Gamma recently made its way onto Kickstarter, where it managed to reach its funding goal within hours and contrived to earn over $50,000 within three days. As of writing this, its campaign is still live on Kickstarter, with over 5000 individuals pledging to back the project. Here’s a closer look at the Gamma Jacket, its use of Graphene, and why it’s such an exciting piece of techwear.
What Is Graphene?
Graphene isn’t entirely a new material per se: it has been subject to various research for its applications in different fields of engineering over the decade. So much so that, in 2014, a National Graphene Institute was established with a $60 million initial funding for researching and developing commercial applications of graphene. As a transparent and flexible conductor, graphene holds promising applications for various devices/materials such as LEDs, touch panels, solar cells, etc. Just in the last few years, we saw its realization with a new range of tennis racquets, a mono car model, a graphene file with 95% light absorption capabilities, among others. And now, we’re seeing it being actively used in techwear.
What makes Graphene ideal for Techwear, and why is it used in Gamma Jacket?
Talking about its use in clothing ware, the infused graphene in the Gamma jacket allows for an all-season, all-climate clothing ware: one that can be used year-round. Its nano-lattice structure, sitting at just one atom thick, makes it super-stronger — even stronger than diamond — and imparts properties and benefits that make it thin, strong, and flexible while also being lightweight and durable.
Besides these properties, graphene also possesses a few other characteristics: it’s highly conductive, 100% waterproof, thermo-regulating, damage-proof, anti-bacterial, insect-repellant, and UV light-proof, all of which make it an ideal material for a new kind of outerwear on the Gamma jacket that functions as a winter jacket, a cool-weather jacket, a windbreaker, a rain jacket, and activewear.
Graphene’s Features That Make Gamma Jacket Stand Out
Alongside the use of graphene, which is the highlight of Gamma, there are several other factors — imparted due to graphene’s properties or otherwise — that make the Gamma jacket stand out from other techwear.
Smart heat regulation and insulation: Traditional synthetic insulation found on standard clothing ware falls short in offering enough warmth to keep you warm during winters. Graphene‘s thermal properties, on the other hand, make the Gamma jacket function like a second skin such that it moves heat through its latticed structure and evenly distributes it around your body during winters, and expels heat and wicks moisture through its permeable pores in summers.
Built-in heating: Gamma jacket comes equipped with three carbon fiber heating elements. These elements are powered by a power bank and activate with the push of a button. You can use them when your body heat isn’t enough to keep you warm during winters. Once enabled, the built-in heaters warm up the jacket up to 50°C/122°F in less than 30 seconds, which can keep you warm even in sub-zero conditions. Gamma’s built-in heater also offers three adjustable temperature settings that you can cycle through using a button and use according to the weather conditions. Talking about safety, the thermoregulating properties of graphene ensure that the jacket never overheats or ignites when using its built-in heater.
Breathable: Infusing graphene into the Gamma jacket allows it to expel heat without letting cold air inside it, so you don’t get that sticky, sweaty feeling that comes with rain jackets and winter coats. When used as sportswear, graphene pulls heat and moisture from the body and expels it into the air to give you a cool sensation.
Hypoallergic and non-toxic: Graphene is a hypoallergic material, and therefore, it’s resistant to allergens like pollens and mites. It protects your skin from skin allergies and other skin conditions and is claimed to be non-toxic and completely non-hazardous.
UV proof: Gamma jacket protects you from the harmful UV rays and keeps you cool in the sun.
Damage-proof and knife-proof: Being a strong material, graphene can resist most forms of damage, which, in turn, makes Gamma scratch-proof, puncture-proof, tear-proof, and abrasion-proof.
Anti-odor: Graphene is said to be 100% anti-odor, which allows it to prevent any form of odor-causing contaminants to grown on the jacket. To achieve this, it uses the process of ionic conduction, wherein the graphene interacts with sweat odors and neutralizes any harmful substances on its surface.
Waterproof and wind-resistance: One of the reasons that make Gamma an all-season jacket is that it’s waterproof and wind-resistant, which protects you from gushing winds (up to 50 miles per hour) and keeps you warm and dry even when it snows.
Multi-pocket system: Gamma comes with a ten-pocket system, including hidden pockets that offer it the versatility to carry all your essential belongings, so you don’t have to carry around a bulky bag with you all the time.
Miscellaneous: In addition to the features mentioned so far, the Gamma jacket also comes with built-in fingerless gloves, retractable sleeve cuffs, and adjustable waist and hood drawstrings, which you can use as per your preference. It is also 100% machine washable, so you can easily machine wash it without risking any damage to its material. Moreover, since the jacket is made out of graphene, it’s rugged and can practically last for life while staying ultrathin and lightweight.
Gamma Jacket: Re-imagining Techwear with Graphene
Being made out of graphene, the Gamma Jacket ticks all the checkboxes for one-of-a-kind techwear: one that not only looks good but also comes loaded with features and characteristics that make it an all-purpose, all-season jacket.
So, if you’re a traveler/commuter looking for a solid rugged jacket, or if you’re someone who likes minimal jackets, you can get your hands on the Gamma jacket right away. Not just that, if you’re just intrigued by the tech inside Gamma, you can support the project over at Kickstarter (link below). Check out Gamma Jacket
