Garment Care

G A R M E N T  C A R E

Vulpine uses the very best technical fabrics. They are the base from which we build everything. Our kit is not cheap and we know it. But once you’ve owned Vulpine you see where the money goes. Performance and massive attention to detail. That means we’ve found that many of our customers worry about ruining their purchase. We made our garments to last, and sometimes the things you do to protect them, may do the opposite. Our returns rate is approximately one eighth of the usual rate for quality apparel. It is very, very low indeed. Invariably incorrect care is the cause of a problem, and almost all can be sorted out quickly and painlessly. Just email us and we’ll help and advise.

WASH YOUR GARMENT REGULARLY

Technical fabrics, covered with any foreign chemical, will work less well. If you ever get an epic cotton garment which has stopped being water resistant, wash it. Washing revitalises, getting rid of the accumulated crud of wear. It’ll be like new. Don’t be worried about you garment losing its water-proofing. Epic is built to last the life of a garment, at above 200 washes. That is a lot of washing. Be worried you’re killing the effectiveness of it by not washing it. In really rare extreme cases leaving a garment unwashed will corrode the glue that binds reflective materials and magnets to it. This could take months of heavy use and festering sweat and gunge. But if you’re wearing it irregularly, wash it for storage. A guide is, if riding in it most days a week, wash after a week. If the occasional ride and walking around town, every month. But when in doubt, wash! Merino wool is odourless with days of use; it’s more likely to look bad, than smell. But you can’t just leave it. Merino needs refreshing regularly. Give it a few days, a week if you’re touring the kalihari. But do wash it.

CONDITIONER IS THE ENEMY

There’s only one normal washing process to avoid, and that’s adding fabric conditioner. It binds around technical fabrics and nullifies their properties. If you’ve done that, don’t worry, just rinse it well, and if you can tumble dry the garment warm. Bingo. Back to new. Conditioner doesn’t ruin garments, it’s not a one-way street. But if your garment isn’t working as well as it should, this is the first port of call.

DRY MERINO FLAT

Merino is very stretchy. That means it looks great on and is ultra comfortable. But don’t dry it on a hanger. The weight of the water will stretch the shoulders into a peak. Lie it across a clothes maiden. Our jackets have no such problems though. You can dry them hanging up just fine.

OUR APPAREL IS TOUGH, BUT NOT INVINCIBLE

We’ve known Vulpine jackets and bottoms to survive crash damage. We use great fabrics. But if they were fully crash averse we’d be using 2 inch kevlar! But if you do have an off, please email us and ask our advice.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES

Wash our garments on a hot wash.
Iron hotter than specified.
Put on a radiator to dry.
Heat damage is irreversible.

SUMMARY

Wash regularly, don’t be nervous!
Don’t use to drag rocks through quarries or test spaceflight.
Dry merino flat.
Don’t use conditioner.
And do contact us with any doubts or queries.
Enjoy your garment. It’s going to be looking after you for a long time.