As the military looks to get rid of “forever chemicals” in equipment and clothing, outerwear maker Gore hopes a lightweight jacket that uses a fleece lining, not a chemical coating, to block wind and weather will appeal to Army equipment testers.
Gore plans to submit its All-Weather Active Insulation Jacket to the Army’s Soldier Enhancement Program early next year so it can be evaluated for rapid fielding, company staff told Military Times.
The jacket aims to replace two items in the Army’s existing Extended Cold Weather Clothing System, or ECWCS: the Level III high-loft fleece jacket and the Level IV wind jacket.
At just under 17 ounces, the all-weather jacket weighs less than half of the two layers together and takes up about 40% less packing space, according to the company.
The inner fleece layer also dramatically reduces air permeability compared with the wind jacket alone. And wind is a key consideration, said Collin Friedman, a marketing specialist at Gore.
He said the company was aware that soldiers stationed in cold zones shy of Arctic temperatures faced training impacts and even cancellations due to wind.
“The ask is really something that cuts the wind,” he said.
The all-weather jacket is being offered as part of Gore’s All-Weather Integrated Clothing System, a simplified 10-piece set of pants and jackets that Friedman said protects soldiers in conditions from -40 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit and could bridge the gap between existing ECWCS gear and the recently fielded Cold Temperature and Arctic Protection Systems, or CTAPS.
Friedman said Gore aims to fill a “capability gap” as soldiers increase training in cold and mountainous regions, and need comprehensive and lightweight protection.
In addition to meeting those standards, the company is positioning its gear to be a non-toxic solution to traditional outerwear treated with durable water repellent, or DWR.
This coating contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a family of long-lasting chemicals the military has targeted for elimination in substances like the firefighting foam used in aircraft hangars.
Efforts to eliminate DWR from new garments have left outerwear makers without an equally effective replacement for fabric waterproofing.
One solution for Gore, as with the all-weather jacket, is to use fleece, a time-tested material, although bulkier than a coating. But multiple components of the All-Weather Integrated Clothing System also contain Gore’s Windstopper technology, a laminated membrane affixed to the inside of garments.
“Unlike DWR-treated or polyurethane-based membranes that lose performance over time or under temperature stress, WINDSTOPPER® maintains its integrity in extreme conditions. Its chemically resistant membrane resists degradation from oils, lubricants and fuels — providing consistent, durable protection mission after mission,” Friedman said in a provided statement.
Active soldier trials of the AWICS system are ongoing with the 11th Airborne/Arctic Regions Test Center integration cell in Alaska; the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vermont; and the 19th Special Forces Group in Bluffdale, Utah, Friedman said.
“Soldier feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” he said.
