Helly Hansen Lifa Infinity Pro vs Goretex Pro 80d and 40d

[Rich_Ease_3051]

Anybody have experience with HH's new garment?

I've been a Goretex Pro fanboy since I started skiing but curious if Lifa Infinity can match Pro 80d's bombproofness, especially for ski pants.

I'm not fussy with jacket fabric as they take less beating and have less range of movement imposed on them compared to pants, which get stretched and scuffed on falls and sat on in chairlifts. I've been happy with Goretex pro ski pants but wondering if this Lifa Infinity is comparable?

 

[Analisa]

So Goretex Pro and Lifa Infinity are your membrane materials. Pro’s lab performance for waterproofing and breathability are pretty easy to find. Proprietary brands tend to keep theirs closer to the chest, but I’ll see what I can find.

40D & 80D refer to the face fabric. Gore has some guidelines on what they’ll let you laminate to their membrane, but it’s largely up to the brands. 40D and 80D refer to denier, which implies fabric weight and thread density (which influences durability). But whether that fabric is nylon or polyester, or woven into a single weave, double weave, twill, herringbone, etc also influences how tear and abrasion resistant a garment will be. If you have a link to the listing, I’m happy to take a look.

 

[Other Aaron]

So Goretex Pro and Lifa Infinity are your membrane materials. Pro’s lab performance for waterproofing and breathability are pretty easy to find. Proprietary brands tend to keep theirs closer to the chest, but I’ll see what I can find.

40D & 80D refer to the face fabric. Gore has some guidelines on what they’ll let you laminate to their membrane, but it’s largely up to the brands. 40D and 80D refer to denier, which implies fabric weight and thread density (which influences durability). But whether that fabric is nylon or polyester, or woven into a single weave, double weave, twill, herringbone, etc also influences how tear and abrasion resistant a garment will be. If you have a link to the listing, I’m happy to take a look.

@Analisa, have you had the chance to try out the HH kit?

 

[Analisa]

@Other Aaron - I haven't, but outerwear is largely the sum of its specs. If you've got an item in mind, I can take a look and generally break down what an item is designed to do based on membrane, material, weave pattern, etc.

 

[Powder High]

I was about to ask who Helly Hansen is, if such a person exists at all. Really I thought HH is bogus, just a made-up brand name. Then I did what every thinking person does today, and looked on the internet. And I'll be damned, there was a Helly Hansen. From Wikipedia (where else?)

Helly Juell Hansen had been at sea since the age of 14 and in 1877, at the age of 35, he and his wife Maren Margarethe produced their first oilskin jackets, trousers, sou'westers and tarpaulins, made from coarse linen soaked in linseed oil. Over the first five years they sold around 10,000 pieces.

In 1878 the company won a diploma for excellence at the Paris Expo, and began exporting its products.

After Helly Juell Hansen's death in 1914, company leadership passed on to his son Leiv Helly-Hansen, an experienced merchant.

Was Helly a skier?

 

[Other Aaron]

I was about to ask who Helly Hansen is, if such a person exists at all. Really I thought HH is bogus, just a made-up brand name. Then I did what every thinking person does today, and looked on the internet. And I'll be damned, there was a Helly Hansen. From Wikipedia (where else?)

Helly Juell Hansen had been at sea since the age of 14 and in 1877, at the age of 35, he and his wife Maren Margarethe produced their first oilskin jackets, trousers, sou'westers and tarpaulins, made from coarse linen soaked in linseed oil. Over the first five years they sold around 10,000 pieces.

In 1878 the company won a diploma for excellence at the Paris Expo, and began exporting its products.

After Helly Juell Hansen's death in 1914, company leadership passed on to his son Leiv Helly-Hansen, an experienced merchant.

Was Helly a skier?

Being Norwegian, probably. but the classical nordic skier as a means of transportation in the winter