Indestructible Hooded Jacket

To figure out just how tough the Indestructible Hooded Jacket is, we took it into the lab and beat the crap out of it in a variety of different ways. The tests we put it through were looking for one thing above everything else – strength. So they recreated real-world conditions which would quickly destroy most gear. From blunt force trauma and sudden impact from high speed falls, to the steady grinding down of materials caused by daily wear and tear.

The Darmstadt abrasion resistance test is normally used to assess the durability of motorcycle gear by recreating high speed falls onto concrete. We attach three samples of the jacket’s material onto a machine with mechanical rotating arms which hover over a slab of rough concrete. The arms then start spinning as they approach the slab, simulating a high speed fall and 30 metre drag, by slamming the materials into the concrete. It’s not a subtle test.

We started testing the Indestructible Hooded Jacket with the machine rotating at 265rpm, which is equivalent to a 45kmph fall and drag. It passed with barely a scratch. So we increased the speed until we got all the way up to 412rpm, which is the equivalent of 75kmph. At this point, the impact and friction caused a 1 cm hole in one sample. The other two samples were completely intact. This is without reinforced panels or multiple layers. Our jacket is a single layer that’s just 1mm thick.

While the Darmstadt test demonstrates how the jacket performs under stress at speed, it’s important to see how it stands up against wear and tear over time. So we use the Martindale abrasion resistance test to determine how quickly clothes will break down. A mechanical thumb rubs the fabric repeatedly until the fibres break. The test goes to 100,000 revolutions, the equivalent of a lifetime’s wear. A normal polyester fabric survives 25,000 revolutions. The Indestructible Hooded Jacket easily passes 100,000 cycles.

The reality of most materials this strong is that they’re heavy and don’t stretch at all. But we’ve completely rewritten the normal rules with this jacket. We’ve blended ultrastrong Dyneema® and Cordura with 10% elastane, to create a material unlike anything you’re likely to have worn before. It’s more like a superhero outfit. It not only feels light, but it comes with extreme four-way stretch, so whatever move you pull the jacket will simply go with you.

No one’s ever attempted to make a jacket like this before. So we worked with a specialist Italian mill outside Florence who produce fire-proof clothing for the armed forces, full body suits for pro motorbike riders, chainsaw-proof boots, and a material called Shark Skin that’s impervious to hypodermic needles. Their biggest customers are the Italian army and the Swedish police, so they sounded like our guys.

Blending Dyneema® with Cordura and elastane gives the jacket a highly technical feel. On the outside it has a slightly textured face that’s always cool to the touch because of the Dyneema®. On the inside it feels like a highly elastic softshell.

All the detailing on the jacket is built to be streamlined, durable and practical. So you’ll find two large side pockets constructed with concealed zippers which lock into place. Concealing the zippers behind the same high-strength material as the rest of the jacket, means they’re just as protected as you are.

For the jacket’s central zipper we chose a YKK reverse coil as it has a lot of teeth – which increases its durability. The zipper is protected by a matte black tape. And it’s a two-way zipper so you can quickly and easily adjust the zip from either the collar or the hem.

The hood is engineered with a minimalist tightening system that lets you quickly tighten it around your head when you need to. You pull the elasticated cords out to make the hood as tight as you want it, then bring the cord back towards your head to fix them in place. All the engineering is done inside the hood, so there are no toggles on the outside.

To understand just how tough Dyneema® is, you have to look at how it’s being deployed in the world today. It’s used to make bullet resistant vests, armour and helmets. It’s used in panels on tanks to protect against stronger ballistic threats like anti-tank projectiles. And you’ll find it in bulletproof cockpit doors in most commercial planes in the US. Unlike other high-strength materials it’s so light it floats on water, and it’s resistant to the long-term effects of moisture, UV light and chemicals, which is why it’s now also being used in artificial limbs.