In keeping with its commitment to performance and sustainability, ALLIED Feather + Down — a supplier of ethically sourced down – announced the launch of Expedry quick drying down, featuring FUZE technology.
Available to all ALLIED partner brands, Expedry is a chemical-free solution that keeps the performance for which down is renowned and makes care for down products easier while reducing energy consumption and broadening down’s performance range.
Expedry helps reduce dry times while minimizing performance issues in wet weather by using non-ionic, permanently bonded gold nanoparticles to the down cluster. These particles work to increase the evaporation rate of water at a molecular level, without the need for heat.
This technology differs from current water-resistant treatments for down. The common DWR treatments act as a hydrophobic agent which allows water to bead, keeping the down clusters drier for longer. However, once saturated, DWR treatments have no ability to accelerate drying.
In real world situations, the increased evaporation rate created by Expedry could be of greater benefit than many DWR treatments. And once saturated through a thorough cleaning, Expedry-treated garments will dry almost twice as fast.
Expedry has been tested to dry 40 percent to 60 percent faster than untreated down, making it easier and faster to dry a jacket in traditional and condenser dryers. It also helps down products air dry faster between uses in wet environments.
“This project has been at the top of our priorities and in development for years,” said Daniel Uretsky, president of Los Angeles-based Allied Feather + Down. “Not because it might help someone summit an 8,000-meter peak faster, but because it will make down more accessible to more people.
“We almost thought the project impossible until our partnership with Fuze,” said Uretsky. “Using their incredibly knowledgeable and unique approach to innovation and dedication to sustainability, we are finally able to realize our quick-drying product. This is a potential game changer for the European market that relies on condenser dryers, which have always made down difficult to care for and dry properly.”
FUZE Biotech CTO Andrew Peterson added, “Working with ALLIED on long-term sustainability goals and other exciting product developments allowed us to come across an interesting new area of study where we find that gold nanoparticles significantly increase the evaporation rate of water. This technology has exciting implications that extend far beyond the apparel industry.”
In long-term exposure in wet climates such as extreme through-hikes and long expeditions, loss of warmth is primarily due to the buildup of fungus and the loss of loft due to direct exposure to water. Expedry treated down dries faster, facilitating an evaporation rate greater than the absorption rate, creating a continually dry environment inhospitable to fungus.
