By Scotty Conerly
When the brand name of Gore-Tex comes to mind most people’s first association is quality. Gore-Tex has always had a great reputation within the ski community and has helped improve the quality and functionality of many of the products skiers use on a daily basis.
So when Gore associate Doug Crawford and his team gave DAKINE the opportunity to come to Maryland and visit the headquarters to learn all about the company we jumped right on board. Visiting alongside myself was DAKINE pro skier Sean Pettit and Nimbus Independent filmer Justin Wiegand. Both Sean and Justin utlize DAKINE gloves with Gore-Tex all winter long so they were stoked to come learn about the company.
Day one we checked out the Gore-Tex Capability Center where we learned the history of Gore and its ever-evolving progress. There are so many different facets of Gore that are implemented in everyday life it’s truly astounding. From fire protection, to medical products, to outerwear, gloves and beyond, the scientists of Gore have figured out a way to incorporate their product to improve many of the world’s top brands.
We also learned about the history of the Gore family, how the company has grown over the past 40 years, why Gore-Tex was created and how the company itself operates on a daily basis. If there are any college students interested in working for one of the best companies in the world send your resume to them immediately. They care deeply about the relationships they build with their employees and the partnerships they form with outside brands.
After lunch and cake for my birthday (thanks Gore front desk crew!) we headed over to the glove lab to learn all about what makes DAKINE gloves with Gore-Tex so awesome. Sean was having loads of fun testing the gloves in water, learning about Gore-Tex inserts, wearing lab coats, and seeing all the machines and technology that helps make the brand a step above anyone else.
Day two we were able to visit the Gore Rain and Comfort chambers to test the DAKINE Gore-Tex gloves in a life like environment. Watching Sean sit in the Rain Chamber for 30 minutes and freak out that he wasn’t getting wet was pretty entertaining.
After some serious laughter we moved over to check out the comfort chamber where you are able to simulate any temperature; hot, cold, wind, etc. Sean was freezing cold in the comfort chamber!
To top off this already great trip Doug and his crew took us to the Philadelphia Flyers playoff Hockey game where we were able to watch the Flyers take down the Canadians 3-0 to win game two!
This was hands down one of the coolest none skiing trips we have ever been on. A HUGE thank you goes out to all the good folks at Gore for their amazing hospitality and another big thanks to Doug Crawford for helping put this together.
Check out www.Gore-Tex.com to learn more!
