Cabela’s E.C.W.C.S Thermal Zone® Polartec® Power Dry® Crew Top

New Thermal Zone baselayers by Cabela’s use Polartec® Power Dry® High Efficiency fabrics to create a complete body temperature regulating system with antimicrobial treatment that allows the outdoorsman more versatility depending on the variety of weather conditions and situations faced in the field. Body thermography was studied in order to determine the critical areas that maintain core temperatures. Combining three weights of strategically-placed fabric, Thermal Zone provides maximum breathability, warmth and comfort where you need it most. Heavier weight Polartec® Power Dry® is used in the core and maximum exposed areas, mid weight is used in less critical areas, and lightweight Polartec® Power Dry® fabric is used in high-output areas prone to excessive perspiration, as well as the cuff areas to minimize bunching. Cabela’s Thermal Zone baselayers include crew and 1/4 zip tops, and bottoms.
MSRP: $79.99 – $89.99 (Huge muscles in photo sold separately)

To WIN YOU MUST:1) Head to the Polartec Facebook Page and ‘Like’ us
2) Find this giveaway post
3) In a comment below the post, answer this question: “This winning base layer uses three key fabric weights to achieve a higher level of performance. What three things do you always take into the outdoors to keep you at the top of your game?”

We will choose a winner at random on Friday December 9th at Noon MST

We have Men’s Medium, Large, or XL available.

Thanks so much and good luck!

Polartec® Power Dry® FR boasts a patented bi-component knit construction which dramatically improves comfort by transporting moisture away from the skin and pulling it to the outer surface where is can dry faster.  Thus, keeping you warmer and drier while in the field.

Polartec® is the market leader and biggest supplier of American-made FR knits.  Polartec’s full-layering FR system has been protecting workers in the oil, gas, petrochemical, electrical utility, power generation, mining and industrial industries for over 10 years.  For more information, see Polartec FR.

Polartec Booth

Outdoor Friedrichshfen 2011 – 900 exhibitors and 20,000 attendees, all checking out the latest spring gear at the Germany tradeshow.  Popular items at the Polartec booth: Polartec NeoShell®, Polartec Power Shield Pro® and all the Polartec Apex Award winners.

Enjoying the Polartec booth

Of course, the best part about Friedrichshafen is THE PARTY!  Polartec throws the biggest and best party in town.

This year’s big hit was the party t-shirt!  This shirt is a collection of technologies including Repreve® 100, Polartec Power Dry® High Efficiency® with Polygiene® Odor Resistance and is bluesign approved.  Pretty much everything you could ever want in a shirt!

Friedrichshafen Party Photos:

This week’s giveaway is a Westcomb men’s Apoc Jacket- Made from all-new Polartec® NeoShell® fabric, and an APEX winner this year, the Apoc is an active alpine jacket optimized for fast-and-light expeditions, including minimalist alpine features like a helmet compatible hood and well-placed pockets and vents with YKK water-resistant zippers. Featuring new Polartec® NeoShell®, the most breathable waterproof fabric on the market, its soft hand, comfort stretch and durability performs for all-around high-energy outdoor activities.
MSRP: $480

We are also giving the winner a pair of polarized Revo Guide sunglasses featuring the Water lens. Revo has designed a lens specifically optimized for the color profiles of open water-perfect for dads who fish, sail, paddleboard or live near the water. These glasses were launched earlier this spring and have gotten terrific reviews in Outside magazine, Men’s Journal, and Elevation Outdoors, among others. MSRP: $179.

TO BE ENTERED TO WIN:1) Head to the Revo Facebook page and “Like” them if you have a chance and then head to the Polartec Facebook page.
2) Find this giveaway post
3) In a comment below the post, tell us the one piece of clothing that your dad just refuses to upgrade. We will choose a winner at random on Friday June 10th at Noon MST.

We have Men’s M, L, and XL in a few available colors in the jacket. We are unable to swap out the Revo glasses for any other style.

Thanks so much and good luck!

This week’s Recycled Contest Package includes the following:

A Fall 2011 Marmot Warmlight Jacket- made from Polartec Classic 200 100% PCR (post consumer recycled) Double Velour Fleece. This fabric is made from Repreve 100 yarn derived from clear plastic water bottles. The Warmlight also includes bonded zippered chest pockets, and interior zipper pocket and is Zippin™ compatible. We only have a Men’s Medium in Navy. (Sorry gals, giveaways to come for you later in the week.)

While we are celebrating recycled products, the second part of our giveaway today is a pair of Revo sunglasses. Revo manufactures the top industry-tested polarized lens on the market and 70% of their collection is made with sustainable materials. This week’s winner, along with the jacket, will receive a pair of Revo Thrives. The Thrives have Revo Polarized Crystal lenses-made from high grade optical glass, and complete with all of the Revo bells and whistles. Most importantly for today’s purposes, the Thrive nylon frame is made from 100% pre-consumer recycled high grade plastic. We think that’s pretty cool. Price is $209.

To WIN YOU MUST:1) If you haven’t already, head to the Polartec Facebook Page and ‘Like’ us. If you are so inclined, hop over to Revo’s Facebook page and show your support for their sustainable efforts as well with a “Like”.
2) Find this giveaway post on the Polartec Facebook page
3) In a comment below the post, tell us: If you could “recycle” one outdoor style from the past and bring it back into fashion, what would it be?

We will choose a winner at random on Friday April 22-Earth Day- at 12pm MST.

Disclaimer:We only have the Warmlight in a Men’s medium in Navy, and the Thrive in black with graphite lenses. No exchanges are available.

Thanks and good luck!

And it goes a little somethin’ like this- “For 35 years, Gore-Tex has dominated the market for waterproof, breathable fabrics, but this spring it has some competition. Textile maker, Polartec, has developed its own waterproof, breathable fabric that threatens to trump Gore-Tex’s latest. We put both through the wringer to see which stands out.”

The Rab Stretch Neo Jacket with Polartec NeoShell went head to head with Millet’s Trilogy Limited GTX with Gore-Tex Active Shell.

The Results: (drum roll please)-”All four testers consistently felt more comfortable in the 17oz Polartec shell, despite the Gore-Tex jacket being 3oz heavier. Testers had to physically air out the Gore-Tex jacket by unzipping its armit vents, whereas sweat evaporated quickly out of the ventless Polartec.”

Needless to say, we are thrilled at the review and it’s a great Monday at Polartec.

Sari and her race partner Pete Gaston happy to be home in Aspen

The Elk Mountains Grand Traverse is a 40-mile backcountry ski race that starts at midnight in Crested Butte and finishes in Aspen, CO. When it comes to fabrics and layering, there’s no better test for warmth, weather protection and breathabilty. Every year racers invariably have to contend with sub-freezing temperatures, howling winds and whiteout snow conditions, combined with brutally long, sweaty climbs followed by bone-chilling descents.

This past weekend, Polartec Athlete Advisory Board member, Sari Anderson made history at the race, finishing as one of two women on the podium for the first time in the event’s 14-year history. Sari is a professional adventure racer, mountain biker and ski mountaineer and this year’s race put all her skills to the test. You can read her full race recap here, but the condensed version is that she raced super-strong – breaking trail through over a foot of fresh snow for the lead teams for miles on end. She and her partner finished in third place overall, in just over nine hours.

One thing Sari didn’t have to worry about at this year’s race was her layering system. Here’s an excerpt from her race report:

Sari breaking trail along Richmond Ridge

Overall, my set-up performed beautifully, but there were a couple of standouts. First of all, I wore an awesome new jacket from Patagonia called the Knifeblade. It’s a minimalistic, anorak-style jacket made from Polartec Power Shield Pro – essentially a lightweight pullover softshell. While I watched almost everyone in the race shed layers on the climbs and then layer up for the descents, I never took the Knifeblade off. It kept me warm and completely dry while it snowed for the first few hours of the race, but breathed well enough so I didn’t overheat once the sun finally came out. Full disclosure – I’m on the Polartec Athlete Advisory Board – but this truly was the best aerobic outerlayer I’ve ever tried.

Another truly impressive bit of gear for this race were my gloves. My friend Doug Heinrich, the glove product director at Black Diamond, sent me a pair of Impulse gloves (made from Polartec Power Shield) to try and they were awesome. I wore them the entire race and my hands never got too hot nor cold.

Congratulations to Sari!

The Patagonia Knifeblade jacket, available in August 2011.

Sari with her daughter at the finish line.

Fiz won the 2004 Marie-Claire prize, given to the best new designer and the L’Oreal Paris prize for the best collection at Cibeles for his elegant and sophisticated style. Now he shows his collections annually at Cibeles and sells in Europe and Japan. We at Polartec are always thrilled to see our fabrics being used in unique ways and honored to have been a part of such a well-received collection. Power Stretch has never looked so good…take a look.

We announced the launch of Neo at the end of 2010, and we just took the news to Europe and held a press conference at the ISPO show. Turns out, just like assorted cheeses and David Hasselhoff, NeoShell is also a big hit in Europe. If you forgot why that might be, here is a reminder.

The European launch was incredibly successful, as was the launch party. Check out a few photos below. I think Polartec’s Global Director of Marketing, Nate Simmons looks a little like Steve Jobs sans the black mock turtleneck, am I right?

Polartec NeoShell will appear in Fall 2011 collections from some of the best outdoor apparel brands in the world including 66 North, Mammut, Marmot, Montura, Rab, The North Face, Vaude and Westcomb.