thoroughly dried.

Where can it be used?

Products made of Hydroweave can be worn alone or layered with other products, extending its use to a broad range of applications. Look for the Hydroweave tag in performance enhancing garments for:

Medical
Fire Rescue
Motor Sports
Public Safety
Outdoor Sports
Industrial Safety