Thanks so much for your innovative and toasty-warm VaprThrm® products! I have lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for the past twenty-four years and have tested equipment and fabric for several national outdoor corporations during that time. VaprThrm® is the most significantly-advanced technology that I have used in that time span. I have raced in at least one (100 to 350 mile) Alaskan Iditarod Trail event each winter since 1988. This year my wife Gail, my brother Steve and I had a distinct advantage because we wore your VaprThrm® products. We were so impressed by the performance of VaprThrm® that we consider ourselves privileged to have used your products in the several days of continuous aerobic racing in sub-Arctic temperatures. We are now aware of the unique thermal value of VaprThrm® technology and can be added to the list of the "converted"—those who know—"Get VaprThrm® or get cold!"
As you know, racing to win, in the freezing sub-Arctic conditions, requires careful planning and the best equipment. I will never again race in a cold-weather event without VaprThrm ®. Your VaprThrm® insulator boot liners kept my feet warmer and more comfortable during February 2005’s 350-mile race, than during any of my previous sixteen years of racing. My feet were warm, dry and there was no moisture transfer through. My hands were warmer in your VaprThrm® Ultralight mittens than in non-VaprThrm®mittens twice as thick and twice as heavy.
The VaprThrm® shirt is an equally revolutionary garment. I wore nothing but your 10 ounce VaprThrm® shirt (directly against my skin) during the three and a half day (350 mile) race. When temperatures dipped below 5°F (it hit -20°) then I put on either a six ounce windbreaker for added insulation, or a medium-weight, pile-type jacket and the windbreaker. I never needed more than that. Part of the beauty and versatility of the VaprThrm® system is that it’s windproof. The windproof shirt, worn right against the skin, keeps a ‘micro-climate’ on the inside. When I got too hot from high aerobic output I simply pulled the zipper down to compensate. With the VaprThrm® shirt my outer insulation never got wet. My experience over the years is that semi-penetrative membrane garments absolutely do not work for high aerobic output in very cold temperatures. The fabric can’t pass all the moisture, and what does pass through turns to frost. But worse, is the moisture that remains on the inside, soon turns to ice. Over many hours this becomes increasingly dangerous, as this ice cools the body. VaprThrm® avoids this danger by creating a micro-climate inside the shirt that cannot pass through the fabric: it does not produce moisture on the exterior of the garment, therefore no body-cooling ice can form; the moisture within the micro-climate remains warm and insulative. Excess heat and moisture can be purged simply by using the zipper opening.
There are so many benefits using VaprThrm® that I hesitate to tell my competitors. The advantages I found are as follows: significant reduction of clothing weight, increased comfort, better temperature regulation, no wetting of outer insulating layers and enhanced personal safety. VaprThrm® garments also conserve the body’s water, which means less to carry! Excellent! VaprThrm® garments rule because, quite frankly, evaporative cooling kills and your VaprThrm® products essentially stop evaporative cooling.
Thanks again for your revolutionary VaprThrm ®. For any extended time in the cold, I’ll never leave home without it.
Rocky Reifenstuhl
Fairbanks, Alaska
Arctic Racer, Rocky Reifenstul, says "there are so many benefits using VaprThrm® I hestitate to tell my competitors
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