
H鈧侼o庐 Performance Standard
Our H鈧侼o庐 Performance Standard is Patagonia鈥檚 benchmark for waterproofness, breathability and durability.
Cómo
A lot of waterproof products keep you dry and comfortable鈥攗ntil they don鈥檛. Think delamination, decreased durability or a drop in breathability, which is not helpful if you鈥檙e sweaty on a climb or worse, suffering through a soggy jacket in sub-zero conditions.
So when we started building breathable waterproof products, we wanted to create gear that performs at the highest level and for the long haul.
To ensure every product upholds our performance and longevity standards, we established a benchmark along with a series of tests for waterproofness, breathability and durability rigorous enough to be backed by our Ironclad Guarantee.
What is the H鈧侼o® Performance Standard?
欧博会员入口 subject our materials and products to drenching conditions before re-testing to ensure they protect you even after extensive use.
Dónde Estamos
Our H鈧侼o庐 Performance Standard is not a technology or specific material鈥攊t鈥檚 an extensive, years-long testing process that every single one of our waterproof materials and waterproof products must pass both in the lab and in the field to earn the H鈧侼o title. It鈥檚 intentionally demanding so that we say yes only to products that guarantee long-lasting waterproof performance and breathability.
While lab tests can鈥檛 perfectly mimic Mother Nature, they are extremely useful in helping us develop our H鈧侼o fabrics and ensuring they meet four major performance points: waterproofness, breathability, surface repellency and long-term durability.
欧博会员入口 also work closely with a select group of testers chosen for their sports expertise who are more than happy to push our materials to the limits and poke holes in our designers鈥� lofty ideas. They help us confirm that the materials, design and construction are top-of-the-line for a wide variety of activities, whether it鈥檚 alpine pushes, long days skiing or getting caught in the rowdiest of thunderstorms.
Our H鈧侼o testing process has been critical as we transitioned completely out of intentionally applied perfluorinated chemistries. For Spring 2025 and beyond, all our new products, including those with water-repellent finishes and membranes, are made without intentionally added PFAS and have passed the gauntlet of H鈧侼o tests.
So how could PFAS be unintentionally added? There are more than 14,000 PFAS chemistries regulated by the new laws that went into effect January 1, 2025. Only a few of these chemistries are actually used for a functional or technical purpose in clothing. These are the chemistries we are not adding to our products. But the industry is still learning how and where the other chemistries might show up in different components of apparel and manufacturing processes. 欧博会员入口鈥檙e staying close to the science to ensure our supply chain and products reflect the most up-to-date research on these chemistries and their potential impacts on our health and the planet鈥檚.
In short, if it鈥檚 a chemistry that鈥檚 regulated by the new laws, Patagonia is not using it.
Here鈥檚 a more detailed look into the H鈧侼o process.
PHASE 1: LAB-TESTING THE MATERIAL
Waterproofness
To measure complete waterproofness, we subject our fabrics to a 鈥淜iller Wash,鈥� our wet flex and abrasion test that simulates up to 30 years of use in drenching conditions. 欧博会员入口 gauge this by putting pressure鈥攊n the form of a cylinder of water measured in millimeters鈥攐n the fabric to see how far we can push the limits before the fabric starts leaking. The first Killer Wash tests are performed at 20,000mm of water and then again to ensure the fabric maintains a 10,000mm water rating. This means we only select fabrics that will meet industry standards for waterproofness even after extensive use.
Breathability
Breathability means a fabric must simultaneously repel water from the outside while allowing heat, sweat and moisture to escape from the inside. 欧博会员入口 test this by measuring a fabric鈥檚 Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate (MVTR) and Resistance to Evaporative Heat Transfer (RET), tests that measure how effectively vapor and air can pass through a waterproof material under different conditions, from fly fishing to alpine climbing. 欧博会员入口 then retest breathability after Killer Wash to ensure that the material performs all of the above after simulated prolonged use.
Surface Repellency
Even if water isn't getting through the waterproof membrane, a saturated outer fabric can reduce breathability and comfort. That鈥檚 why surface repellency鈥攈ow well water beads and rolls off face fabric before the moisture ever reaches the interior coating or lamination鈥攊s so important. To test that, we spray our materials with water at varying intensity levels to simulate both light and heavy rain, measuring the resulting beading on a 1鈥�5 scale. 欧博会员入口 then retest after Killer Wash to ensure that materials still repel and bead water after extensive use. (Love your shell, and it will love you back: You can refresh surface repellency through normal wash and care. Learn more here.)
Long-Term Durability
By running tests before and after Killer Wash, we get an excellent sense of how a material will perform after years of use, not just in terms of waterproof performance but also in physical construction. 欧博会员入口're looking out for delamination, membrane degradation and more. Beyond waterproof durability, we also extensively test the physical durability of our fabrics, measuring tensile strength, ripping resistance and abrasion resistance to ensure they can keep up, no matter the forecast or terrain.
PHASE 2: FIELD-TESTING THE MATERIAL
Once a material passes our many lab tests, it's adapted into an existing product design鈥攕ay, a prospective material sewed into a Triolet Alpine Jacket silhouette鈥攕o our field testers can help us understand real-world comfort. Sometimes we even incorporate two different materials into one design so our testers can compare performance more directly. Every material we consider for use gets at least two months of continual use in the field before it鈥檚 even considered for use in a product.
PHASE 3: LAB-TESTING THE DESIGN
Once an individual material passes our lab and field tests and is adopted into a new product, we run more tests to make sure that the material and design meet our (very high) standards. 欧博会员入口鈥檙e analyzing:
Durability and construction: Seams, tapes and trims need to be as durable as our fabrics, so the final garments must pass additional lab tests, like ensuring seams don鈥檛 leak before and after a Killer Wash.
Design execution and function: All of our products are carefully reviewed by our Design, Quality and Repair teams to ensure you never have to deal with issues like waterlogged zipper garages. They also verify that key elements can be easily repaired, so you can keep your gear in play and out of landfills.
Prototype testing: 欧博会员入口 call on our ambassadors and other testers to try out individual protypes. 欧博会员入口 start with one version, review their feedback, make changes and repeat this whole process until we get the most effective and reliable waterproof version of the product.
PHASE 4: FIELD-TESTING THE FINAL DESIGN
After the prototyping process is complete, we put dozens of samples of our final design into the field with our global ambassador team for several months of field testing, ensuring that the final product is ready for our customers. Think of it as the final sniff test.
Qué Sigue
Beyond rigorously testing (and re-testing) our waterproof materials, we are actively working on ways to reduce the impact waterproof products have on the environment. 欧博会员入口 are proud to have completely transitioned out of intentionally applied PFAS for all new products for Spring 2025 and beyond. 欧博会员入口 are also working on creating the highest level of performance gear without relying on petroleum-based materials. Our goal is to completely stop using virgin petroleum fibers by the end of 2025.
