Henri
Lloyd’s Elite Offshore range has been officially launched at the METS trade show with claims of being the lightest, most breathable offshore gear ever.

David Peach, international director of Henri Lloyd, said the company is celebrating its 50th year and a history packed full of ‘industry firsts’ including velcro closures, use of non-corrosive zips and use of breathable fabrics.

More recently Henri Lloyd introduced ‘opti-vision’ hoods, which feature in the Elite Offshore range.

But the ‘really significant development for the brand’ is its new GORE-TEX Technology, which Mr Peach said was produced at their own manufacturing plant in Poland, creating gear ‘30% lighter than Henri Lloyd’s ‘best in class’ predecessors.

The Elite range is also said to be scientifically proven to be 20% lighter than its nearest rivals, ‘without compromising abrasion resistance, puncture resistance, durability and waterproofness’.

Graham Allen, commercial director for Henri Lloyd, said this weight improvement would make each crew member weight 1kg less and therefore reduce tiredness by creating easier movement and improve safety by being lighter to recover should anyone fall overboard.

He said other improvements included