Ventile is a high-quality woven

Weaving

Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...

 cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 fabric

Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 first developed by scientists at the Shirley Institute

Shirley Institute

The Shirley Institute was established in 1920 as the British Cotton Industry Research Association at The Towers in Didsbury, Manchester as a research centre dedicated to cotton production technologies...

 in Manchester U.K. during the Second World War, for use in pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

s' immersion suits. Ventile has a reputation of being both waterproof and windproof. It is hardly found in the United States, but in Europe, especially in the UK, it has seen a revival with the bushcraft

Bushcraft

Bushcraft is a long-term extension of survival skills. A popular term for wilderness skills in Canada, The UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the term was popularised in the southern hemisphere by Les Hiddins in Australia as well as in the northern hemisphere by Mors Kochanski and...

 movement. It is popular with birdwatchers and naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

s because, unlike synthetic fabrics

Synthetic fiber

Synthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes into the air, forming a thread...

 such as Gore-Tex

Gore-Tex

Gore-Tex is a waterproof/breathable fabric, and a registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore. Robert Gore was granted on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a...

, it produces almost no noise when in use. It is very popular among survivalists and bushcrafters in the European forests because of its strong resistance to tearing and fire. It is also widely used in polar expeditions, while artificial fibers are the preference among mountaineers. Ventile fabrics are also known under the name EtaProof. An American company Wiggy's, well known for its quality sleeping bags and cold weather clothing, uses imported British Ventile fabrics in the manufacture of a few of its garments, as well as the British company http://west-winds.co.uk which is a sister company of Snugpak

Snugpak

Snugpak is the tradename of manufacturer Snugpak Ltd. Products include quality sleeping bags, rucksacks, tents, and warm outdoor clothing. The family-owned company is situated in the West Yorkshire village of Silsden, England...

.