Pittards® Leather History

Pittards® is the producer of the finest leather on earth for the active sports enthusiast. Launched in 1980, Pittards WR100 leather was the culmination of many years of exhaustive research. This research originally began with the development of specialized leathers for a number of demanding Ministry of Defense and NATO applications, such as combat gloves, pilot's gloves, and helmet linings.

Fundamental to the research were the specially selected skins of the hair sheep, a traditional material (a by-product of the meat industry) that Pittards has used for generations. Found in the sub tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and South America, this sheep has a remarkably soft, strong and light skin which makes it particularly appropriate for military and sporting glove applications.

The WR100 process enhances these natural characteristics and creates leathers with qualities that others still cannot match, and has also been applied to other specialist skin types to further enhance their performance. The WR100 process involves over 40 inter-related operations, each one of which has to be tuned and adjusted to ensure the final technical quality of WR100 leather.

Today's WR100X leathers have built on the original WR100 performance and improved it. Not only do they shrug off moisture and allow perspiration to escape, but this happens without any change in the structure of the leather.

Parados™ leather can be produced in lightweight substances without affecting the chemical repellency, allowing the production of soft, fine and comfortable gloves.

Resistance to Chemicals - Tested to ensure that materials such as sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid and heptane do not penetrate the leather.

• The glove leather is subjected to a fine jet of liquid chemical under low pressure.

• The leather is positioned at an angle, which allows the chemical to run over the surface.

• The degree of repellency and penetration is calculated.

• Test Results: Parados™ leather repels the liquid chemicals, does not allow penetration of the liquids, and gives the wearer a greater level safety against chemical splashes, which reduces the risk of hand-skin contact with potentially hazardous liquids.

Oil Resistance - Parados™ leather has a high resistance to oil, petroleum, and diesel.

• Reduces the risk of leather absorbing flammable materials

• Gives the leather resistance to oil based stains.

• Test Results: Parados™ leather shows an enhancement of the leather appearance over time, and ensures the efficient transfer of moisture vapor from the hand, preventing perspiration build-up for better comfort and durability.

Water Resistance - Parados™ chemical resistant technology does not affect the properties of the leather.

• Retains its high levels of water resistance and breathability.

• Transfers moisture vapor efficiently.

• Prevents perspiration build-up for increased comfort and durability.

For more information visit the Pittards website

Or, e-mail Mike Dodd