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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Brandt on March 8, 2011 at 11:41am

Hi Mathew - thanks for the interest you have shown in Hainsworth(R) TITAN.

Hainsworth have a long history in the fire market, originally supplying wool melton for fire tunics direct to the fire brigades at the turn of the last century. (The guard's scarlet in the photo is ours too...) We have kept up with technology, and were the first to introduce Nomex(R) brand fibre into the UK in the 70's, develoing Nomex(R) III and Nomex(R) Tough in conjunction with our supply partners.

Hainsworth(R) TITAN was developed in 2000 in response to a need for lighter, more breathable kit on the backs of our fire-fighters, to help tackle the growing burden of heat stress.

Due to our unique weave structure, we can produce an open, breathable fabric to help keep you cooler during your day to day duties, but harness the dynamic nature of Nomex(R) to consolidate the fabric and increase thermal performance, only when it is needed e.g. in flashover conditions. This way you get the best of both worlds...

Worst case scenario is most definately flashover, and luckily this is also very rare. In wearing Hainsworth(R) TITAN outershell you can cover all operational scenarios without having to compromise on comfort or increase the threat of heat stress by wearing heavier, bulkier kit, just in case... We have just had an incident in the UK where two fire-fighters wearing Hainsworth(R) TITAN outershell experienced a flashover and bar feeling 'warm' (their words) and suffering minor blistering to the face, both were unharmed and full of praise for their kit.

I would be interested in understanding why you think Pbi outperforms Nomex in the flashover criteria? Also, although Hainsworth(R) TITAN uses Nomex(R) brand fibre in its construction, its performance cannot be compared to a straight blended single layer Nomex(R) fabric.

We can produce Hainsworth(R) TITAN in the fluoro-green colour you use, as well as a range of light fast shades that will not fade or degrade on exposure to UV light, of which I believe you have plenty over in Australia, unlike us here in the UK! THis is because we take the strength of Kevlar(R) from the face of the fabric and protect it on the back from the effects of UV degradation, abrasion, etc.

If you want to know any more about any of these points, feel free to contact me through the website link above! I look forward to chatting with you.
Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Moyer on March 8, 2011 at 10:11pm

We purchased Bristol Fire gear its made in England. Worth looking into light weight with a vapor barrier.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Cole on March 11, 2011 at 12:40pm

Since the Moisture Barrier has been a requirement in USA I couldn't comment onworking without it...and I can't imagine it either. Our protective clothing has three layers which add up to the total level of protection. The outer fabric alone is not as significant as the total synergistic effect of the outer shell, moisture barrier, and thermal liner.

The ensamble is tested and rated on the ability to withstand high levels of heat and flame impingement for a very short period of time. It also measures the amount of heat that is transmitted to ht ebody, and the amount of sweat, or heat that is 'wicked" away from the body.

The end result can be depend on the type of fabric used for the thermal liner and moisture barrier. Defined as "TPP" and "THL" factors, varying degrees of liners can change those factors.

However when specs are such that the best liner matierial combinations are used, the overall difference to the user (firefighter) regarding the outer shell is in such a small range that it is inperceptable to the user. In other words, you won't actually FEEL the difference.

However for durability and longevity, the PBI/Kevlar blend outer shell will last longer, and is more resistent to tearing, etc.

The interesting part of all this is how the tests are done, and how the conclusions are reached. Not very realistic to actual conditions, as few laboratory research is.

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Permalink Reply by Mathew Philpott on March 12, 2011 at 4:29am

Cheers Jeff, i appreciate you comments - well thought out and obviously impartial.

*I will be in contact with Charlotte, would like to know more about TITAN.

keep the comments coming people this is all very helpful.

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Permalink Reply by Nenad on March 12, 2011 at 6:46am

In my country the differece in price between Nomex and PBI PPE can be 20-30 %, for the same type of PPE, only different material. That means that for the same amount of money you can buy 50 (100) PBI or 60 (120) Nomex PPE. In an expected usage life of PPE 6-7 years the price is the main factor, if the PPE satisfies the actual standards EN 469: 2005(fire and heat resistance, moisture barrier etc.)

http://www.bristoluniforms.com/documents/news/APF%20Sept%2006%20pag...
http://www.kermel.com/medias/fichiers/Brochure_Pompiers_en_GB.pdf

Kermel (France), Conex (China) are brand names for aramide materials used for production of firefighter PPE and they are also trying to take their part of market cake.

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Brandt on March 14, 2011 at 5:37am

Hi Jeff, I agree with just about everything you say. The garment assembly and garment design all contribute to the overall performance of the PPE. Take the best assembly, but cut it to fit wrong and the benefits are lost. Similarly take a fabulous performing outershell and combine with a dud moisture barrier and you get the same thing.

However, if you have done your research and combine a wickable liner with the best moisture barrier on the market and buy it from a quality garment manufacturer who thinks about how you wear your kit and cuts their cloth accordingly, then the outershell can make an enormous difference to overall comfort.

The best lining system will move the sweat away from the body and the best moisture barrier will transfer that through to the outershell layer. Cap it with a fabric with poor breathability and you contain the system and eventually the moisture barrier will reach equilibrium and stop working. Put a highly breathable fabric as the outer layer and it will help to keep that moisture management system going, using the air movement to evaporate the sweat and pull it through the system. We have designed Hainsworth® TITAN to be as open and as breathable as possible for this reason – as a single layer it is just under five times more breathable than the other well known competitor outershell you mentioned. Kit made from Hainsworth® TITAN/Gore membrane/Nomex® liner is known in Europe for shedding stored heat quicker than any other system, so I disagree that you won’t actually feel the difference. No other outershell fabric can match this performance because of the way we have designed the fabric and utilised the dynamic nature of Nomex®.

I also have to dispute that a Pbi/Kevlar blend will last longer than other blends. This outershell has 60% Kevlar in the blend, which although very strong is also very brittle and therefore quite fragile. Think of uncooked spaghetti – strong in one direction, but if you try to bend it, it snaps. This is what happens to Kevlar®/para-aramids fibres and is known as fibrillation that gives the ‘frosted’ appearance to fabrics with a high percentage of Kevlar® in the blend. When you wear and wash these fabrics, you are continually breaking the Kevlar® fibres and reducing strength. This is without factoring in UV light which has a degradating effect on Kevlar® fibres. Now take Nomex® fibres which are more like cooked spaghetti – they are more elastic and move and flex with the wearer and therefore have much higher abrasion resistance and wear life and are more comfortable to wear.

Because Hainsworth® TITAN is not an intimate blend of fibres we can design it to have the thermal performance and ‘textile’ aspects of Nomex® on the face with the high strength of Kevlar® protected on the back away from the effects of UV degradation and abrasion, giving you the best of both worlds.

I do agree with your point about lab test results and would always recommend a wearer trial as the best evaluation of performance which can be easily quantified by the wearer.

As Nenad says, there is also quite a price differential.

Sorry - that ended up as a bit of an essay!

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