Polartec® Power Dry®

Polartec® Power Dry® fabrics are designed to keep your skin dry when you sweat. All fabrics in this series feature a patented bi-component knit construction that uses different yarns on either side of the fabric. This creates two different surfaces: one that is optimized to move moisture away from the skin, the other to dry quickly.

Moisture and high relative humidity next to the skin cause discomfort. Polartec® Power Dry® keeps the skin dry through three complementary mechanisms:
1) The fabric is highly breathable and does not restrict the movement of moisture vapor.
2) “Touch points“ on the fabric inner surface draw off the sweat. Sweat is wicked off the skin to the outside of the fabric where it spreads rapidly for evaporation. Polartec® Power Dry® fabrics move at least 30% more moisture away from the skin than single component fabrics.
3) When the sweat reaches the outside of the fabric, it spreads out to many times its original surface area, enabling it to dry at least 2 times faster than cotton.

Technical Highlights
1) Patented bi-component construction keeps your skin dry when you sweat
2) Highly breathable to provide comfort in all activities; does not restrict the movement of moisture vapor
3) Dries quickly
4) Provides very good sun protection (UPF 15) in most styles
5) Soft surface next to skin provides all-day comfort
6) Machine washable

Upcycle® Baselayer

Marmot UpCycle® products minimize our impact on the environment by using natural, organic, and recycled or discarded materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.

As part of Marmot’s efforts to utilize more eco-friendly materials, we partnered with Polartec, LLC in an exclusive relationship to develop the latest technically advanced baselayer through natural means, using Polartec® PowerDry® Cocona® Technology, instead of using chemical treatments.

Marmot UpCycle®
Marmot UpCycle® products utilize the discarded waste materials from manufacturing processes in the creation of new products in order to minimize our impact on the environment. Marmot’s entire fall 2007 collection of men’s and women’s baselayer is made from Polartec® PowerDry® fabric with Cocona® performance technology – a Marmot Upcycle® product.

What is Cocona®?
Cocona® is derived from would-be discarded or “upcycled” Coconut shell husks. The husks are then processed into activated charcoal carbon and blended into a polyester matrix, which is spun into a fiber and then knit into a baselayer fabric. Cocona® is integral to the fiber, naturally occurring and cannot wash out.

Benefits of Cocona®
1) Dries incredibly fast – 25% faster, addressing the user’s needs these days with shorter trips requiring maximum performance
2) Controls odor naturally – no anti-microbial treatment
3) Provides UV protection – resists UV rays, rated UPF 40+
4) Outstanding comfort – soft hand, luxurious next to skin
5) Natural & Permanent – naturally enhanced performance that lasts a lifetime!

Cocona® vs. Bamboo Carbon
Activated carbon molecules from Cocona® have two distinct characteristics which make it superior to bamboo carbon. First, the larger pore size in activated Cocona® carbon molecules adsorb odor better and refreshes easier and faster. Bamboo carbon molecules, with their smaller pore size, trap odor molecules. Second, because of Cocona’s larger pore size, there is also greater surface area. This surface area, enough to cover 1.5 football fields, transfers and spreads away moisture and dries faster.