New water repellent fabric rashguards and surf shirts allow surfers and others to stay better insulated and more comfortable.

For water sports there is a new rashguard/surf shirt that offers maximum protection from the sun and the effects of cold water and wind.  It’s called KoreDry, from Victory Tropiskin.

KoreDry features a revolutionary advance that allows water to bead up and fall off.  The fibers of the fabric are embedded with a proprietary water repellant process so they stay dry at the fiber core.  The result is a shirt that provides insulation from hot and cold, doesn’t cling and dries as soon as you get out of the water.

Victory Tropiskin makes KoreDry garments of various styles in both a nylon lycra stretch fabric that fits like a rashguard, and a 100 percent nylon non-stretch fabric designed for a loose fit. 

If the Victory name sounds familiar, that is because it has quite a pedigree in the surf industry – Victory Wetsuits has been a major pioneer in the industry since 1978. 

Only an in-person demonstration can truly do justice to the water repellent nature of this proprietary fabric.  This is no light beading; these are major globules of water that roll around on the shirt like mercury from a broken thermometer. 

How is that going to help you?

With water sports such as surfing, paddling, kite surfing, wakeboarding, and wake surfing no matter what the temperature in Indonesia, the Caribbean, Latin Americas or Hawaii when the wind is blowing and you’re out for a couple hours, you’re feeling the chill and ready to call it a day.  It doesn’t take a physics lesson to understand that a wet, soggy shirt exposed to anything above the mildest of winds results in major cooling – much the same principle as why we humans all sweat.

Tak Kawahara, who operates CHP Surf in Redondo Beach, California, knew he’d found a winner three years ago when he tested KoreDry surf shirts and rashguards.

“The proof is definitely in the product.  If you are a comfort creature, it’s a practical garment, because with KoreDry you really can be comfortably warm out there,” he said. 

Kawahara said the new fabric is a major improvement over T-shirts and standard spandex rashguards, which take in and hold water.  “What you end up with is a soaking wet garment.  It’s pretty harsh to have the cold material against your body,” he said.  “I have a lot of customers come back and buy it for gifts or kids.  It really does what it says it will do.”

On the island of Oahu, clothing buyer and surfer Ryan Sugihara said KoreDry is likely, among other things, to unite sun worshippers because the fabric is 99% protective against damaging rays. 

Sugihara, who buys for all eight T & C Surf Design shops, also likes the product because he believes it will enjoy a wide appeal.  Kayakers, surfers, boaters, rafters, paddlers and so on will benefit from the water-repellant breakthrough.   But so will tourists with kids who may not surf, snorkel or paddle, but like to splash in the water.

For more information about KoreDry products contact Victory TropiSkin  18281 Enterprise Lane, CA. 92648;  (888) 8 SURFIN; Or visit the website at victorytropiskin.com.