THE BOTTOM LINE
and fabric finishing will also affect the strength, durability and
general performance of the finished product, and CORDURA is a
brand name for the finished fabrics. It’s a huge, technologically
impressive process which ensures that every bit of CORDURA gear
we get is going to be 100% fit for purpose.
GETTING IT RIGHT
In the military area of the CORDURA website there’s a great
statement:
“CORDURA fabrics are there for one reason and one reason only
– to get the job done right. After all, there’s no room for error
when you’re charged with protecting the men and women who
protect the country.”
Personally, I believe that this really sets the tone for how the
team behind CORDURA fabrics used in tactical products think.
As with all “super-brands” you often feel that they are faceless
corporate entities merely chasing the all-powerful greenback
but from what we saw at the Gloucester plant, this couldn’t be
further from the truth as these people care passionately about
what they create and they care about creating it in the most
efficient and ethical way too.
Every care is taken to create a product that is 100% right and
the very thought of letting anything sub-standard out of the plant
is anathema to them. They know that their products and going
to end up being worn by those at “the tip of the spear” and they
take this responsibility very, very seriously indeed.
It was an absolute privilege to visit the plant and we’ll be
working closely with the CORDURA team going forward to share
our new-found understanding of their excellent products with
you, in order that when you’re making a considered decision on
your personal kit you have all the information you could possibly
wish for.
For further information please visit www.cordura.com
MEET THE MANUFACTURER : CORDURA
These days many of us have a far greater appreciation for the
fabrics and technologies used in our gear - but we often bemoan
the fact that “performance gear is expensive” and there is even
the much overused phrase “you’re just paying for the label”.
In certain industries that may well be the case but when it
comes to gear that you’re going to trust your life and, by extension,
the lives of your team-mates, on it needs to be the very best.
Personally I have known for many years that CORDURA has been
looked at as a benchmark for extreme durability however, up
until now I knew about the fabrics but not the technology behind
it. Without going into technical details or giving away any trade
secrets let me tell you the process is indeed “rocket science”!
Starting out as a solid, the base material for the “yarns”
used in CORDURA fabrics go through an extensive and highly
monitored process which involves heat and pressure. This turns
the solid into a treacle-like substance that can be stretched
into yarns of varying thickness or “denier”. This process has to
be 100% precise and literally thousands of sensors monitor the
process from start to finish.
A room resembling something from NASA is filled with
computer monitors where every single process, every single
change in heat or pressure, every single flow rate can be checke