“Experiments with a polymer led him to create the breathable, waterproof material used in numerous applications, including ski jackets and medical implants.”
His invention has kept many members of this forum dry!
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Dry and alive. God bless.
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And revolutionized dental floss.
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RIP. Most definitely dry. Great windproofing too. Thank you, Robert Gore.
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I thought he invented the internet.
Nice one Daggermat…
I never found GoreTex breathable unless it was unzipped fully, and sometimes not even then.
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That’s a lovely write-up in the NYT…“very curious about things, rigorous, entertained any kind of idea”. Cool.
I didn’t know that Bill Gore had a son, or that the invention of Gore-Tex is ascribed to him. Many years ago W.L. Gore died on a backpacking trip in the Wind River Range. The local newspaper suggested he was its originator. In a sense, he was on the ground floor whomever did. I’ve hiked some of the places William Gore did in the Winds and know where he passed away. The senior Gore took many long hikes in those mountains – even at an advanced age – and used pictures he took in magazine ads. The first time I was ever in those mountains where we used that material was 1977 or 1978.
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The first time I heard of Gore-tex was in an Early Winters catalog (late 1977 or early 1978) that listed one of the first G-t products sold to the public, a wonderful technical jacket (jacket length, not parka length). I bought one right away and still have it and, yes, its breathability blew me away—and it still is breathable after all these years. Unlike the smelly coatings common then, the new laminate did not leave me drenched when cycling or hiking or x-c skiing. When my exertion level went high enough for me to feel hot, I unzipped the long armpit zips and opened up the cuffs.
The jacket featured a detachable hood (which I love) and Taslan nylon instead of the ubiquitous smooth taffeta.
One small negative aspect was that in those days, you still had to seal the seams with a tube of sealant (provided). With age, the sealant gets cracked and yellowed. But the jacket is still both breathable and waterproof!
Long ago, I semiretired the jacket and got a newer-gen G-t parka. I still use the old one sometimes, though.
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RIP Robert!We all will
I have a late 1970’s Banana Equipment Goretex parka bought second hand for a buck at local thrift store. Like your’s it still works well and no smell.
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