Trim Materials
3M SCOTCHLITE™ Triple Trim- Color: Lime/Yellow or Red/Orange with Silver Center
- Width: 3” only
- Color: Lime/Yellow or Red/Orange
- Width: 3”
- Color: Red/Orange or Lime/Yellow
- Size: 2” and 3”
The purpose of trim on turnouts, helmets and other gear is to provide day/night visibility and quickly ID the firefighters by trim alone or with the visibility of letters/numerals. While this may seem self-evident, the importance of a turnout’s trim cannot be stressed enough. It is especially critical where visibility is minimal and confusion is maximum with large numbers of personnel from several departments on the fireground. Trim specifications are fully covered in NFPA 1971, 2013 Edition.
3M SCOTCHLITE™ Triple Trim
Globe’s first choice for overall proven performance and affordability is 3M SCOTCHLITE™ Triple Trim which incorporates a center silver stripe impregnated into the 3M SCOTCHLITE™ trim. Available with red/orange or lime/yellow borders offering both fluorescence for daytime visibility and superior reflective properties for nighttime visibility.
SCOTCHLITE™
The reflective surface of fluorescent trim is composed of wide angle, exposed retroreflective lenses (glass beads) integrally centered with the fluorescent color and bonded with a special polymer layer to a flame-resistant durable backing. 3M SCOTCHLITE™ trim is available in solid lime/yellow or red/orange colors.
TRIMTRAX® Thread Protection System
TRIMTRAX® is our patented system of abrasion resistant KEVLAR® fiber cording that protects the threads securing our trim from abrasion. Anyone who has ever worn protective clothing is familiar with the phenomenon of trim separating from the garment, hanging loose, and eventually requiring repair or replacement. Emergency responders have complained long and loud about this problem and Globe has the solution: TRIMTRAX®.
First, we identified the real issue: trim is not a woven fabric so the thread cannot sink down between the fibers in the same way that traditional stitching does. The top thread of the stitch actually sits on top of the trim and is therefore very susceptible to abrasion and snagging. And since the real issue is abrasion to the sewing thread, additional rows of stitching do nothing to solve the problem.
The solution is simple. The sewing thread needs to be protected from the severe abrasion of everyday wear and tear. However, remembering the very strict requirements for any component of an NFPA labeled garment, the finished result must not in any way compromise the thread, the trim, or the garment.
Using specially developed equipment, the TRIMTRAX® process stitches through a narrow strip of KEVLAR® blended fiber cording as the trim is sewn to the garment. The thread is protected by the cording so that the cording takes the abuse before the stitching is exposed. This process results in amazing abrasion resistance which is significantly higher than traditional methods. And remember that two rows of stitching does nothing to alleviate abrasion.
In order to measure the effectiveness of TRIMTRAX®, we tested it on a Taber Model 503 Standard Abrasion Tester, using H-18 Calibrade® wheels and two 500 gram weights. Laboratory testing has shown that under these test conditions a standard application using NOMEX® 24/4 thread and the 3M SCOTCHLITE™ trim, the abrasion will cause the top thread to break in as little as 7 cycles. We next tested the same thread, on the same trim using the same operator and the same sewing machine, but with the TRIMTRAX® system. At 35 cycles, there is no thread breakthrough using the TRIMTRAX® system.
