Mountain sports outfitter VAUDE from Germany shows at the ispo winter 2008 an interesting concept they developed for high end Outdoor Jackets, the Hybrid Performance System of its new Argon Line.

The Argon line is the most performance enhancing clothing concept for alpinists: all layers are perfectly fine-tuned to each other to reach the highest level of breathability, comfort and efficiency possible.

But there is a special feature that makes this performance system into our blog coverage: the use of Energlo fabrics, a glow-in-the-dark waterproof, breathable fabric.

VAUDE’s Energlo Jacket doesn’t just reflect light thanks to Energlo, it provides active protection in the darkness. A large fluorescent zone on the front and back of the jacket absorbs light from the sun or artificial lighting during the day, and shines in the dark for up to 180 minutes.

This fluorescence is created by minerals that are processed into the fabric so they aren’t affected by washing. Additional reflective elements complement these zones, providing all-round safety and guaranteeing wearing fun.

“The individual components are fully integrated with each other to create a complete system,“ explains Johan Raiha, Product Manager of the Argon Line.

The use of Energlo is smart and practical; catch the light during the day to have it ready for the late afternoon/early evening and stay visible. Especially useful in winter where the daylight is short.

I wonder why this concept hasn’t made it to the innovation award list. On my scale of innovative clothing the Energlo Jacket is very high up.

You can see the Jacket and more from Energlo in Hall A5, Booth 440 on the ispo winter 2008 in Munich until January 30.

The 2008 Wearable Electronic event calendar kicks off next weekend (Jan 27-30) with the ispo winter 08 in Munich, Germany.

About 20 exhibitors will present their textile technological product innovations on 250 square meters in hall A6.118. As in the previous years, the winter ispo event is a good indicator on what is coming up next in Wearable Electronic products.

This years theme is ‘Wearable Technologies: Sport meets new technology‘.

Looking though the exhibitor list for the Wearable Electronic part we see once more the recent trend of solar charging bags. SolarShopper and Sunload will show their latest products.

Very interesting is the pre-information from Texsys GmbH which works on a project called G-CELL – Free Motion Communication integrated into hi-tech gloves. I am looking forward to see more of this gloves.

Heated clothing is gaining momentum as well with exhibitor Pensonic (HK) Corp.Ltd showing another interesting (and warm) range of heated clothing to stay warm next winter as well.

All in all a very interesting mix off companies. But there is more to see and hear on the ispo winter 2008. A high-caliber group of panel discussion participants will provide you with a glimpse into the future of wearable technologies. WT Panel Discussions, at noon, hall A6 / booth 118:

• Sunday, 1/27/08: Wearable Technologies & Motion Sensors – New trends in the use of motion sensors in sports
• Monday, 1/28/08: Mobile entertainment and sports meet wearable technology (in cooperation with Bluetooth SIG)
• Tuesday, 1/29/08: The navigation trend in the WT market – A must for retail
• Wednesday, 1/30/08: Green WT – ecologically-correct WT products

Four exiting days and we are looking forward to learn more about next seasons Interactive Sports Fashion.