Bombtwill Alphacore Geojak

Hardcore yet secretly soft. The magic of the Bombtwill is twisted in the yarns. Hundreds of tiny nylon 6,6 filaments are air-texturized and spun together into each yarn. Each filament is slightly larger than one denier and the air-texturization crimps the yarns giving them a cotton-like spring and lingerie grade softness. But because hundreds of these filaments are twisted into each yarn the result is thick heavy-duty nylon yarn that's overspec'd for everyday wear. More technically the warp yarns use 200 and change filaments while the weft yarns use 300 and change which are also spun around an elastane core, but who is counting? The important thing is the elegant twisting of the soft into the strong.

The weave itself is quite straightforward, a simple 2x1 twill clocking at 360gsm (10.5oz) and treated with a fluorocarbon free (F0/C0) Zelan R3 DWR. The result is a rugged but relatively lightweight fabric that stays clean, dries quickly and has a whole lot of stay-off-the-body structure. In other words it behaves a lot like denim, but is both lighter and more durable.

Alpha 120 is a modestly heavy insulation characterized by its extreme breathability, an absolute essential when trying to create warmth without overheating. Designed by Polartec for US Special Forces to use in cold wet conditions, it is a knit insulation created by splicing a spacer mesh into two faces. The result is a particular combination of warmth and openness but most importantly it is a non-migrating insulation, which means it can be paired with far more open face and lining fabrics than most traditional insulations.

Nature and technology intertwined in pursuit of lightweight perfection. A 150gsm jersey made with 75% super soft 16.5 micron top-capped merino and 25% Ciclo branded polyester intimately blended together to a luxuriously soft, dry and breathable performance fabric.

The magic starts with the merino of course, because nothing in nature performs as well. We use a 16.5 micron, top-capped Australian RWS certified merino for that extra softness, plus all the hygroscopic thermobuffering and odor resistance wool is so good at. At 150gsm though the fabric is quite light so it needs to be blended with something to strengthen it up, and if you are blending you might as well add some extra performance.

Merino excels at handling water vapor but doesn’t handle liquid water quite as well, something polyester is exceptional at. Poly both absorbs almost zero water (just 0.4% of its weight) and also wicks it across its surface quickly to speed up drying times. When blended with merino it can also create a slightly less bouncy yarn, which in turn allows for the fabric to be knit into a more open structure for better breathability. In particular we use a Ciclo branded polyester that meets Oeko-Tex Ecoports certification. This polyester includes a biodegradable ingredient that stimulates microbe metabolization in environments where materials like wool naturally break down. Or at least that’s what they claim, we take these claims with a big grain of suspicion, but there does seem to be enough there to at least merit testing it out.