Gore Lockout: Death of the Zipper?
Gore Lockout: Death of the zipper?
ROUNDUP
W.L. GORE HAS FOR YEARS BROADened the four-season appeal of motorcycling with its breathable, waterproof and windproof laminates. Now, the company best known in two-wheel circles for Gore-Tex and Windstopper wants to change the way riders think about zippers.
“Lockout” is a self-lubricating, toothless, waterproof closure system. Here’s how it works: A metal slider engages a pair of double-channeled polymer tracks. Pulling the slider along the tracks draws them together and creates a flat, sealed, “durably waterproof” surface, thus eliminating hook-and-loop-backed fabric zipper overlays found on many riding jackets and suits.
The system can also be used on pockets and vents.
Motorcycling is the first application for Lockout because the ini tial iteration is roughly the same size as a conventional #9 zipper; narrower backpacking and other outdoororiented versions are in the works.
Alpinestars, Dane, Hein Gericke, Held, Klim, Kushitani, Rev’it and Rukka are among the gear-makers who will use Lockout in their 2010 collections.
Gore flew the world moto-press to Edinburgh, Scotland, this past July for two days of riding in prototype textile apparel fitted with Lockout at the main
entry, pockets, vents and backs of legs. For the launch, the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees of the two-piece suits were also equipped with the latest d3o “intelligent” armor-thin, flexible, CE-approved, shockabsorbing padding topped with abrasionresistant SuperFabric.
The weather during our brief stay was ideal for testing waterproofing. Led by John Wayne-lookalike-contest-winner (no kidding!) Peter Macintyre of Highland Rider Motorcycle Adventures (www. highlandrider.com), we encountered a smorgasbord of climate conditions along the stunning 350-mile route. “This is just a sample,” smiled Macintyre. “It’s like drinking two wee whiskeys. There’s an entire bottle out there...”
Through it all, we remained warm and dry. Gore’s Colin Bell, along for the ride aboard his personal KTM 990 Adventure, said there are conventional zippers with higher “pull rates” than the current Lockout design (think of a separation in the event of a crash), which is why we may not soon see Lockout used in one-piece leather roadracing suits. But the product performed admirably in the crash-test videos that we were shown.
No more zippers? If Gore has its way...
Mathew Miles
