Interview - Galvin Green's Lead Designer, Mats Lundqvist talks layering

Galvin Green have been pushing the boundaries in golf apparel for some time now and in recent years they have been talking all about the importance of layering.

We recently spent some time with Galvin Green's Mats Lunqvist at the PGA show in Orlando to learn more about layering and how it benefits golfers:

What is Galvin Green's Layering Concept? 

The whole idea is to make fabrics that work together, for example if you wear a Gore-tex jacket with very good breath-ability plus a cotton garment underneath and you are sweating the moisture will not pass through the cotton because cotton absorbs moisture and you will make no use of the good Gore-tex layer.

What we try to do is create fabrics that let moisture and perspiration through all the layers to the outside leaving you more comfortable. This has been our goal for the last decade, to develop different fabrics that work together.

Mats went on to explain the four different layers that are used within the Galvin Green range: 

Gore-tex Layers

We have two different types of Gore-tex fabrics:

The first features a lining on the inside, it is a mesh lining, the mesh forms a barrier between your second layer and the outside fabric to create a layer of warm air.

The second is a our Gore-tex Paclite range which has the same breath-ability and waterproof qualities as the standard Gore-tex jacket, but this one is so much lighter. We tried to minimise the weight. This jacket weighs just 290 grams which is equal to 6 golf balls. It can roll up into a really small size and it can fit into any pencil bag.

In the Paclite range we want to reduce the weight as much as possible and so we have no unnecessary details, we try to avoid pockets. We have only one pocket on the back of the jacket, there is no need for golfers to have pockets on the front, they just get in the way. The jacket also has chest adjusters to change fit and make it slim, the slimmer the jacket is the easier it is to swing.

We also use stretch fabrics, a two way stretch which runs along along the back horizontally and length ways along the arms. 

Insula Layer

We wanted to create a layer that does not obstruct, unlike a cotton layer this fabric does not  absorb any moisture at all, it is polyester based and so the moisture passes all the way through to the outside.

On the inside of the fabric we have a 'waffle like structure'. The waffle structure is there to maximise the amount of air that can be trapped allowing your body heat to warm up the air which will stay inside the fabric.

As golfers, you will know that it easy to wear something warm, but it tends to bulky and you can't swing and so our goal has been to reduce the amount fabric and make our layer as thin as possible while still trapping as much air as possible.

For Spring 2015 we have also changed the composition of the fabric to make it even softer.

Cool Layer

We love the idea of using fabrics that do not absorb any moisture. Our cool layers are made form polyester and it's polyester with a fiber that has a big surface, this makes the moisture spread out over a wider area and evaporate faster, in fact it will evaporate 3 times faster than standard polyester.

So, it as a very quick drying and if you wash this fabric you will find it is almost dry out of the washer. you can hang it up and wear it 20 minutes later.

There is some good side effects to using fabrics like this for instance you can use the best cotton in the world, but it will be effected after 10 washes and have a stripe on the collar and you might have some shrinkage . This fabric, the one we use, you can wash 100 times and it will look exactly the same.

Base Layer

If it is really cold you might like to use a base layer underneath. It is the same idea as the Insula Layer, but in a much smaller waffle configuration, but still with the same goal to hold a lot of air inside and let it breath.

We used to have a compression series, but we have moved to a more comfortable fit which golfers prefer. 

So, all these different layers are designed to work together with the goal being that moisture is transported to the outside of the outer layer. 

You can learn more about Gavin Greens layering system in this video or by visiting their website - Click here.

Gavin Green have also launched an app in 2015 to help golfers make informed choices on what layers to wear on a given day. You can learn more about the free app and how to download it  - Click here