Clothing and kit — what they are made of
13 clothing and kit objects, broken down.
| Object | Made of |
|---|---|
| Velcro (hook and loop) | Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs. |
| Leather | Animal hide whose collagen has been chemically stabilised so it cannot rot — usually with chromium salts. |
| Gore-Tex | A stretched PTFE membrane whose pores are far too small for a raindrop and far too big for a water vapour molecule. |
| Denim | A cotton twill with indigo-dyed warp and undyed weft — the dye sits on the fibre surface, which is why it fades. |
| Helmet | A hard shell to spread the blow over a crushable polystyrene foam liner that is destroyed by one impact. |
| Bulletproof vest | Many layers of woven aramid or polyethylene fibre that catch and deform a bullet; rifle threats need a ceramic plate. |
| Zip (zipper) | Teeth of metal, moulded acetal or nylon coil on a polyester tape, forced together by a wedge inside the slider. |
| Synthetic leather | A polyurethane or PVC skin on a textile backing — including the plant-based ones, which still need a plastic binder. |
| Running shoe | A knitted synthetic upper over a foam midsole and rubber outsole — about a dozen materials, all glued together. |
| Shoe sole | A rubber outsole for grip, a foam midsole for cushioning, and increasingly no clean way to separate them. |
| Wetsuit | Closed-cell neoprene foam full of nitrogen bubbles, faced with stretch jersey — the gas insulates, not the water. |
| Life jacket | Closed-cell foam or a CO2-inflated bladder, in a nylon cover — rated in newtons of buoyancy, not in size. |
| Button | Usually cast polyester resin; the good ones are shell, nut or horn, and you can tell by touch and temperature. |
- Velcro (hook and loop) Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs.
- Leather Animal hide whose collagen has been chemically stabilised so it cannot rot — usually with chromium salts.
- Gore-Tex A stretched PTFE membrane whose pores are far too small for a raindrop and far too big for a water vapour molecule.
- Denim A cotton twill with indigo-dyed warp and undyed weft — the dye sits on the fibre surface, which is why it fades.
- Helmet A hard shell to spread the blow over a crushable polystyrene foam liner that is destroyed by one impact.
- Bulletproof vest Many layers of woven aramid or polyethylene fibre that catch and deform a bullet; rifle threats need a ceramic plate.
- Zip (zipper) Teeth of metal, moulded acetal or nylon coil on a polyester tape, forced together by a wedge inside the slider.
- Synthetic leather A polyurethane or PVC skin on a textile backing — including the plant-based ones, which still need a plastic binder.
- Running shoe A knitted synthetic upper over a foam midsole and rubber outsole — about a dozen materials, all glued together.
- Shoe sole A rubber outsole for grip, a foam midsole for cushioning, and increasingly no clean way to separate them.
- Wetsuit Closed-cell neoprene foam full of nitrogen bubbles, faced with stretch jersey — the gas insulates, not the water.
- Life jacket Closed-cell foam or a CO2-inflated bladder, in a nylon cover — rated in newtons of buoyancy, not in size.
- Button Usually cast polyester resin; the good ones are shell, nut or horn, and you can tell by touch and temperature.