New products :Armada and Gore Expand Relationship to Include Full Range of Gloves for Winter 2013

W. L. Gore & Associates (“Gore”), inventor of GORE-TEX® high performance fabric technologies, and Armada (www.armadaskis.com), the premier rider-owned, rider-driven independent ski company, today announced the expansion of their partnership to include a full range of snow sports gloves for fall 2013.  Debuting at the SIA Snow Show, Armada’s new line of gloves will feature GORE-TEX® XCR® and GORE-TEX® X-TRAFIT™ product technologies.

Armada’s designers worked closely with Gore and Armada’s team of athletes to create innovative products that provide exceptional breathability and full weather protection needed for specific snow sport end uses. Using insight from Canadian freeskier JP Auclair, Armada developed the Duffy glove with GORE-TEX® X-TRAFIT™ product technology, now Auclair’s signature glove.

 “We developed the Duffy Glove as a serious backcountry tool,” said Auclair.  “Under the harshest conditions, the breathability and increased dexterity of GORE-TEX X-TRAFIT keeps my hands comfortable and allows me to handle my equipment with ease.   I'm stoked to have GORE-TEX be such a huge part of Armada's line.”

As part of the new line, Armada introduces the Delta GORE-TEX® Glove with X-TRAFIT™, its first winter pipe glove, as well as other styles made to meet the demands of top athletes who constantly push the limits. Providing advantages to both backcountry and park performance, Armada’s new gloves with Gore bond normally loose layers of the glove together in key areas such as the fingertips and palm, making it easier to handle everything from zippers to poles, all without compromising comfort.

“Armada’s initial relationship with Gore demonstrated the brand’s commitment to meeting the demands of high performing winter sport athletes,” said Brian Gallagher, global marketing at Gore. “We look forward to seeing the growth and continued success of Armada’s soft goods category with the launch of its GORE-TEX glove line. “

Armada will be showing the new line at SIA Snow Show (Booth #4349) Jan. 31-Feb. 5, 2013, in Denver, Colo., (http://www.snowsports.org/) and at ISPO, the International Sports Business Network Show held in Munich, Germany, Feb. 3-Feb. 6, 2013. The full range of gloves will be at retail in fall 2013 and will be available at ski specialty and authorized online dealers in North America, Europe and Japan.

About Armada Skis, Inc.
Armada Skis, Inc. is the premier rider-owned, rider-driven independent ski company in the industry. Armada is a family of athletes, artists, designers and engineers who together produce top performing skis, poles, outerwear and softgoods for men and women who demand the best. Established in 2002, the company is privately held with headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., an international office in Innsbruck, Austria and distribution in 42 countries worldwide. Armada is what skiing will become.  For more information, please visit www.armadaskis.com.

About W.L. Gore & Associates:
With more than $3 billion in annual sales and approximately 9,500 employees in 30 countries worldwide, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., provides diverse, high-performance solutions in consumer, industrial, electronic, medical, and surgical markets. As well-known for its unique corporate culture as for its products, Gore's 50-year success story rests equally on product and organizational innovation. Perhaps best known as the inventors of expanded PTFE (ePTFE) and the makers of GORE-TEX® fabric, Gore is a leading manufacturer of thousands of advanced technology products that comprise a breadth of capabilities.

GORE, GORE-TEX, and designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. ©2011, 295 Blue Ball Rd., Elkton, Maryland, 800-431-GORE, gore-tex.com

Cynthia Amon, W.L. Gore & Associates
Tel.: 410-506-2647; Email: camon@wlgore.com