32 / 76
was a leap of faith, but the lubricity of
this extraordinary material made sew-
ing the ends together mandatory. (It
was a big deal then, but nowadays the
ubiquitous bar tack is often engineered
to provide greater margins of safety not
achievable by the lowly knot).
Welcome back to 1988. With
time, the use of Spectra and its twin
Dyneema continued to grow into other
products including backpacks and tents.
It is clear; Dyneema is a very special
material with unique properties. Yet it
took 47 years before Dyneema’s Konin-
klijke DSM N.V., or DSM, introduced
it into apparel through The Dyneema
Project. So why now and what does The
Dyneema Project bring to the outdoor
recreation space?
Dyneema, similar to penicillin, x-
rays and probably fire, was discovered
serendipitously. Dr. Albert Pennings, a
research scientist for DSM, observed
thin whisker growths in an ethylene
solution, and when he tried, he could
not pull them apart. Clearly, this ultra-
high-molecular weight polyethylene
(UHMWPE) was ridiculously strong.
However, his supervisor in 1968 was
not impressed. Yet inadvertently, Pen-
nings had stumbled onto a material
whose strength-to-weight ratio is up
to 15 times higher than steel and a
coefficient of friction on par with the
ultra-slippery polytetrafluoroethylene
(Teflon, eVENT and the original Gore-
Tex membranes). It is very abrasion
resistant, does not absorb water but
floats on it, is non-toxic and chemical-
ly non-reactive. It also is very resistant
to ultraviolet (UV) degradation, does
not react to most living tissue and is
about 32 percent stronger in strength-
to-weight than aramid fibers
As a compound, it is very simple
– comprised of just carbons and hydro-
gens. Its amazing strength is due
in part to the extremely long
individual molecules that
make up each link
in the polymer chain.
When drawn into a fiber, all chains
are essentially in parallel alignment to
one another. Its analogous to LASER’s
coherent light, where all the light waves
of the same wavelength cycle together
in perfect synchronicity, not randomly
like the light we ordinarily see. Thus you
get an intense light capable of burning
a hole through steel and a high-tenacity
fiber with a tensile strength seven times
stronger than steel.
With all these great attributes and
the continuous discovery of new applica-
tions for the fiber, as well as AlliedSig-
nal’s Spectra, Dyneema took on a life of
its own. Nevertheless, and with the ul-
timate irony to come, DSM still waffled
on its commitment to Dyneema’s com-
mercialization. However, the believers
were many, one of them being Cubic
Tech Corporation. CTC’s creation of
Dyneema-laced Cuben Tech non-woven
fabrics forever changed sailcloth for
competitive sailors. It also altered the
outdoor product landscape with feather-
weight yet virtually indestructible gear,
eagerly adopted by hyperlight-carrying
alpinists and thru hikers.
Dyneema’s rival Spectra also was
making inroads with its woven prod-
ucts. Mike Cecot-Scherer, at the time
designing for Kelty, believes his team
was the first to use Spectra in a con-
sumer product. Cecot-Scherer helped
design and introduce the iconic white
Spectra backpack, the Phantom, to the
market in 1993. The Kelty Phantom,
and later the Cloud, were seen as a
performance wake-up call for the out-
door retail industry. Eventually, DSM
better understood the value of its prod-
uct and in a twist of fate bought Cubic
Tech Corporation this past May.
A spool of black Dyneema fiber
Kelty introduced Spectra fabric in
backpacks in the early 1990s with
its Phantom and Cloud (pictured)
backpacks.
Inside
Outdoor
|
Winter
2016
32