(Andover, Mass.) - October 25, 2016 - Polartec, the premium producer of innovative textile solutions, announces its collaborative development work with Teton Bros, the Japanese apparel brand focused on functional backcountry apparel. Polartec created new versions of Polartec® NeoShell®––the most breathable waterproof fabric––specifically for the Teton Bros. TB 2.0 Jacket, which is available today. These new waterproof NeoShell fabrics offer an unprecedented combination of supple stretch, breathability, and overall comfort.

Nori and Junko Suzuki founded Teton Bros. to create the apparel they need for high-exertion activity in the mountains. When Polartec introduced breathable comfort and waterproof protection with NeoShell, Teton Bros. became one of the first brands to use it to make more functional and versatile waterproof gear.

Polartec creates versions of NeoShell with different fabrics on either side of the membrane, all of which can be engineered to achieve different performance characteristics. Given these capabilities, Nori Suzuki challenged Polartec to create even more breathable, stretchier, more supple, but still highly durable NeoShell fabrics for the brand’s TB 2.0 Jacket, its flagship product.

With this brief, the Polartec development team worked to create NeoShell fabrics specifically for the needs of Teton Bros. This resulted in a more supple mechanical stretch nylon woven NeoShell fabric that balances drape and stretch with high durability for greater mobility in the body of the garment, and an extremely abrasion resistant and durable Supplex nylon woven face NeoShell fabric for use over the shoulders and waist of the jacket. Both fabrics are paired with a proprietary fine gauge circular knit textile on the interior that is softer, stretchier, and less prone to snagging than traditional tricot waterproof fabric linings. These specific iterations of Polartec NeoShell are exclusive to Teton Bros., and according to Mr. Suzuki, are “like wearing air.”

“There are other stretchy waterproof fabrics on the market, but not with the breathability of NeoShell,” says Peter Lord, Polartec global product manager for weather protection. “The new knit NeoShell styles we’ve engineered are the softest, most breathable, and most comfortable NeoShell fabrics ever created. You’ll want to put them on and leave them on.”

Polartec and Teton Bros. release a video and microsite telling this collaborative development story.

About Polartec

Polartec is the premium provider of innovative and sustainable textile solutions. Since inventing modern technical fleece in 1981, the engineers at Polartec continue to advance the science of fabric, creating fabric technologies that solve problems and improve the way products are designed and used. Polartec products range from lightweight wicking and cooling fabrics, to insulation and weather protection textiles, and are utilized by leading consumer brands, the U.S. Military and other global militaries, flame resistance, workwear, and contract upholstery markets. For more information, please visit Polartec.com and follow Polartec on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.