Teijin Fibers, the flagship company of the polyester fibers business of Teijin Group, has announced that its 700-nm-thick high-strength polyester nanofiber called Nanofront has been used by Goldwin, a Japanese manufacturer of sport apparel, for producing the palms of motorcycle and bicycle gloves.
Teijin Fibers’ Nanofront is utilized for the first time in motorcycle and bicycle gloves. Goldwin will market the gloves, which will be sold in motorcycle and bicycle stores throughout Japan. The bicycle gloves in half-finger and full-finger versions will be available in the market in late February 2012, while the motorcycle gloves will be available in early March 2012.
Nano-sized bumps on Nanofront’s surface increase frictional force and generate a surface area dozens of folds higher than that of a normal fiber, thus providing higher slip resistance.
With Nanofront's soft texture and superior frictional properties, the gloves provide remarkable grip performance. The high-strength polyester nanofiber also provides high diffusion and moisture absorbency for enhanced comfort, making it a suitable material for use in glove palms.
Nanofront finds use in a broad array of industrial and clothing applications, including filters, abrasive cloths, skin care products, golf gloves, sportswear and innerwear. Recently, Teijin introduced Nanofront’s finer version whose fibers have a diameter of 400 nm. The finer version is considered as an unprecedented landmark for a commercial grade polyester fiber. It is anticipated to be utilized for a wide variety of applications such as high-performance air filters.