Silver: The New Gold Standard

It's HOT." Two words are all Richard Griner, a Tampa, Florida, police officer, needs to describe the environment he works in. Similar to many officers around the country, Griner is susceptible to the hot weather's negative effects: sweat and bacteria growth, aka body odor. "I would come home and I didn't even want to pull off my shirt and smell myself," explains Griner. "On a long day where I have to be outside for 4 or 5 hours directing traffic, or if I have to run around chasing some guy, I end up sweating way more than normal."

Sweat collected in an officer's undershirt, vest and uniform leads to bacteria growth and ultimately results in a foul odor. By inhibiting the growth of this bacteria, odor can be eliminated. This is why apparel manufacturers are incorporating silver, the world's most effective antimicrobial agent, into their various clothing lines. Silver naturally inhibits the growth of bacteria and keeps the wearer free from its negative effects.

The known benefits of silver have been around for quite some time. It is only recently that silver technology has really caught on in the apparel industry.

One clothing manufacturer to incorporate silver in select garments is Medalist Tactical Shield, based in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Medalist's Silvermax technology, powered by X-static, takes each fiber and provides a 360-degree coating of 99.9 percent silver. This forms a complete exterior shell coating on the fiber. The fibers are then knitted into a fabric and made into shirts, shorts, undershorts, etc.

Initially skeptical of the apparel's claims, Griner's personal experience with the apparel was all that was needed to convince him of its effectiveness. "I started wearing the shirts and it went away, I didn't stink anymore. That was the biggest thing for me."

Griner now wears the boxers, socks and shirts with Silvermax technology. "The boxers are nice because they make everything breathe better," explains Griner. "I've always worn cotton boxers. But with the silver material they use, I get out of my patrol seat and things cool off a lot quicker." Griner says it is the same with the socks. "In the middle of a shift, you don't want to smell your feet or your shoes. The smell just kind of goes away with the Silvermax."

Bacteria build-up
Officers in the south aren't the only ones physically affected by the sun's rays. The necessity of carrying around the weight of an equipment belt and wearing a bullet-resistant vest, coupled with the dark uniform, will naturally cause officers to perspire and suffer from body odor.

Essentially body odor is developed by the ammonia and denatured proteins found in perspiration. These are the principle characteristics that form and create bacteria.

"The officer today that wears tactical vests 10 to 12 hours on a shift has perspired naturally or due to the conditions he's in," says Guy Grubel, vice president of marketing for Medalist Tactical Shield. "This means his base layer shirt smells horribly, his vest smells, the lining smells and his uniform smells."

The key then is to stop bacteria from growing. That's the role of silver in the apparel. "What the Silvermax technology does is not allow bacteria to form," he adds. "When bacteria can't start, then body odor does not develop." Grubel goes on to say, "Silvermax does not allow bacteria to grow. It doesn't mask it; it doesn't hide it; it doesn't inhibit it. It completely doesn't allow it to grow."

Beyond body odor
The benefits of silver go beyond eliminating body odor by inhibiting the growth of any bacteria. In the event an officer is inflicted with a flesh wound that cannot be immediately dressed, the apparel with silver technology can be wrapped around the wound to protect the exposed area from bacterial growth until the wound can be treated.

Silver is also nature's best thermo body temperature regulator. "In the summertime it actually pulls the body heat away from you and in the winter time will reflect it back to your body," says Grubel. "When your body temperature is controlled, you can perform and function better, and you also will minimize perspiration and sweat."

Griner explains that the cooling effect is noticeable. "It's insane to say you can feel yourself cooling off because I've had other under apparel before and it did not work nearly as well. I can be sweating put on the Silvermax product and feel myself cooling off. It's almost like it works as good as or better than my skin."

Additionally, silver technology is an anti-static fabric. The garments are quiet and the anti-static characteristics make it a safer garment for those working in conditions where this is of great importance.

Care and expected life
Unlike many treatments and other fixes, Silvermax technology will work through the life of the garment. "It's not a technology that wears out after a short period of time," states Grubel. Skinetics, a moisture-wicking technology employed in Medalist apparel is good for 40 to 50 washings, which in the industry is considered the life of a garment. The Silvermax technology will continue to be effective beyond the life of the garment.

There are no special care needs for the garments either. Normal washing in warm water is all that is needed to clean the clothes. The only recommended precaution, as with any synthetic fabric, is refraining from using fabric softeners when drying.

The biggest draw to this technology is the shirt doesn't have to be washed after every use. "You can just take it off, put it on the next day, wear it again and continue to do that process," says Grubel.

Fit for the job
Since Medalist engineers its own fabric, it is in control from the development to the manufacturing of the fabric and garments. This allows the company to have complete control of the fit of the garments which plays a crucial role in comfort.

"Feel and comfort are extremely important to us because we've actually had people who wear this product for several weeks without taking it off," explains Grubel.

Medalist offers different styles of fit that will best serve an officer's unique functions. The relax fit compression clothing is a little bit looser while still providing the support of compression. "Frankly, not everyone is built to be in an incredibly tight compression product," says Grubel. Medalist also offers looser fit products to wear as undergarments or a base layer under a uniform.

Griner, who has been wearing Medalist apparel for approximately five months, sites personal comfort as the reason he wears the thicker line of shirts under his tactical vest. "I wear the thicker one because it has more friction to it and my vest doesn't slide around as much." Though it may be slightly warmer than the thinner Tactical line, Griner says the difference is minimal.

Griner uses the tactical line in ways other than under his vest. "I personally use the tactical, the one that's real thin, when I go out," says Griner. "I put it on as an undershirt if I'm wearing a button-up shirt. If I go to the gym, I use it because it's much more comfortable to wear on a daily basis."

By wearing products with silver technology, officers can completely eliminate odor and bacteria issues and wear the same shirt day after day. "If you live where it gets really hot and humid, and you have a problem with body odor or with your vest, usually it's not you, it's the vest that collects bacteria over a certain amount of time," says Griner "But what they've done with the silver in there, it really does work by getting rid of the odor."