Take a virtual tour!

Many of you have been to our store in Breck and you know what kind of customer service we offer. If you have not been to The North Face Breckenridge before, now you can take a look around without even getting up from the chair you're sitting in! Simply click HERE to take a virtual tour of our store......its amazingly beautiful!

Gore-Tex Unraveled

Gore-Tex Unraveled,

How warm is gore-tex? Do I need Gore-tex? Did Al Gore invent Gore-tex before or after the global warming?

These are a few examples of the misconceptions the staff here at Breckgear.com confront on a daily basis. We love it when people ask questions; as there is no sound as pleasing to our ears as our own voices, but understand that some people can be a little shy about phoning us up. That is why I, Jasper the dog, will set the record straight on this Gore-tex enigma.

To Dispel the aforementioned myths; Gore-tex itself is about as warm as a plastic grocery bag, you may or may not need Gore-tex, that depends on you and Al Gore invented neither of those things.

A brief bit of history:
Gore-tex is produced by the W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc. which was founded by Bill and Vieve Gore in 1958 when they started fiddling with their chemistry sets (or whatever it is that scientist do while wearing their haughty lab coats). Since then, the company has been producing some pretty amazing barrier layers with a lot of applications. You can find Gore-tex in electrical wiring sheaths, cutting edge surgical procedures and of course fine outdoor gear products.

The chemistry behind Gore-tex is fairly simple. It relies heavily on the fact that water vapor molecules are much smaller than liquid water molecules. Gore-tex is a membrane comprised of millions of tiny cones, the openings at the small end of these cones are bigger than a vapor molecule but smaller than a liquid molecule. Guys, as you get moving in the out of doors your body produces a bunch of sweat which is in turn vaporized by body heat. These molecules are pushed into the large end of the cones and out of the small end because your body is producing a lot more sweat. As in all things, when there is an overcrowding of these molecules in one place they will disperse to greener pastures, so to speak. Girls, a similar process occurs when you exercise except we all know that you don't sweat. Reread that last section and replace the word "sweat" with something like strawberry short cake or glitter or whatever you do. All of this is accomplished without letting any water or wind in.

Why does this matter? A garbage bag is waterproof, but you will probably freeze if you wear one because it doesn't let any perspiration out. Gore-tex does; and it is the best because it allows the most moisture out of any membrane. Thus, no water is hanging around your skin, sucking up all your heat and making you feel uncomfortable.

Gore-tex is a great waterproof breathable membrane but only you know if you need it. Every outdoor gear company has their own membrane or coating to accomplish the same goal, these are great options because they will keep you dry, they will breathe and they help keep the cost down. Its up to you to decide if you need more breathability

Opposable thumbs are for pansies,
Jasper the dog.

New Snow in the Mountains!

Book your trip to Breckenridge NOW because winter is here! On monday, Breckenridge Ski Resort Snowmakers came out from hibernation and started making snow. On top of that, I woke up this morning to see a few inches on the ground outside my house and about 6 inches at the resort. It may be october, but its time to start thinking about the upcoming ski and ride season and what type of North Face gear you need to stay warm this winter! Check out the Live Cam to view our winter wonderland and check out The North Face Breckenridge for the latest and greatest in winter outerwear.

Beautiful Miss Bucca

Much has gone on in the last week and I need to tell you about the bad news. Beautiful miss Bucca passed away last thursday, my best friend for the last 10 years. I adopted Sambucca when she was about 4 yerars old from a nice family in Belchertown Massachusets. Over the last 10 years she has been by my side keeping me company in a way only Bucca could do.

Bucca was starting to show her age and I do feel that it was her time to go. Instead of messing around with doctors and needles, Bucca found a nice little spot in the woods following a great hike to Lily Pad Lakes in Frisco, Colorado. I don't really blame her.

To make things a little better for me, Tony and I still took our trip to Fruita, Colorado and Moab Utah. Three days of mt. biking and one day on the road bike can do wonders for one's state-of-mind. Lets just say that the riding in Moab is much more technical than here in Summit County. Being rockstars, though, we tried everything we could and I only went over my handlebars once. Not bad.

The North Face Breck Crew

Here's an old photo from this past may that I just got my hands on. Every year on the last day the resort is open, we have a little gathering at Carter Park to celebrate a job well done. Many of the great peeps from the Skylark Group joined us this year as well.

Check us out online at http://www.breckgear.com/ for the latest and greatest in winter snowsports apparel. We have a great selection and FREE SHIPPING!!