Scientific GORE-TEX Test Labs Virtually Accessible in a 360° View
Visitors can take a digital tour through 18 GORE-TEX lab rooms and almost 90 test stations in the durability testing and analysis lab, biophysics lab, environmental Chamber, as well as Gore labs for textiles, footwear and gloves
GORE-TEX products are valued globally for their high quality and durable performance. The design and manufacture of membranes, laminates and seam sealing tapes ensure that garments, footwear and gloves have the durability to survive the extreme weather conditions and meet the GORE-TEX GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY® promise. To certify a product’s guarantee and functionality over time, rigorous scientific tests are performed in the GORE-TEX labs around the world. Now, visitors can walk virtually 24/7/365 through the company-own test labs, physically located in the US and Germany, and learn about the different test methods in a 360° view.
Next to the biophysics lab, the environmental chamber and the Gore rain tower, visitors can take a digital tour through the durability testing and analysis lab, as well as the footwear, gloves and textile labs including the garment centre. The virtual experience consists of 18 lab rooms and 89 highlighted test apparatus spanning from waterproofness and breathability to abrasion resistance and comfort science test methods. The virtual labs are accessible through the GORE-TEX website https://www.gore-tex.com/experience/virtual-lab-tour
“We’re excited to educate customers and retailer about how we test GORE-TEX products. Typically, we bring them to our labs in the US and Germany and give them a guided tour. Due to the pandemic situation, physical access to our labs is restricted and so we wanted to bring the labs to our guests virtually. They can now walk virtually from our labs located in Germany to those in the US within seconds, something impossible in real life”, comments Nicolaus Kirchdorfer, Global Marketing Leader, GORE-TEX brand.
Facts & Figures about the GORE-TEX Virtual lab
18 lab rooms accessible virtually, 89 highlighted test stations
• Footwear Lab: 7 test stations, incl. Footwear Breathability Test, Bottle Test, Wicking Test, Gore Centrifuge Test and Gore Walking Simulator
• Gloves Lab: 8 test stations incl. Liner Retention test, Water Vapour Permeability Test, Whole Glove Breathability and Whole Glove Leak Test
• Textile Lab: 19 test stations incl. Tensile and Tear Testing, IR-Spectrophotometer, Shrinkage Behavior, Weight measurement, Visual Colour Matching, Wicking Test and Oil Repellency Test
• Wet Lab: 5 test stations, incl. Water Repellency Bundesmann Test, Durability Test and Colour Fastness/Washing and Perspiration test
• Garment Center: 8 highlight stations, incl. concept garment, seam sealing, Waterproof vs. Non-waterproof construction, and construction folder
• Rain Room: 2 test stations, style approval and storm cube
• Durability Testing & Analysis Lab: 23 test stations, incl. Exeter Dynamic Shoe Flexibility Tester, Crumple flexer, Testex Circular Locus Tester, I-mass tester, Mace snag tester, Tear resistance Elmendorff, and Multi-finger Scratch tester
• Biophysics Lab: 17 test stations, incl. C-therm, K-Tester, Instron, Handikin, Gore Noise Analyzer (GNA) Kawabata, and Gore Environmental chamber
Gore revolutionized the outerwear industry with waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX fabric 40 years ago and remains a leading innovator of performance apparel. Gore fabrics products provide comfort and protection in challenging environments and in everyday life. From hiking in downpours to military operations and fighting fires, Gore’s deep understanding of consumer and industry needs drives development of products with meaningful performance advantages.
About Gore
W. L. Gore & Associates is a global materials science company dedicated to transforming industries and improving lives. Since 1958, Gore has solved complex technical challenges in demanding environments — from outer space to the world’s highest peaks to the inner workings of the human body. With more than 11,000 Associates and a strong, team-oriented culture, Gore generates annual revenues of $3.8 billion. gore.com
