Domestic technical textiles Industry Segment-wise consumption of ...

High altitude clothing
High altitude clothing are used for protection against extreme weather conditions like extremely low
temperature, high velocity winds, snow fall etc. especially in critical combat areas like Siachen. The
clothing at high altitudes needs to meet both functional and comfort properties. High altitude clothing
is also known as Extreme cold climate clothing (ECC).
Product characteristics
The high altitude clothing consists of jacket, waist coat, trousers, glacier cap, rappelling gloves and
glacier gloves. The gear typically weight of special clothing is around nine to ten kilograms. The
typical characteristics of high altitude clothing are:
1. Hydrophilic - Waterproof and moisture resistant
2. Breathable
3. Abrasion resistance
4. Maintain high integrity
5. Resistance to quick wear and tear.
The material used for these clothing is typically hydrophilic polyurethane coating, Gore-Tex coating
or Sympatex coating. The hydrophilic properties are introduced by these coatings or laminates.
Microporous coatings or laminates can be produced by mechanical fibrillation, phase separation,
solvent extraction or solvent exchange.
Indigenous Technology for high altitude clothing
1. Ordnance Factory: The Ordnance Factories in India have indigenously developed high
altitude clothing as substitute for Gore-Tex suit. The suit called the Suit Yeti consists of three
layers of clothing conforming to an extended cold weather clothing system (ECWCS). Full
ensemble has application for glacier region under extreme cold & wind chill condition. All
the different layers can be worn as per the weather conditions and individuals metabolic
response to cold climate.
The construction details of the Suit Yeti are as follows:
Outermost garment is made of a three layer fabric having PTFE sandwitched between two
layers of Nylon Fabric, which acts as Breathable Membrane. This outer most Garment is
seam sealed to make it fully waterproof and windproof garment, which keeps inner shell's
thermal insulation intact however moisture is transmitted out wards from the intermittent
shell. Middle layer is made up of Wind Stopper Fleece. This wind proof material is extremely