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C/P ON NEW ODOR ELIMINATING CLOTHING LONG
headzilla97
Member Posts: 6,445
New Scent-Control for the Generation `X' Bowhunter
My odor-control obsession started about five years ago: washing my hunting apparel with non-scented detergent, storing the same apparel in a sent proof bag; showering with non-scented soap; spraying down apparel and equipment with scent-elimination sprays; and dressing the part while in the field.
Silver fibers may be the next wave in scent-control clothing.
My quest for total odor control soon made me highly interested in scent-elimination clothing. At the time, the only choice was garments containing activated carbon. Fortunately, I work in a field that deals with various applications of activated-carbon technology; I soon realized that the use of activated carbon in garments to control human odors is a poor application.
I felt so strongly about this that I even wrote two articles on the subject and substantiated my claim with scientific information documented within University and U.S. government documents. The two articles caused quite a "stink" in the hunting gear industry.
ED NOTE: Part I of Corrigain's article "Do Activated-Carbon Garments Really Work?" can be found by clicking here and in the January 2004 issue of Whitetail Fanatic magazine. Part Deuce can found by clicking here.
Before you can kill your enemy, you must know your enemy. The enemy, it would seem, is human odor. But what is human odor, and exactly where does it come from? On the surface, that question might seem simple to answer, but the answer is actually a bit complex.
Scientists have identified about 300 compounds that are released by the human body. Many of those compounds expel an odorous gas of some sort, while others do not. Specifically, human odor is primarily composed of different gaseous molecules of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and other chemicals such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfides.
These odorous gases are not your enemy . the true enemy is bacteria that produce the gases.
Physicians tell their understudies to treat the disease, not just the symptoms. Using activated carbon in a garment theoretically does just the opposite. Activated-carbon garments are marketed to continually adsorb odorous gases after periodical visits with a household dryer, but they do nothing to control the source of the stinky gases.
Ever wondered why a sweaty person stinks and a relaxed, dry person generally does not? Though that question may seem a bit gross, but it does cut to the biology behind why we hunters stink.
Bacteria cells actually feed on dead skin cells that are constantly being shed as new skin cells grow. When skin is dry, bacteria are in what scientists call an aerobic metabolic state. This simply means that bacteria are using oxygen to breathe; in doing so, they release odorless carbon dioxide and water as waste.
However, a rich supply of oxygen isn't always available to these bacteria cells. Bacteria living on parts of the body - armpits and feet - often don't get enough oxygen needed for aerobic respiration. Perspiration also will deprive bacteria cells of oxygen on all parts of the body. This is when things get "stinky."
Bacteria cells have the ability to switch from aerobic to an anaerobic metabolic state in the absence of oxygen. When bacteria switch to anaerobic respiration, they use compounds such as carbohydrates and/or sulfur, in place of oxygen, for fuel. Since the intake is different, so is the waste: Instead of the odorless carbon dioxide and water, it's now odorous VOC gases.
An army of anaerobic bacterium is the true enemy. Keep this statement in mind as you read further.
Recently the scent-control garment industry has experienced a surge of evolution of its own. First-generation scent-control garments, such as activated-carbon garments, brought about an extreme awareness of the importance of scent control. The market those garments created have opened the door to what I call second- and third-generation scent-control garments, both of which exhibit much more practical methods of controlling human odors.
Second-generation odor control garments are those treated with bactericide compounds. These bactericide treatments allegedly do not wash out of the garments and stay effective for the life of the garment. Contain and Rocky's Scent IQ are a few example brands using this type of technology.
Bactericide treated clothing is designed to control bacteria growth in the garment. While this is good, the only way bacteria on skin surfaces can be eliminated is if they are exposed to the bactericide treatment contained in the clothing. However, this does not appear to be possible.
The company who originally licensed the fiber technology to Vest Shield Inc., the makers of Contain, state the following on their web site: "The antimicrobial ingredient is for the protection of the product only and does not protect users against bacteria and fungi."
This statement may be the result of various EPA and/or FDA regulations on the bactericide compound used in Contain called Triclosan. Triclosan is used in products such as laundry detergent and toothpaste, but is considered a skin irritant and prolonged direct skin contact applications are scrutinized.
A magnified view of silver fibers contained in X-Static textile fabric.
A brand new third-generation odor-control garment now available to consumers uses the most impressive, yet simplistic, technology that I have seen to date.
ArcticShield, makers of extreme cold weather apparel, is now manufacturing an odor-control garment line, which carries the catchy name X Scent.
X Scent clothing utilizes a licensed technology called X-Static, which is a textile fiber with 99.9 percent pure silver (Ag) permanently bound to its surface.
Do not confuse pure silver with sterling silver. Sterling silver contains other trace metals such as copper, which can irritate skin. Pure silver is a potent bactericide but isn't harmful to humans.
Silver's importance as a bactericide has been documented since the late 1800s. Phoenicians used silver containers to keep water, wine and vinegar pure during their long voyages. American pioneers moving West put silver coins in water barrels to keep them clean and free of bacteria.
You've probably heard the expression, "born with a silver spoon in your mouth." This expression is a reference to health, not wealth. In the 18th century, babies who were fed with silver spoons were healthier than those fed with spoons made from other metals.
Silver also has a variety of uses in pharmaceuticals. In fact, silver sulfadiazine is a very powerful compound used for burn treatments. It's used by hospitals nation wide on burn victims to kill bacteria growing on wounds.
A certain medical report supports silver as a very potent bactericide: "There is no known disease-causing organism that can live in the presence of even minute traces of the chemical element of simple metallic silver. Based on laboratory tests, destructive bacteria, virus and fungus organisms are killed within minutes of contact."
It's widely understood in the medical community that certain bacteria are essential for the human body to function and remain healthy. Some researchers claim that silver only attacks bad bacteria and will not harm friendly bacteria, but one must wonder how this can possibly be true. The explanation is that the friendly bacteria are aerobic, while unfriendly bacteria are anaerobic. Silver only attacks anaerobic bacteria by decomposing the enzyme required for cell respiration.
Pure silver is contained within the fibers of X Scent clothing, therefore the enemy can not live in the clothing, but what about bacteria living on the surface of skin.
Remember, any bactericide, whether it's a chemical compound or pure silver, must come in contact with bacteria to effectively eliminate them. When you don X Scent clothing, or any clothing for that matter, a warm, humid environment is created between the skin surfaces and the inner lining of the garment.
To over exaggerate and demonstrate this process, imagine a plastic bag wrapped tightly around your hand for about ten minutes. Moisture vapor being released from your skin cannot evaporate; soon you'll have a hand that is soaking wet.
It's astonishing how much moisture actually escapes through skin. When a body is at rest, the volume of moisture being released through skin is usually less than the evaporation rate, depending on relative humidity; therefore skin feels dry. When engaging in physical exercise, the volume of moisture being released is more than the evaporation rate can handle. This is simply known as sweating.
We all sweat, which makes the word "dry" a relative term. While you're reading this article you may feel dry, but I assure you that although you're not soaking wet, your skin is quite moist with a salty liquid mixture.
You've surely heard the statement: "When your dog licks you, it's for the salt, not because he likes you." Bare with me, I'm about to dazzle you with an explanation on how the pure silver contained in X Scent clothing effectively controls anaerobic bacteria on the surface of skin.
The moist, salty environment that is present between skin surfaces and the inner lining of the X Scent garment exhibits a weak electrical charge. When the pure silver fibers contained in and on the surface of the inner lining come in contact with the electrically charged saltwater environment on your skin,
trace amounts of silver are released. More specifically, when silver is exposed to saltwater, silver ions and colloidal silver are released.
Silver-ammonia complex ion, Ag(NH3)2+
Colloidal silver is a particle of silver that is 1.26 angstroms (.000126 microns) in size. This is so small that its nearest rival is an atom. Silver ions are charged atoms of silver.
Basically, the moment you don X Scent clothing, your skin is bathed with tiny particles of pure silver, which immediately begin a bounty hunt for odorous-gas producing anaerobic bacteria.
Equally important, silver also binds with odor-causing denatured proteins and ammonia, a stinky non-organic compound produced by bacteria, effectively neutralizing them.
Charged silver ions (Ag+) bind strongly to ammonia molecules (NH3) to form silver ammonia complex ions (Ag(NH3)2+). The resulting complex ions are odorless. The principals involved here are based on core basic chemistry.
The X-Static technology works harmoniously with the salty moisture on skin. In fact, the more sweat, the better the technology works to destroy anaerobic bacteria. This is with out a doubt a leap forward when compared to activated-carbon garments. Even if activated-carbon garments were effective in dry conditions, they would be completely useless in wet environments caused by sweat or rain.
What about field-testing?
Recently, the U.S. Army purchased 5.5 million pairs of socks containing X-Static technology to prevent against athletes foot and the dreaded Boot Rot, which is caused from poor hygiene due to wearing the same pair of socks for days on end. U.S. Troops in Iraq, who are currently using these socks, have given highly favorable reports on the product.
I was fortunate enough to obtain a pair of these socks and I wore them to work for an entire week without washing them. My wife will tell you that when I take off my work boots at the end of the day, the smell is not pleasant. Even after an entire week of wearing these socks, there was no detectable odor present on the socks, in the boots or on my feet.
Throughout this article I have used the term "control" rather than "elimination." Short of wearing an astronaut's pressurized moon suit in your treestand, there will likely never be a garment available that will completely eliminate human odor. All the current first-generation scent-control garments use technologies that merely address odor symptoms, where as
X Scent apparel offers a cure.
The third generation of odor-control clothing has arrived. The Generation "X" bowhunter will surely be amazed with ArcticShield's new X Scent apparel.
To learn more about ArcticShield's X Scent clothing, visit www.xscent.com.
Biologist and environmentalist Michael Corrigan is an avid bow hunter and enjoys educating other bow hunters.
My old man's backhand used to land,
Hard on the side of my head.
I just learned to stay out of his way.
There's been streetfights, blue lights,
Long nights with the world sittin' on my chest:
It just showed me how much I could take.
Hard times, bad luck.
Sometimes, life sucks.
That's all right, I'm ok.
It ain't nothin' but another day.
My odor-control obsession started about five years ago: washing my hunting apparel with non-scented detergent, storing the same apparel in a sent proof bag; showering with non-scented soap; spraying down apparel and equipment with scent-elimination sprays; and dressing the part while in the field.
Silver fibers may be the next wave in scent-control clothing.
My quest for total odor control soon made me highly interested in scent-elimination clothing. At the time, the only choice was garments containing activated carbon. Fortunately, I work in a field that deals with various applications of activated-carbon technology; I soon realized that the use of activated carbon in garments to control human odors is a poor application.
I felt so strongly about this that I even wrote two articles on the subject and substantiated my claim with scientific information documented within University and U.S. government documents. The two articles caused quite a "stink" in the hunting gear industry.
ED NOTE: Part I of Corrigain's article "Do Activated-Carbon Garments Really Work?" can be found by clicking here and in the January 2004 issue of Whitetail Fanatic magazine. Part Deuce can found by clicking here.
Before you can kill your enemy, you must know your enemy. The enemy, it would seem, is human odor. But what is human odor, and exactly where does it come from? On the surface, that question might seem simple to answer, but the answer is actually a bit complex.
Scientists have identified about 300 compounds that are released by the human body. Many of those compounds expel an odorous gas of some sort, while others do not. Specifically, human odor is primarily composed of different gaseous molecules of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and other chemicals such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfides.
These odorous gases are not your enemy . the true enemy is bacteria that produce the gases.
Physicians tell their understudies to treat the disease, not just the symptoms. Using activated carbon in a garment theoretically does just the opposite. Activated-carbon garments are marketed to continually adsorb odorous gases after periodical visits with a household dryer, but they do nothing to control the source of the stinky gases.
Ever wondered why a sweaty person stinks and a relaxed, dry person generally does not? Though that question may seem a bit gross, but it does cut to the biology behind why we hunters stink.
Bacteria cells actually feed on dead skin cells that are constantly being shed as new skin cells grow. When skin is dry, bacteria are in what scientists call an aerobic metabolic state. This simply means that bacteria are using oxygen to breathe; in doing so, they release odorless carbon dioxide and water as waste.
However, a rich supply of oxygen isn't always available to these bacteria cells. Bacteria living on parts of the body - armpits and feet - often don't get enough oxygen needed for aerobic respiration. Perspiration also will deprive bacteria cells of oxygen on all parts of the body. This is when things get "stinky."
Bacteria cells have the ability to switch from aerobic to an anaerobic metabolic state in the absence of oxygen. When bacteria switch to anaerobic respiration, they use compounds such as carbohydrates and/or sulfur, in place of oxygen, for fuel. Since the intake is different, so is the waste: Instead of the odorless carbon dioxide and water, it's now odorous VOC gases.
An army of anaerobic bacterium is the true enemy. Keep this statement in mind as you read further.
Recently the scent-control garment industry has experienced a surge of evolution of its own. First-generation scent-control garments, such as activated-carbon garments, brought about an extreme awareness of the importance of scent control. The market those garments created have opened the door to what I call second- and third-generation scent-control garments, both of which exhibit much more practical methods of controlling human odors.
Second-generation odor control garments are those treated with bactericide compounds. These bactericide treatments allegedly do not wash out of the garments and stay effective for the life of the garment. Contain and Rocky's Scent IQ are a few example brands using this type of technology.
Bactericide treated clothing is designed to control bacteria growth in the garment. While this is good, the only way bacteria on skin surfaces can be eliminated is if they are exposed to the bactericide treatment contained in the clothing. However, this does not appear to be possible.
The company who originally licensed the fiber technology to Vest Shield Inc., the makers of Contain, state the following on their web site: "The antimicrobial ingredient is for the protection of the product only and does not protect users against bacteria and fungi."
This statement may be the result of various EPA and/or FDA regulations on the bactericide compound used in Contain called Triclosan. Triclosan is used in products such as laundry detergent and toothpaste, but is considered a skin irritant and prolonged direct skin contact applications are scrutinized.
A magnified view of silver fibers contained in X-Static textile fabric.
A brand new third-generation odor-control garment now available to consumers uses the most impressive, yet simplistic, technology that I have seen to date.
ArcticShield, makers of extreme cold weather apparel, is now manufacturing an odor-control garment line, which carries the catchy name X Scent.
X Scent clothing utilizes a licensed technology called X-Static, which is a textile fiber with 99.9 percent pure silver (Ag) permanently bound to its surface.
Do not confuse pure silver with sterling silver. Sterling silver contains other trace metals such as copper, which can irritate skin. Pure silver is a potent bactericide but isn't harmful to humans.
Silver's importance as a bactericide has been documented since the late 1800s. Phoenicians used silver containers to keep water, wine and vinegar pure during their long voyages. American pioneers moving West put silver coins in water barrels to keep them clean and free of bacteria.
You've probably heard the expression, "born with a silver spoon in your mouth." This expression is a reference to health, not wealth. In the 18th century, babies who were fed with silver spoons were healthier than those fed with spoons made from other metals.
Silver also has a variety of uses in pharmaceuticals. In fact, silver sulfadiazine is a very powerful compound used for burn treatments. It's used by hospitals nation wide on burn victims to kill bacteria growing on wounds.
A certain medical report supports silver as a very potent bactericide: "There is no known disease-causing organism that can live in the presence of even minute traces of the chemical element of simple metallic silver. Based on laboratory tests, destructive bacteria, virus and fungus organisms are killed within minutes of contact."
It's widely understood in the medical community that certain bacteria are essential for the human body to function and remain healthy. Some researchers claim that silver only attacks bad bacteria and will not harm friendly bacteria, but one must wonder how this can possibly be true. The explanation is that the friendly bacteria are aerobic, while unfriendly bacteria are anaerobic. Silver only attacks anaerobic bacteria by decomposing the enzyme required for cell respiration.
Pure silver is contained within the fibers of X Scent clothing, therefore the enemy can not live in the clothing, but what about bacteria living on the surface of skin.
Remember, any bactericide, whether it's a chemical compound or pure silver, must come in contact with bacteria to effectively eliminate them. When you don X Scent clothing, or any clothing for that matter, a warm, humid environment is created between the skin surfaces and the inner lining of the garment.
To over exaggerate and demonstrate this process, imagine a plastic bag wrapped tightly around your hand for about ten minutes. Moisture vapor being released from your skin cannot evaporate; soon you'll have a hand that is soaking wet.
It's astonishing how much moisture actually escapes through skin. When a body is at rest, the volume of moisture being released through skin is usually less than the evaporation rate, depending on relative humidity; therefore skin feels dry. When engaging in physical exercise, the volume of moisture being released is more than the evaporation rate can handle. This is simply known as sweating.
We all sweat, which makes the word "dry" a relative term. While you're reading this article you may feel dry, but I assure you that although you're not soaking wet, your skin is quite moist with a salty liquid mixture.
You've surely heard the statement: "When your dog licks you, it's for the salt, not because he likes you." Bare with me, I'm about to dazzle you with an explanation on how the pure silver contained in X Scent clothing effectively controls anaerobic bacteria on the surface of skin.
The moist, salty environment that is present between skin surfaces and the inner lining of the X Scent garment exhibits a weak electrical charge. When the pure silver fibers contained in and on the surface of the inner lining come in contact with the electrically charged saltwater environment on your skin,
trace amounts of silver are released. More specifically, when silver is exposed to saltwater, silver ions and colloidal silver are released.
Silver-ammonia complex ion, Ag(NH3)2+
Colloidal silver is a particle of silver that is 1.26 angstroms (.000126 microns) in size. This is so small that its nearest rival is an atom. Silver ions are charged atoms of silver.
Basically, the moment you don X Scent clothing, your skin is bathed with tiny particles of pure silver, which immediately begin a bounty hunt for odorous-gas producing anaerobic bacteria.
Equally important, silver also binds with odor-causing denatured proteins and ammonia, a stinky non-organic compound produced by bacteria, effectively neutralizing them.
Charged silver ions (Ag+) bind strongly to ammonia molecules (NH3) to form silver ammonia complex ions (Ag(NH3)2+). The resulting complex ions are odorless. The principals involved here are based on core basic chemistry.
The X-Static technology works harmoniously with the salty moisture on skin. In fact, the more sweat, the better the technology works to destroy anaerobic bacteria. This is with out a doubt a leap forward when compared to activated-carbon garments. Even if activated-carbon garments were effective in dry conditions, they would be completely useless in wet environments caused by sweat or rain.
What about field-testing?
Recently, the U.S. Army purchased 5.5 million pairs of socks containing X-Static technology to prevent against athletes foot and the dreaded Boot Rot, which is caused from poor hygiene due to wearing the same pair of socks for days on end. U.S. Troops in Iraq, who are currently using these socks, have given highly favorable reports on the product.
I was fortunate enough to obtain a pair of these socks and I wore them to work for an entire week without washing them. My wife will tell you that when I take off my work boots at the end of the day, the smell is not pleasant. Even after an entire week of wearing these socks, there was no detectable odor present on the socks, in the boots or on my feet.
Throughout this article I have used the term "control" rather than "elimination." Short of wearing an astronaut's pressurized moon suit in your treestand, there will likely never be a garment available that will completely eliminate human odor. All the current first-generation scent-control garments use technologies that merely address odor symptoms, where as
X Scent apparel offers a cure.
The third generation of odor-control clothing has arrived. The Generation "X" bowhunter will surely be amazed with ArcticShield's new X Scent apparel.
To learn more about ArcticShield's X Scent clothing, visit www.xscent.com.
Biologist and environmentalist Michael Corrigan is an avid bow hunter and enjoys educating other bow hunters.
My old man's backhand used to land,
Hard on the side of my head.
I just learned to stay out of his way.
There's been streetfights, blue lights,
Long nights with the world sittin' on my chest:
It just showed me how much I could take.
Hard times, bad luck.
Sometimes, life sucks.
That's all right, I'm ok.
It ain't nothin' but another day.
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Ben