What goes into a Transform glove

It is PrimaLoft Gold synthetic insulation with tiny aerogel particles built into the fibres. PrimaLoft calls it aerogel-powered insulation built for extreme conditions, and lists it as lightweight, packable and warm when wet.

I-1019 is PrimaLoft's product code for Gold Insulation Cross Core in its Classic Series. Plain PrimaLoft Gold Insulation is I-1001. The code is how you tell the two apart on a spec sheet or tag.

Aerogel is a solid made mostly of air. Silica aerogel is more than 95 percent air, which makes it a very good insulator for its weight. On its own it is brittle, so it has to be carried in something, like a blanket or a fibre.

Partly. NASA didn't invent aerogel, which existed long before. NASA's Kennedy Space Center funded Aspen Systems, now Aspen Aerogels, through small-business contracts to make flexible aerogel blankets for super-cold rocket fuel. PrimaLoft built on that work.

NASA Spinoff reports 15 to 20 percent better thermal performance than synthetic fibres without aerogel. That is the only sourced figure we have found. PrimaLoft's own product page gives no number.

Not in this form. Older aerogel insulation came as encapsulated blankets, which NASA Spinoff describes as stiff and not breathable. Cross Core puts the aerogel inside the fibres, so the insulation stays fluffy and breathes, which is what a glove needs.

PrimaLoft lists Warm When Wet as one of Gold Cross Core's features. It is still a good idea to keep the insulation dry, which is the job of the Hipora insert in our gloves.

Silver is a separate PrimaLoft insulation without the aerogel. We don't have the spec sheets needed for a fair number-for-number comparison, so we won't quote one. Every Cross Core product PrimaLoft lists is built on Gold.

It depends on the day. Down is very warm for its weight but generally struggles once it's soaked. Synthetic insulation like Cross Core is made to keep working when damp. Our UMP Mitt uses PrimaLoft Gold Down Blend Blend for the coldest days. The rest of our Hipora range uses Cross Core.

Hipora® is a waterproof, breathable three-layer microporous membrane, used in our gloves as a separate insert between the liner and the outer glove. It is covered in microscopic pores that are too small for liquid water to get through and big enough for sweat vapour to escape.

Hipora was developed by Kolon, the Korean textile group. Kolon describes it as Korea's first breathable-waterproof fabric, launched in 1984 and made with a wet-coating process. Its successor fabric at Kolon is called neoVENT.

Yes. The hang tag describes the insert as a waterproof PU membrane that shuts out water from outside. Water can still get into a glove around the membrane, mostly through an open cuff, and a soaked outer can feel cold and heavy even when the insert has kept your hand dry.

Yes. The pores let water vapour from your skin pass out through the membrane. Breathability has limits, though. If you sweat faster than vapour can leave, or the outer glove is soaked and cold, your hands can still feel damp.

They are different materials. Gore-Tex is an ePTFE membrane, and Gore controls and tests the finished gloves it licenses. Hipora is a microporous PU coating. Neither brand publishes a glove-insert rating we can compare like for like, so we won't claim one beats the other.

We couldn't find a published one. Numbers like 10,000 mm or 15K float around online, but none of them points to a test report. If our factory can supply the insert's lab results, we will publish them here.

Usually it is sweat, snow down the cuff, or a soaked outer pulling heat out of your hand. The insert only works for water that meets it from outside. Seal the cuff over or under your jacket and let the gloves dry fully between days.

An insert is a separate membrane glove sewn between the liner and the outer, which is how Hipora is used in our gloves. A laminated membrane is bonded straight to a fabric. With an insert, the outer can take on water before it reaches the membrane.

Follow the care label on your pair first. In general, spot clean the outer, don't wring the glove, and dry it at room temperature with the cuff open. Keep it off heaters and away from a fire, because direct heat is hard on leather and on seams.

DryRide is Burton's name for its own waterproof-breathable fabrics. We haven't found a published spec for either that lines up, so there is no fair number-for-number comparison to make. Both do the same basic job: keep liquid water out and let vapour through.