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Hellytech Performance and Professional fabric review

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
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Dec 21, 2015
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So lets just say I have never really looked at Helly Hansen Gear before...but I was given some stuff and told I had to wear it for a season. The models of jackets and pants I am wearing aren't available to the public but the membranes used are.

Hellytech performance - IF you want a shell that will keep all your body heat and moisture in, while letting all outside moisture in. I guess it is snow resistance and wind proof.

Who is this membrane for?

-someone who doesnt sweat, or run hot and ski in places where you never get wet snow, or rain.

Who is not for?

- someone who runs hot, or skis actively, or has to or wants to ski on "wet" days

Hellytech Professional - well this stuff is admittedly more breathable and more waterproof than the performance, it is absolutely wind proof as well. With that said it does a poor job of keeping sustained wet snow out, and or rain.

Who is this membrane for?

- a moderate intensity skier in Colorado High county would probably love it

Who is this membrane not for

- anyone who run hot, and needs their shell to be absolutely waterproof, simply put its not.

There are better membranes out there for less money in many case than either of the Helly Hansen membranes being sold. Gore-tex 3L, Event, Neoshell, and Trew's membranes all do a better job of being more waterproof more breathable than the Hellytech pro. Neoshell and Event are WAY more breathable, while gore tex and Trew are only slightly more breathable.
 

Primoz

Skiing the powder
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Nov 8, 2016
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Slovenia, Europe
IF you want a shell that will keep all your body heat and moisture in, while letting all outside moisture in.
Hahahah if you wrote this right, and if I understood it right, that's basically my typical description of all fancy textile names in clothing industry.... you are sweating like hell, keeping all the sweat in, but at same time, it lets all the water from outside (rain/snow) let go through... pretty much XYtex turned wrong way :D
 
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Josh Matta

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
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you read it exactly right. Keeps your sweat in, while letting all the outside moisture in, its also very wind proof, so there is no chance of cooling down.
 

Dwight

Practitioner of skiing, solid and liquid
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20 yr + packable rain coat is still my best HH attire. Family members have had good results with ski pants and ski coats too. Maybe they give the professionals worse gear than you can purchase regular.
 
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Josh Matta

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
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Dec 21, 2015
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4,123
20 yr + packable rain coat is still my best HH attire. Family members have had good results with ski pants and ski coats too. Maybe they give the professionals worse gear than you can purchase regular.

Hey I just reviewed the stuff they made and I received. I was completely honest, Ill be complete honest if I am given something that is nice as well.
 

Dwight

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Hey I just reviewed the stuff they made and I received. I was completely honest, Ill be complete honest if I am given something that is nice as well.
Nothing wrong with what you said. I have no in at HH. I get frustrated with some of their stuff too. :)
 

Mike King

AKA Habacomike
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Nov 13, 2015
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3,381
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Louisville CO/Aspen Snowmass
So lets just say I have never really looked at Helly Hansen Gear before...but I was given some stuff and told I had to wear it for a season. The models of jackets and pants I am wearing aren't available to the public but the membranes used are.

Hellytech performance - IF you want a shell that will keep all your body heat and moisture in, while letting all outside moisture in. I guess it is snow resistance and wind proof.

Who is this membrane for?

-someone who doesnt sweat, or run hot and ski in places where you never get wet snow, or rain.

Who is not for?

- someone who runs hot, or skis actively, or has to or wants to ski on "wet" days

Hellytech Professional - well this stuff is admittedly more breathable and more waterproof than the performance, it is absolutely wind proof as well. With that said it does a poor job of keeping sustained wet snow out, and or rain.

Who is this membrane for?

- a moderate intensity skier in Colorado High county would probably love it

Who is this membrane not for

- anyone who run hot, and needs their shell to be absolutely waterproof, simply put its not.

There are better membranes out there for less money in many case than either of the Helly Hansen membranes being sold. Gore-tex 3L, Event, Neoshell, and Trew's membranes all do a better job of being more waterproof more breathable than the Hellytech pro. Neoshell and Event are WAY more breathable, while gore tex and Trew are only slightly more breathable.

Our uniforms have this stuff. Unfortunately, Colorado now gets its (much smaller) share of liquid snow. The uniforms don't keep us dry.

The word from management is that the chemicals that used to be used to make this stuff more impervious to wet are damaging to the environment and no longer allowed to be used on clothing.

Mike
 

Philpug

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The uniform market is a tough one...for Helly or any company when they have to be the lowest bidder and that could mean pennies when talking about a buyer like Vail. Sadly the decision makers in the buying process are never end users and are just looking at a spreadsheet and ledger to see what is going to be the cheapest....not to be confused with least expensive, which can be a lower cost in the long run. Almost worse than an "All Mountain Ski", there are different needs at different mountains and different regions for uniforms. When the decision to award Helly the contract, Stowe was not even on the radar of Vail...not that their needs would be taken into consideration when deciding which uniforms to go with.
 

EricG

Lost somewhere!
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VT
My wife had a HH jacket last year with HellyTech Pro membrane. She never complained about the breathability but she complained about getting wet. It was a nice looking jacket but wasn’t worth the $$. Backcountry allowed us to return it for store credit.
 
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Josh Matta

Josh Matta

Skiing the powder
Pass Pulled
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Posts
4,123
Our uniforms have this stuff. Unfortunately, Colorado now gets its (much smaller) share of liquid snow. The uniforms don't keep us dry.

The word from management is that the chemicals that used to be used to make this stuff more impervious to wet are damaging to the environment and no longer allowed to be used on clothing.

Mike

I can’t buy that

First dwr and membranes are two different things , I have access to industrial strength dwr and know how to apply it and it still didn’t help the membrane out. I also have new outwear from flylow and strafe that is much more waterproof than Helly tech pro. Both peices are neoshell but the must still have access to the material for neoshell and the dwr.
 

Mike King

AKA Habacomike
Instructor
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Nov 13, 2015
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3,381
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Louisville CO/Aspen Snowmass
I can’t buy that

First dwr and membranes are two different things , I have access to industrial strength dwr and know how to apply it and it still didn’t help the membrane out. I also have new outwear from flylow and strafe that is much more waterproof than Helly tech pro. Both peices are neoshell but the must still have access to the material for neoshell and the dwr.
Not many of us in the locker room buy it either. Our uniforms are not picked by a bean counter but by the owner's wife. She has different criteria than we do.

Mike
 

cantunamunch

Meh
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21,894
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Behavioral sink
The word from management is that the chemicals that used to be used to make this stuff more impervious to wet are damaging to the environment and no longer allowed to be used on clothing.

Mike

That phase out was 10 years ago and only applicable to the surface treatment, not the membrane. Kinda sad that they are still using it as justification.
 

pack21

La vita è bella, non sprecarla.
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Mar 11, 2018
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Portugal
And about N80p-x VS Gore-Tex PRO ?

I like to rid stressed slopes, so i produce a lot of heat, I'm willing to pay for the best breathable wet and shield for wet snow Hard Shell.

I'm looking at the N80p Arc'teryx Sabre Jacket, for is relax fit i like most, but I'm afraid it's worse than the Gore-Tex PRO (from Rush Jacket, regular fit), both need DWR treatment, I'm correct?
 

James

Out There
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Dec 2, 2015
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The irony is HH is Norwegian and some parts of Norway like Bergen it rains over 230 days a year. Exact opposite of say Boulder, CO
 

Analisa

Making fresh tracks
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Dec 29, 2017
Posts
982
And about N80p-x VS Gore-Tex PRO ?

I like to rid stressed slopes, so i produce a lot of heat, I'm willing to pay for the best breathable wet and shield for wet snow Hard Shell.

I'm looking at the N80p Arc'teryx Sabre Jacket, for is relax fit i like most, but I'm afraid it's worse than the Gore-Tex PRO (from Rush Jacket, regular fit), both need DWR treatment, I'm correct?

So N80P-X is a fabric and Gore Pro is a membrane. Both are important factors in breathability (and durability). The Sabre uses both. Any Goretex membrane will usually be more breathable than proprietary membranes like Helly Tech - they're mainly PU, which traditionally has either been less breathable or less waterproof, depending on how thick the PU layer is (they're getting better every year though - and PU membranes like Dermizax are getting closer). eVent is the most breathable membrane material since it's ePTFE, which is super thin. The problem with ePTFE is that it's oliophilic and oils eat away at the membrane. If you go with an eVent jacket, you should wash the jacket on a regular basis (every few wears) to get the same mileage you would out of other waterproofing options. If you run really hot, it's worth it.

Gore takes the best of those two technologies and uses ePTFE and PU in their membranes so that they're a happy balance of oliophobic and breathability. Pro is a different, more breathable, more waterproof upgrade compared to standard Goretex. Either way, these can get washed once or twice a year for weekend warriors and hold up for many years.

Fabric knits/weave patterns also influence how breathable a jacket is - I ski in a jacket that's a 75D X 160D polyester dobby. Incredibly durable for a <$150 jacket and cuts wind insanely well, but the flip side of that is that it doesn't breathe. Nylon is a lot stronger than polyester, so manufacturers can get away with a lower denier on a nylon jacket than polyester (basically more space between threads), which improves breatheability. Likewise, knits are a way looser fabrication than weaves and breathe much better as well, but they're much less durable and more prone to pilling. Big problem since the outer fabric & inner lining need to protect the membranes from dirt & oil. Goretex introduced their C-Knit fabrication where the outer fabric is woven and the inner is knit and it all gets laminated together with the membrane. Knits are also cheaper to produce at the mills.

Regardless of which membrane/fabrication you go with, none of the changes in weave or waterproof materials have as big of an impact as mechanical venting. Giant pit zips that extend down your side > fancy fabrics if you're looking to beat the heat.
 

Erik Timmerman

So much better than a pro
Instructor
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Nov 12, 2015
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6,302
The irony is HH is Norwegian and some parts of Norway like Bergen it rains over 230 days a year. Exact opposite of say Boulder, CO

They actually surveyed us about the uniforms this year (don't know that anything will come of it, but it's a start). I wrote in mine something to the effect that HH makes clothing for Ocean Racers and North Sea Fishermen, so I'm sure that they can make something that is waterproof. I have a strong dislike for my uniform, can't say I hate it quite as much as Josh does, but it is WAY too hot. Yesterday I was teaching a bumps lesson and wearing no mid-layers and with the pit zips open I was still fully soaked after a single run. In the rain, it's like I've been swimming. Not sure it';s all because of the fabric/membrane/dwr, it is also because the zippers are not waterproof and there are about 40 of them. If you are moving the water comes right through them. The hood seems to stay dry - probably because it has no zippers. On the rainiest days it's been so bad that water ran down my legs inside the pants and filled my boots by lunch time. I went straight to the SSDs office to show him and there he was, just as wet as me, it's not like they don't know how bad the uniforms are. Next time I have to work during a deluge I will just wear my own stuff and take my chances.
 

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