Cold Weather Abrasion Test

Whether the outer fabrics and reinforcement materials we quote differ in abrasion resistance, and whether cold changes that ranking rather than simply making every specimen fail sooner. Test method: to be confirmed with the laboratory, applied identically to every specimen, with specimen conditioning defined before the test starts. Conditions required for a comparison to mean anything: the fabric or reinforcement specification and weight; the number of specimens and how they are oriented relative to the weave; whether the specimen is conditioned cold before testing and how that condition is established and held during the test; the abradant and how often it is renewed, because a loaded abradant changes after a few cycles; the load applied to the specimen; the endpoint, whether that is a number of cycles, a visible failure or a measured change in appearance; the ambient or low temperature condition of the test; and the instrument and calibration status. Two abrasion results obtained to different endpoints cannot be compared, even if the endpoint is only described differently.

Abrasion is where a cold weather garment stops being a cold weather garment. Insulation does not fail first; the shell or reinforcement over the knee, seat and cuff wears through, and while the garment is still structurally intact it no longer keeps wind and water out of the layers beneath. Reinforcement placement and material choice are specification decisions with a cost attached, and buyers are frequently asked to pay for heavier face fabrics or additional reinforcement without any evidence of what the heavier option delivers. A comparison under one method gives the buyer a basis for choosing between a plain panel, a doubled panel and an applied reinforcement, and a way to argue that decision against a cheaper quotation.