If you are an experienced parent in the children's footwear department, you may have bought shoes that did not protect your child's feet from rain and surface water. There are 2 companies at the forefront of weatherproofing your childs feet. One is called SympaTex® and the other Gore-Tex®, for parents that love outdoor activities will be familar with these 2 brands. They are used in all applications from outdoor activity clothing to camping. So how do these brands work?

Gore-Tex® is a fabric based material consisting of a thin membrane that is bonded to a fabric. The membrane has billions of pores per square inch, this makes it impenetrable to liquid water while still allowing water vapour to the atmosphere. This makes Gore-Tex® breathable, waterproof, and windproof. The outer fabric is treated with water repellent and seams are sealed to prevent water leakage through pinholes caused during the sewing of the fabric. The membrane coating provides a protective layer and also prevents contamination (i.e. body oils) from wetting the laminate and passage of moisture through the membrane.

SympaTex® fabrics are branded waterproof and "breatheable" fabrics (leather or textile) made or licenced by SympaTex® Technologies GmbH. They all feature a waterproof, windproof and breatheable membrane, laminated to fabrics (leather or textile) either on its inner surface or sandwiched between two fabric layers (often marketed as "3 layer laminate"). The latter system offers greater durability, by better protecting the integrity of the SympaTex layer from abrasion to both the outside and the inside of the garment or footwear. The SympaTex® membrane like Gore-Tex® does not allow water to get in from the outside, but water vapour molecules are transported through the membrane from the inside to the outside by way of an absorption & evaporation process. This moisture transfer through the membrane is what is referred to as "breatheability".

From the description of both membranes we all know that there is a going to be a premium over a pair of shoes that do not have it. On average expect to pay a £10 or $18 USD premium over a pair that does not have the membrane However, you have the benefit that the shoes will keep water out but also allow moisture out. Another major benefit is the reduction in the possibility of an form of foot infection, as most foot infection is caused by damp feet reacting with bacteria in the footwear. Ricosta is a leader in the manufacturer of children's shoes with weatherproof membranes and each season incorporate this technology in their shoes more than any other manufacturer, but there are also other well known brands in the market that use both or either of these weatherproof membranes. They are:-