Doin it aftermarket
Darryl Russell, with Atlantic Car Stereo in Dartmouth, shows off an aftermarket in-dash navigation system. (Joseph Robichaud Photography)
Navigation systems have made reading out-of-date, impossible-to-fold, upside-down-reading road maps redundant. (Joseph Robichaud Photography)
(Ed: This is the first of our four-part series on aftermarket in-vehicle technology).
A wondrous world has opened to Possum and me since we replaced her 14-year-old six-cylinder car with a nippy, red, four-cylinder 2012 model.
We’ve entered an electronic wonderland where vehicles are mobile communications stations, information hubs and entertainment centres.
Here is a summary of our voyage… In the next three weeks we’ll be looking in more detail at stereo systems that will make you think you’re at the Sydney Opera House, MP3 plug-ins, satellite radio and HD radio options.
We’ll also be looking more closely at video systems, all-in-one DVD players, wired and wireless headphones, in-dash monitors and systems with dedicated game-console inputs.
We’ll also look at navigation systems, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth hands-free connectivity, rear view camera systems and subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, hands free calling, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems.
A new aftermarket interior rear-view mirror became available this year. The mirror provides features such as Automatic Crash Response, Stolen Vehicle Tracking, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, and Roadside Assistance.
No one, particularly an Aussie like me, enjoys having to go out into the cold and snow to warm up the car. Remote starter and alarm systems have changed this onerous chore. Various options available enable one to unlock the driver’s door and trunk, start the engine and defrost the rear window. They can also fire up the heated seats and, in our car, defrost the exterior side-view mirrors. Hooking a remote system to a smart phone gives a raft more options. For example, Possum could call me while I am on a business trip to Vancouver and say, "Honey, I’ve locked my keys in the car," and I could press the unlock app on the phone and, hey presto, the door unlocks.
Also, if the alarm system has been activated, a message could be sent to the car’s owners, providing they were anywhere in cell phone reception. A robbery can be foiled by stopping the engine remotely, using a personal code.
Now, imagine we’re sitting in the car, on our nicely-warmed seats, about to take our virtual daughter — we’ll call her Alice — to visit a friend. Alice, it seems to us, cannot do a thing without being accompanied by music, talking on her cell phone to another best friend or preferably both.
This is where Bluetooth technology comes in. Bluetooth is a wireless technology enabling electronic devices, like mobile phones and a compatible car stereo system to communicate with each other. A hands-free cell phone conversation can be heard on a car’s existing audio system.
Bluetooth intece technology allows hands free technology with compatible phones, onscreen display of phone book access, call history and voice tag dialing.
Magically, our Wonder Land car has a satellite TV dish on the roof. Alice can watch a movie on a monitor positioned in the back of the front seats or from an overhead monitor. She can play a DVD, use her MP3, download music on her iPod and play interactive games on her Xbox or PlayStation.
It is not only Alice who has benefited from smart car technology. In ct, cars can be equipped to become mobile offices. Drivers can speak to, or call,May 2011. their colleagues using their cell or smart phone without taking their hands from the steering wheel. Passengers can plug in their laptofree unlock codesp and access Facebook or Twitter.
GPS tracking technology has made vehicles information hubs. For instance, a business with a number of vehicles on the road can direct a sales rep or technician to a customer’s address to which they are nearest.
Other systems allow vehicle owners to monitor their employees, as well as their young sons’ and daughters’ driving skills. Units record their cost per trip, the distance travelled, the cost per kilometre and the money that could have been saved with better driving habits. They record the maximum speed the vehicle has traveled and the number of times the ABS was activated.
I’m a relative newcomer to Halix and am often dispatched to towns whose names I have difficulty pronouncing let alone how to get to them. Tatamagouche? So I really value GPS navigation systems that have made reading out-of-date, impossible-to-fold, upside-down-reading road maps redundant.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi loaded with maps for all North America. It gives turn-by-turn instructions in a peremptory British accent (there are a variety of accents and languages available). It runs off the car’s battery, uses touch screen technology and is simply affixed to the windscreen using a suction cap.
A word to the wise here — I was advised not to update my unit for a month or so when the new 2012 maps for North America will be available.
One can install an all in one, voice activated, navigation, audio and video entertainment multi-media station screen with advanced GPS positioning, touch panel display with USB connection for iPod, SAT and HD radio.
Bike riders can also ride connected using Bluetooth hands free technology. Designs fit helmets which include handlebar wireless remote streams for digital music, easy automatic phone book sync, voice recognition dialing and vocal caller identification.
And here is something parents of young children and old blokes like me who have trouble reversing into a parking space may find useful.
Every car has a blind spot below the rear window line. Low objects behind the car become invisible. According to research from Australia, a two-year-old child cannot be seen by a reversing driver unless they’re further away than six metres. In the U.S.A., apparently some 18,000 reversing accidents occur every year, and nearly 300 talities.
Back up cameras can be installed that tie into navigation screens or rear-view mirrors using Bluetooth technology that look right, left and down. Back-up smart sensors pick up objects, whether it be the mily pet or a kid on their tricycle, and sound an alarm to alert the driver to the danger.
Other devices could be installed: thermal imaging, night vision and infra red camera technology that can detect a Moose (or a Kangaroo) in the road ahead.
It is, indeed, a Wonderland!
Charles Myhill is an Aussie journalist who lives in Halix and who is rapidly becoming techno-savvy. If you have an idea or a product you would like investigated, please contactcharlesmyhill@eastlink.ca.
News
Seattle novelist Jayne Ann Krentzs new book, Copper Beach, &8212; set in Seattle and a pseudonymous island in the San Juans &8212; is a contemporary romance with the paranormal twist that has infused her recent work. Krentz will sign copies of Copper Beach at noon Tuesday at Seattle Mystery Bookshop.
ByMelinda Bargreen
Special to The Seattle Times
Author appearanceJayne Ann Krentz
The author of Copper Beach will sign her book at noon Tuesday at Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St., Seattle; free (206-587-5737 or
How on earth does she do it?
That question occurs to readers and writers alike as they ponder the oeuvre of the prolific Seattle novelist Jayne Ann Krentz. Krentz writes under three names: her own name (for contemporary novels), as Amanda Quick (historical works) and as Jayne Castle (futuristic novels), providing readers in three genres with an apparently endless variety of plot turns, quirky characters and intriguing settings.
Krentzs latest, Copper Beach (G.P. Putnams Sons, 323 pp., $25.95), is a contemporary romance with the paranormal twist that has infused her recent work. Set in Seattle and on a pseudonymous island (Legacy Island) in the San Juans, the book has a real Northwest flavor &8212; from boats and beaches to downtown steel-and-glass condo buildings.
The protagonist, Abby Radwell, is the daughter of a complacent and cheesy pop psychologist who claims to have the perfect modern blended mily &8212; but its a mily with several unsavory secrets. Among them: Abbys earlier incarceration in a school for troubled teens, when her parents discovered her psychic talents.
Abby possesses an unusual ability: She is a rare-books researcher/dealer who is able to unlock secrets that have been encoded in rare books. She works with collectors of rare books to acquire, and also to decipher, volumes that have paranormal significance, like an ancient Latin treatise on the use of flowers and herbs for perfume- in the time of Cleopatra.
This book has been encrypted with a code that Abby knows how to unlock, but it also has a darker significance: It is a bribe, sent by an unknown blackmailer who wants her to find a laboratory notebook containing potentially dangerous information about volatile geode-like crystals discovered in a mine. Previously thought lost in a mine explosion, the notebook is not lost at all.
Abbys blackmailer is not the only one looking for that lab notebook. When Abbys home is thoroughly ransacked and an elderly, reclusive book-dealer friend is found dead of unnatural causes, it is clear that the seeker and his agents will stop at nothing to acquire the notebook.
Fortunately, Abby has an ally. She retains Sam Coppersmith, whose mily owns most of Legacy Island, to find the blackmailer. Sam, who also possesses paranormal abilities, has reasons of his own for wanting to find the lab notebook, which he realizes may be turned to dangerous purposes.
When Abby and Sam meet, there is none of the usual Will they, wont they plot issues common to romance novels where obstacles (misunderstandings, misrepresentations, misgivings) are thrown into the paths of the protagonists Busiground sculpturerefabric texti, to be overcome only in the final chapter. Krentz connects these two lovers almost immediately, settling into more interesting issues as they find their balance and their way forward as a team.
In the final chapters, as most of the players (including the killer of Sams previous girlfriend) confree unlock codesvene on Legacy Island, Krentz is at her best, tying up all the threads of the plot … but leaving a few doors open for future developments. This is, after all, the first book in a new Dark Legacy trilogy, and Krentz clearly is on a roll.
Melinda Bargreen
The Times Herald
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READING, Pa. (AP) An eastern Pennsylvania area code leads the state in the number of telemarketing complaints.
Send CorrectionsThe 610 area code has lodged more complaints with the Federal Trade Commission than any of Pennsylvanias eight other area codes since 2007, the Reading Eagle reported area codesTuesday.
Part of the reason may be that the area code has more numbers registered on the federal Do Not Call list than any other Pennsylvania region.
There are 1.6 million Do Not Call registrations in the 610 area code, which includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Reading and parts of the Philadelphia suburbs. Those folks filed nearly 56,000 complaints from fiscal years 2007 to 2011.
The next area code for complaints was the 215 code covering much of Philadelphia, which lodged almost 50,000 complaints during the same period.
FTC spokesman Mitchell J. Katz said there is no way to track whether the 610 area code actually gets more telemarketing calls than other regions.
Most nuisance calls are made to home phones because the law prevents telemarketers from using automatic dialers to call cell phones, he said. However, cell users can register for the Do Not Call list just like those with land lines, he said.
The FTC report shows complaints nationwide have risen each year but one since the registry began in 2003,cotton fabri. with 2011 setting an all-time high with almost 2.3 million complaints nationwide.
610 area code leads state in telemarketing complaints
Have you ever been so annoyed by a telemarketer interrupting your dinner or vorite TV show that you reported them for violating Do Not Call Registry rules?
If so, youve got plenty of company here in 610 area code country.
You and your fellow 610ers have lodged more Do Not Call complaints with the Federal Trade Commission than those in any of Pennsylvanias eight other area codes since 2007.
The 610 area code also has more numbers registered on the Do Not Call list than any other Pennsylvania region.
Those rankings were part of the FTCs recent report on Do Not Call Registry complaints.
There are 1.6 million Do Not Call registrations in the 610 area code, which includes most of Berks County and parts of 10 surrounding counties.
Those folks filed 56,000 complaints from 2007 through 2011, including almost 17,000 in fiscal year 2011, which ended Sept. 30.
Its tough to say if the 610 area actually gets hit with more telemarketing calls than other regions, since there is no way to track that, said FTC spokesman Mitchell J. Katz.
Katz, though,May 2011. has a theory why 610 topped the list.
I think people there like to complain more, he said.
Most nuisarea codesance calls are made to home phones because the law prevents telemarketers from using automatic dialers to call cellphones, he said.
Still, cellphone users can register for the Do Not Call Registry the same as those with land lines, he said.
While the FTC report shows complaints have risen each year but one since the registry began in 2003, Katz said people should keep the numbers in perspective. Even though 2011 set an all-time high with almost 2.3 million complaints, that still represents only about 1 percent of those registered for the list.
Most people are satisfied, Katz said.
Contact Mike Urban: 610-371-5023 or murban@readingeagle.com.
Ten-digit local dialing now possible
With less than 18 months before Saskatchewan gets its second area code, SaskTel is letting residents make 10-digit local calls on their 306 numbers.
The new area code, 639, will be overlaid with the existing 306 one to create the numbers needed for cellphones and other wireless devices.
Dialing 10 digits, even for local calls, will become mandatory when 639 comes into use in May 2013.
Like 306, 639 will be used by all providers in the province, not just SaskTel.
Its quite a change – and something to get used to, says SaskTel spokesperson Andy Tate.
Making it possible to dial 10-digit local calls now – as opposed to right before the change in 2013 – not only lets people get into the habit of doing this, but gives them time to reprogram and test computers, x machines, modems, home phones, equipment for the hearing impaired and home security systems.
Customers should also make any necessary changes to calling features such as speed dial,100 polyeste. call forwarding and call blocking, SaskTel says.
They should begin providing their 10-digit phone number on personal cheques, medical forms, stationery, business cards, insurance forms, etc. And business customers can begin changes to their telecommunications equipment, advertising materials, signage, websites and any other places where business phone numbers are listed, it said.
Tate said the 639 area code originated not with the Crown corporation, but with the Canadian Numbering Administrator, a telecom industry organization watching the use of area codes and phone numbers. It noticed several years ago that Saskatchewan was running low on 306 numbers.
Thus warned, SaskTel and other providers operating in the province – cellphone companies, for example – struck a committee that told the federal governments telecommunications regulator, which authorized creation of the new area code.
SaskTel has a webpage with information on the process ( dial10/).
Though SaskTel has not done much communicating with the public on 10-digit dialing and the coming new area code, Tate sarea codesaid a number of questions already are arriving:
. Will there be any difference in dialing long-distance? (No. Use 1, then the area code);
. Who will be getting numbers with the new area code? (New customers, though Tate added, well be giving out both area codes. When 639 starts appearing, it goes into the pool of numbers that we have available, along with 306 numbers because there still will be some of those. As people leave the province, those numbers are recycled after a period of time. Well be giving them out interchangeably, basically forever.)
. Could somebody in the same room or the same house have a different area code? (Yes, they could, Tate said. You could have a cellphone with area code 639 and your home phone is 306.)
. Could someone else have my number – but with a different area code? (Said Tate: The answer is yes – potentially.)
Friends of Derek Jensen, the man who killed three people on a highway south of Calgary before turning the gun on himself, say they never saw the act coming.
Immigration minister Jason Kenney says the renewal of the Health Accord with the provinces beyond 2016 would be fiscally unsustainable and mean less money for other programs.
Y 107.9 FMs AREA CODES JAM SHAKES DANSOMAN
Accra, 16th December, 2011: It was all fireworks over the weekend as YFMs Area Codes Jam vibrated Dansoman (DC) in grand style. The quarterly hip-life/hip hop concert is organised by Ghanas urban radio station, Y 107.9FM, for any area that comes tops in a keenly contested competition held for its audience.
Sponsored by MTN, the event is held to appreciate and celebrate all loyal listeners and ns of Yfm. After a keenly-contested competition in which the listeners were required to text, Dansoman emerged tops, hence the return of the jam to the area.
We have made a statement and clearly reiterated it, that Area Codes Jam is getting bigger and better, and YFM is delivering on its promise of Total Quality Entertainment to our ns and Ghanaians in general, Nana Kwame Sarpong, Station Manager of YFM said.
The Liberty Park was awash with lights and the best hiplife tracks and performances from some of Ghanas top celebrities, alongside some DC-grown artistes. Yaa Pono, Stay Jay, Raquel, Ruff n Smooth and 4×4 electriarea codesfied the crowd as they doled out several hit tracks, which saw the ecstatic crowd move in azonto shion.
Trigmatic, Guru, Tic Tac and Ex-Doe also stormed the stage. But the excitement of the crowd was heightened, as Samini, who is a Dansoman-bred star, mounted the stage. The crowd sang and danced along,polyester fa. obviously elated to be celebrating such a monstrous party with one of their own stars. Samini took the opportunity to campaign against violence, calling on the people of Dansoman and extendedly Ghanaians, to live peacefully with each other, irrespective of their differences and convictions.
The occasion also saw the YFM entertainment crew in action, keeping the audience alive in-between the performances. The ns had the opportunity to interact with their vourite stars, as some took the opportunity to take autographs and photographs. By the time the last note was sung around 3am the next morning, the audience was still waxing strong and yearning for more.
The mixture of sound and light and dust as Dansoman came alive with Ghanas biggest outdoor neighbourhood party, coupled with the excitement of the teeming crowd told it all, that Area Codes Jam has come to stay. Next year, the competition will be on again, to see who takes home the party for the first quarter.
The Y 107.9 FM Area Codes Jam is another innovation by Y FM and it is powered by the Y FM Entertainment team.
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U.S. Patents Awarded to Inventors in Georgia (Nov. 12
Targeted News Service
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 12 — The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Georgia.
CP Kelco Assigned Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 12 — CP Kelco, Atlanta, has . . .
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Reportlinker Offers Report on Global Markets for Tire Reinforcement Materials
Online research company, Reportlinker has offered a report titled Tire Reinforcement Materials: Technologies and Global Markets in its catalogue. The report primarily covers recent technological innovations in the production of materials for tire reinforcement.
The report also talks about the regional and global markets for these materials. The report specifically covers tire reinforcement materials which are formed from nylon, polyester, steel, rayon, polyethylene naphthalate and aramid.
Other areas covered by the report are the properties and innovations in raw materials, the various areas in which these materials are applied and the current and estimated consumption of such materials in the regions of East Asia, Mid Europe Stretching Out With five Inch Heel Shoes, The Association of South East Asian Nations, South America, North America, India, China and Western Europe.
The range of tire reinforcement materials include, nylon cord bric, aramid cord bric, polyester cord bric, steel wire, steel cord bric and polyethylene naphthalate cord bric. These cord brics are used in motorcycles, cap plies, bicycles, belt plies, automobile bead in tires, producing carcass and all other kinds of vehicles. Major manucturers of tire reinforcement materials in the US, France, India, Japan and China have also been analysed in detail in this report. The performance of the tire reinforcement materials market is directly dependant on the performance of the automobile industry as it is highly dependent on the automobile tire industry.
Source:
Researchers at the University of Illinois have discovered that graphene quality is based on the crystal structure of the copper substrate on which it grows based on information obtained from various imaging techniques.
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Berger, a manucturer of sporting goods in Australia, has produced crash mats that have a uniquely-designed hollow chamber system made of Neopolen E.
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Researchers at the North Dakota State Universitys (NDSU) Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) have developed a new wafer-to-product electronics manucturing technology that can reduce the unit cost and size of microelectronic devices.
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A new bio-polyester fabric propertiescompatible three-dimensional printing material suitable for dental and medical applications has been introduced by Objet, one of the leading providers of high quality and cost- effective inkjet-based three-dimensional printing materials and systems.
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AZoM™ – The A to Z of Materials and AZojomo – The AZo Journal of Materials Online…AZoM™.com Pty.Ltd Copyright © 2000-2011
New From Mammut For 2012
Conehead technology, light but heavier crampon boots, lightweight wateproofs and more from Mammut for next spring 2012.
Mt Centry and Centrina B1 boots – replace the Mt Clif GTX as lightweight, crampon-compatible all-rounders.
Nova/Mercury range of lightweight all-round walking boots. Memory foam, liquid rubber upper protection, Vibram soles and Rolling Concept.
Two-tone sole units look novel,Change of Shoe Styles. but we think the rubber is the same compound on both areas of the sole.
Kento and Keiko lightweight all-rounders use a stretch bric and come with all the trimmings including a fixed hood and pit-zips.
New base layer tops mix polyester Polartec PowerDry main bric with stretch panels for a closer fit, in this case the light, under-arm sections.We popped down to sunny Macclesfield yesterday to get the inside track on Swiss brandMammuts new kit due out in early 2012, think February or March and, alongside thespecial celebration beer, theres an interesting new climbing helmet with conehead technology, footwear including a lightweight winter boot and neat-looking lightweight waterproof jackets.
El Cap Helmet
There are two notable things about the El Cap helmet. One is that it has a neat peak or visor moulded onto the outer hard shell at the front for a little extra wind, sun and rain protection.
The other is that the lid uses two densities of styrofoam foam in its interior shock-absorbing layer arranged in a sort of interlocking pattern which Mammut has called Conehead Technology – if that sounds kind of miliar, Coneheads was a sketch on Saturday Night Live featuring an alien mily stranded on earth with, youve guessed it, conical heads…
Anyway, coincidental or not, the foam arrangement is claimed to give excellent shock absorption properties. Will come in two sizes – 48-56 and 54-62 – and is set to sell for £60.
Mt Centry and Centrina GTX Boots
As r as we can tell, the extremely light, B1 crampon-compatible Mt Clif GTX boot is set to be shelved after this winter – a shame as we like its mix of lightness and stiffness – and replaced with the Mt Centry and Mt Centrina (womens) boots, which are again crampon compatible.
The Centry is slightly heavier than the Clif at a claimed 1484g per pair versus 1240g, but looks to be slightly higher in the ankle, have more internal padding for comfort and more EVA cushioning in the mid-sole unit. Uppers are bric and Velour leather.
Down below theres a Vibram Maton sole unit and it has a full rubber rand for kicking into snow, rubble and other abrasive things. If you found the Mt Clif a little too minimal feeling for winter use, then the asymmetrically-laced Centry/Centrina could give just a little more oomph in exchange for slightly more weight.
Price will be £180 for both mens and womens boots complete with Gore-Tex liner.
Lightweight Walking Boot
If youre not going to be wearing crampons, the new Nova range of lightweight walking boots for women and its make equivalent, the Mercury look like a neat, modern boot that expands from the basic unlined LTH models available now to a four-strong range of both boots.
Weight looks reasonable rather than super light, think 1127g for a pair of size 8 Mercury Advanced GTX, 889g for the womens equivalent in a size 5.5.
Uppers are a mix of Nubuck, Velours leather and bric and while the basic boot has bric lace loops, the GTX, Advanced and Advance GTX versions of the boots use slicker metal lace hooks, a different Vibram sole unit and, in the case of the Advanced models, internal memory foam padding.
Prices range between £140 and £150.
A Dry Bag That Thinks Its A Table Lamp…
Really… the Ambient Light is both a handy lightweight waterproof stuff-sac and, when you fit a head-torch into the webbing housing on the bottom, a neat light diffuser that introduces the concept of mood lighting into the lightweight camping environment. The bag is £15 and we dont see why it shouldnt work with any suitable head torch. Neat.
Lightweight Waterproof Jackets
Also new for next spring are a pair of lightweight satretch waterproof mountain shells made from a 2.5-layer, stretch PU membrane bric with a claimed 20,000mm hydrostatic head and 20,000 MVT figure. All you need to know is that both figures are respectably high.
Theyre not super lightweight – 365g for the mens Kento and 300g for the womens Keiko, but they have full mountain hoods – a sort of semi-helmet size – pit-zips with storm flaps, twin front pockets, adjustable everything and articulated sleeves.
Price is £175 for both and they look good.
New Base Layers
The Aegility – yes, not a typo – and Active Tees and womens Aelendra Tee use Polartec PowerDry baselayer bric, but incorporate stretch inserts which mix 80% polyamide with 20% elastane for a closer, more efficient fit. The remainder of the garment is 100% polyester with an anti-microbial treatment.
We like PowerDry as a bric and with 20% elastane, there should be a ir bit of stretch in those panels, so wed expect a close, efficient fit.
Thats all for now. All the above are due out in early 2012. More Mammut infopolyester fabric propertiesrmation at
Oh no! Not new Mammut kit! I will end up looking like a sponsored athlete (without the muscly bits)…
Do like the look of that peaked helmet and the light weight all-rounders!
Posted:17/11/2011 at 09:21
Those boots do look nice, though Im worried that mammut sizing has changed – I used to be a standard 7.5 in their womens fit but the Mountain Cliffs were tight in the toe
9 yoeaked helmet looks good, shame theres not a proper peak on the lightish waterproofs though…
Posted:17/11/2011 at 12:08
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North Face's ThermoBall Wants to Revolutionize Jacket Insulation
technology,berne_broudy,apparel,clothing,coats,down,down_jackets,goose_down,jackets,north_ce,thermoball,topstories
Down jackets are warm, but useless when wet. Synthetics have long been heavy, stiff, and bulky. North Faces proposed solution? Tiny little balls. Tiny little balls of warmth.
The problem is as follows. The perfect winter insulation should be ultra warm, extremely light and packable, and stay warm when wet. No single insulation–not the classic goose down, not the best efforts of synthetic insulation makers–has met all three of those criteria, and folks like hikers, skiers, and snowboarders have had to settle. But North Face claims its newest jacket technology, which uses ball-shaped synthetic insulation that behaves like down, is the perfect compromise.
Goose down has been the preferred insulation for outdoor adventurers and enthusiasts for generations. Its not only the warmest and lightest insulation, but it feels luxurious to wear–lofted goose down traps warm air while softly conforming to your bodys shape. But down is expensive, and if it gets wet from sweat, melting snow or rain, it becomes matted and loses its insulating properties. Plus, down has to be encased in expensive down-proof brics that prevent quills from poking through or migrating around the inside of the jacket.
Synthetic insulation, on the other hand, isnt affected by moisture–it stays warm even if its wet–but its heavier and less compressible than down. And its stiff, comparatively. The long linear fibers of synthetic insulations dont contour to your bodys curves nearly as well as down, so its never managed to achieve the same cozy feel. Synthetic insulation also isnt as warm for its weight as down. So those battling the winter elements have had to choose: dryness and affordability, or suppleness and warmth?
ThermoBall, created by noted outdoors/college campuses company North Face, is a synthetic insulation that closely mimics down. Unlike traditional continuous-filament synthetic insulations, which are laid out in flat sheets comprised of thousands of long filaments, ThermoBall is made from short strands of polyester that have been spun and frayed into millions of fuzzy miniature cotton-ball-like balls, 0.15-0.2 inches in diameter. They float inside hundreds of tiny pockets, or baffles (seen above), sewn into a jacket. They are designed to cluster like feathers, maintaining air pockets (which are key for retaining warmth) rather than clumping together into a solid mass.
Triangular baffles help keep the insulation lofted so it traps body-heated air, where insulations warmth comes from. Triangular baffles arent new, but the ones in the ThermoBall jacket are smaller than any its been possible to use with down, since the individual balls in ThermoBall are smaller than each down feather.
The request for a better synthetic came specifically this time from world-renowned mountaineer Conrad Anker and the rest of the North Face climbing team in 2008 after an aborted attempt to climb Mount Meru in Indias Garhwal Himalaya. We spent two years developing new products that would help us do better on the next attempt, Anker says. ThermoBall was one of those products.
ThermoBall was conceived as a solution to that trips shortcomings, and so the team began work in The North Faces materials lab, hitting the new jacket with a battery of tests ranging from odor retention tests to bombarding the jacket with water to test its hydrophobic coating, as well as lots and lots of abrasion tests to make sure the jacket would stay together and not spew tiny balls of warmth everywhere. After six months of testing, the labs designers sent it to their athletes for real world feedback.
As an athlete tester, I have no idea what I am getting a lot of the time, said Anker. The North Faces designers say, try this and give us your feedback. So I do. When I got the first ThermoBall jacket, I noticed it stayed warm even when it got soaked with sweat on a long run, while staying soft and comfortable to wear.
In June, The North Face sent revised and updated versions of ThermoBall with nine athletes to climb Alaskas Denali. When the team reached base camp, The North Face designers were there to get fresh and immediate feedback from the climbers. Then it was back to the drawing board to further refine the insulation and the ThermoBall jacket. Those refinements mostly focused on the ce bric, the outer skin or material that ces the outside world. The original bric used for the ce turned out to be too light, which handicapped the jackets warmth. The testing was important not just for extreme climbers, but also for your average, you know, cold person.
Having the ThermoBall jacket on Meru on our second attempt this ll provided mental comfort, says Anker. We didnt have to worry about our jackets getting wet. When there are three guys sleeping in a portaledge, there is condensation. We slept in these jackets as well as wearing them when we were climbing as part of a five layer system. And they did the job. Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk and Conrad Anker successfully climbed the central pillar of Mount Meru reaching the 20,700-foot summit this October.
So, ThermoBall is designed to feel like down when youre wearing itsoft and cozy, rather than stiff. Its comparable to down in weight, and it compresses like down when you need to stuff a ThermoBall jacket into a pack. ThermoBall weighs about the same as down, but North Face claims its ratio of weight to warmth is 15 percent better than the best synthetic material, even though by specificclo ratings(the rating used to measure thermal insulation), down is still superior.
ThermoBall is highly water repellent and warm even if it gets wet. And, because there are no quills to worry about, North Face is able to use a tightly woven bric with silk-like threads as the inside and outside of the jacket, it lighter in weight as well.
ThermoBall may not crush those dastardly, incredibly warm geese, but its an interesting step forward, and North Face promises that further ThermoBall developments are in store. The biggest problem so r? ThermoBall is still not as warm as down. Thats the main obstacle to this being the ultimate winter jacket tech. But the team is convinced theyll get there eventually.
Release date:July 2012
Features:Pre-cinched hood, cuffs, bottom hem (to keep warm air inside), shoulder panels to resist backpack wear, large zip handwarmer pockets, machine-washable
Price:$280, fromThe North Face
Cool Jacket!
Oh no wait, thats the wrong thing to say for this article! 
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Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
$280 bucks for that? Are you serious?! Over priced but then again its a Vanity Fair product, I mean North Face. Who gets down wet? Really, if its that cold, its not going to rain. Good job NF for another stupid product.
@rdhritz
Obviously, this isnt a product for your average consumer. This is meant for outdoor adventurers. $280 for an extreme environment jacket sounds irly affordable! Im not even going to guess the amount the government spends on the militarys cold weather systems. Being able to have an extreme weather solution that is compact-able, retains its warmth under wet conditions, and still is flexible enough not to hinder movement is an amazing development. I hope to see a variation of this in the Army inventory in the near future!
When will this tech be available for sleeping bags? I have a synthetic bag rated to 0, but its extremely bulky and compresses only down to about 1.5 by 1.25 feet (length by diameter). not to mention all the warmth I gain. If North Face isnt collaborating with somebody on something like this, they need to be.
Jeez quasi44, give PopSci a break. 1 they are reporting on a new/innovative product (which is why PopSci exists in the first place) and 2 they have given both pros and cons of the product. Nowhere did I see, this is the best,Trmodify signal: Tboneal indicants?cotton print. go buy it now! Sheesh…
A couple of weeks ago I was online searching for some winter gear.I couldnt find my vorite company which is South Pole,which brought me to the North Face Co website.i had found one of 2 items I had been searching for which was a pair ofpolyester fabric properties winter boots.So I contacted North Face customer service.I spoke to one of their reps and she was a true aset to her company.The second item i was searching for was Down Parka to no avile they had nothing in my size.North Face Womens large coats and jackets are made very small.So I decied not to get the the boots because I could not find a Down Parka made by them.And as r as the Womens Plus size they only had one Coat that might fit which was the METROPOLIS and I found it to be made quite unappealing.The rep told me that last year they had a better selection of Womens plus sizes.Well what happened this North ce.I called the company corporate office and left amessage for their marketing department.I waited for a week still no return call so I went out of town to purchase a a down jacket.I ended up buying a Mens Large North Face Down Jacket and in the hips ith alittle small but at least when it turns bad i will be warm and layer up if need be.As a consumer I perfer warmth as a pose to looking cute and freezing my butt.The shion trend and construction of down garments have changed.We pay top price for what.A name.Thanks North Face for not returning my call,and I will make sure that I as a consumer I will change my physical bone structure so I can wear your brand…!!!
I do apologize for any errors from my previous comment.And Im still upset just thinking about the ct I couldnt find a decent warm downed parka.I hope The north ce company enjoys my $199.00 for that flemzy jacket because I will never buy your brand of clothes ever again..Any company that doesnt listen to or respect its consumers does not deserve our hard earned money.From my stand point North Face promises are useless.
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