The objective of the new organisation is to produce a series of publications, covering all product areas, including training books, posters and teaching materials See Keeping Warm and Staying Dry and supported by an online learning system. OutdoorGearCoach is being developed in collaboration with outdoor retailers in UK and USA, plus manufacturing brands who are licensees of the major fabric brands, outdoor professionals and outdoor journalists. OutdoorGearCoach focuses on the principles of how all outdoor gear works, and is non-comparative at the fabrics and product level.
The challenge is to provide useful, informative, scientifically accurate and unbiased information which is coherent across all garment segments and which can be used by all sectors of the outdoor community from users to designers, to brands to retailers to bloggers to journalists to outdoor instructors to consumers. In addition to this base information we hope to provide infographics posters and other tools. What emerges are the common principles of how all products work and how to get the best performance out of them.
The online learning system will form the basis of a CPD program for employees if this is desired and could even be taken to certification levels if that was the wish of the outdoor industry.
Mary Rose and Mike Parsons are backed up by a very impressive team which includes Climb Magazine's Gear Editor, Tom Richardson, and TGO Gear Editor, author and BMC Hillwalking Ambassador, Chris Townsend. In the first book, Keeping dry and staying warm, they explore the Skills, Practices and Physiology know-how needed to optimise performance in your mobile environment, drawing on the basic science of conduction, convection, radiation, evaporation, surface tension, plus human physiology. Textile and materials technology innovations are all covered, alongside the stories of the leading pioneer innovators and Instead of being single activity focused, as is the norm, the subject is covered very broadly, including the ‘why and how’ clothing works for the following activities: Backpacking and walking, Climbing, Mountaineering, Si touring/ski mountaineering, Rafting and sea kayaking, dventure racing and fell running.