When you say “waterproof breathable”, you immediately think of the company that created the category, GORE-TEX. This month, it celebrates its 50th anniversary of keeping us dry.
During a recent visit to WL Gore & Co’s headquarters in Delaware I had a chance to get a look at the history of this iconic brand. One of the most amazing pieces in their archive is this prototype garment which was worn during a camping trip by Founder Bill Gore’s family.
This no-frills parka design even features taped seams and led to the first crop of commercial GORE-TEX products including the Early Winters mountaineering tent. This was followed immediately with multiple clothing options.
Footwear wasn’t far behind and by 1979 GORE-TEX lined running shoes by Brooks had hit the market followed quickly by boots from Danner.
While my first encounter with GORE-TEX was in 1986 with a pair Danner Ft Lewis Boots and experimental Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS), the first military use of a GORE-TEX product was almost a decade earlier in 1978 when a Marine Corps officer wore this Marmot Mountain Works jacket on a rotation to the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in California.
The color wasn’t right, but the material worked and within a few years Special Operations Forces were wearing commercial items to increase their operational capabilities. Take for example this lightweight 2-layer GORE-TEX ensemble in Woodland camouflage from the archives.
Today, GORE-TEX brand continues to innovate and you’ll find their products all over the battlefield including on this tethered drone which relies on a GORE brand cable offering both power and data transmission.
To learn more on this amazing history, visit www.gore-tex.com/about/50-years.
Very interesting, Gore-tex was hugely visible in the 1980’s. My first Gore-tex item was also a pair of Danner “Ft. Lewis” boots, in 1986, after they were recommended by our ROTC SGM, who had just come out of 2nd Ranger Bn with a pair. I considered them an investment, and got many years of excellent (dry) service out of them, especially in Graf and Hohenfels, and they are still in my bunker, servicable but probably eligible for a rebuild. I also was issued an identical-looking lightweight Woodland jacket, of commercial off-the-shelf origin (mine was tagged Brigade Quartermasters, IIRC), from 10th Group CIF 1993, but very reluctantly turned in back in during the 1995 move and shut down of Ft. Devens. Mine had the same dark or Hunter green lining as depicted, but I’ve also seen dark brown linings.
My lightweight had a light green liner and you and I had the same boots.