Vollebak carbon composite pants and a carbon composite bicycle.Carlton ReidIn Flann OBriens darkly comic novel The Third Policeman (1967), a character muses that people who spent most of their natural lives riding ... bicycles over the rocky roadsteads of this parish get their personalities mixed up with the personalities of their bicycle as a result of the interchanging of the atoms of each of them and you would be surprised at the number of people in these parts who are nearly half people and half bicycles.Experience similar vibes by wearing the latest stretch pants from the experimentalists at Vollebak clothing of London. That is if you have a bicycle with a carbon composite frame because Vollebaks snappily named Carbon Fibre + Dyneema Pants are part carbon composite. OK, just a tiny little bit but its still a neat trick: to ride a carbon bicycle with carbon trousers. (The pants are multi-use, but work great as bike trousers.)Woven vertically through the polyamide and elastane fabric are strands of black carbon fiber. Horizontally, there are white strands of Dyneema, an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) 15 times stronger than steel. And thats why these stretch pants are checked. The Dyneema content is 5%, with the carbon fiber just 1%. Weighing 350 grams, the pants can stretch in any direction simultaneously, while withstanding rough handling.Vollebak makes hi-tech togs from advanced fabrics that also shed water, wick sweat, and even block fire. The firm claims to sell clothing that feels like youre buying from the future.TechwearVollebak is an adventure techwear brand thats crushingly expensive (the carbon fiber/Dyneema pants are $617 and the companys 100-Year Hoodie costs $570) but, being super tough, these garments should outlive the wearer, so, in theory, this is a bargain compared to fast fashion. Other products from the company are even pricier. The Apocalypse Jacket is a stonking $1,510. But then, its annihilation proof, boasts Vollebak. Its 40% polybenzimidazole, a material that can withstand temperatures of at least 2,370F (1,298C), the same temperature as black lava.We don't know of any other commercial pieces of clothing where the main material can survive re-entry into the Earths atmosphere, says Vollebak. The jacket is not only insanely fireproof, but also has ten times the tear strength of a fire-fighter uniform.Vollebak's part carbon composite pants are super stretchy.Carlton ReidSome of Vollebaks other products, such as the $625 Solar Charged Jacket, are deliberately bonkers. This jacket is so progressive (Brad Pitt owns one) that its a past winner of WIRED Sports Gear of the Year and Time Magazines Best Inventions.Theres also the Thermal Camouflage Jacket clad with wonder material graphene billed as a step towards a Harry-Potter-style invisibility cloak. Vaporware, of course, but its also an envelope-pushing provocation that might, one day, actually be made to work.Were working on clothing and innovation designed to help us survive the next centurywhether thats exploring the most remote corners of Earth or colonizing Mars, said Vollebak co-founder Steve Tidball. He founded the company in 2015 with his identical twin brother, Nick.They are adventure athletes, competitors in long-distance endurance events such as 78-mile marathons through the Namibian desert and week-long Amazonian ultra races. They are also creatives, working in advertising for 15 years, including four years as creative directors at the renowned TBWA agency in London, an international advertising agency with disruption at its core.Nick and Steve Tidball, co-founders of Vollebak.VollebakAs thrill-seeking, highly-paid advertising execs, the 46-year-olds spotted a gap in the market for the kind of progressive yet rugged clothing they craved for their adrenaline-fuelled adventures.While surviving heatstroke, broken bones, bullet ants, angry snakes, tarantulas, hallucinations, and falling asleep while running, we decided that setting up our own company wouldn't be so hard, said Steve Tidball.The glowing Solar Charged Jacket idea came while the pair were running the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in low visibility. The jacket has a membrane with a phosphorescent compound that lets it absorb and store light, then re-release it at night, like a fireflyno wiring or electronics is involved.The checked pattern on Vollebak's carbon pants are made from black carbon and white Dyneema.Carlton ReidThe two billion disruptively structured microscopic glass spheres on the Black Squid Jacket give it adaptive camouflage capabilities: it changes colors in different settings, just like the sea mollusk its named for.The companys Plant and Algae T-shirt is made from pulped eucalyptus and beech from sustainably managed forests and algae grown in bioreactorsit is compostable and sprang from the brothers competing in a six-day Amazonian ultramarathon and seeing their fellow competitors burning their filthy, post-race clothing. This T-shirt can be simply buried afterwards insteadit fully biodegrades within three months.Vollebaks $3,100 Shielding Suit blocks electromagnetic radiation, shields from infrared cameras, Ku-band satellites, and radar systems, and comes with pockets that work like Faraday cages.Vollebak's new Shielding Suit.VollebakOn one hand, you can pop your phone into your pocket to go off-grid for a bit, and on the other, have a safe place to place your car keys to prevent cloning, says Vollebak. The suit might be pricey and look exotic but it sold out before Christmas after a soft launch.HardcoreInnovative. Controversial. Out there. Vollebak is a Flemish term coined by hardcore cyclists that means smash yourselfgo as hard as you can, says Steve Tidball. It was chosen for its all-action inscrutability rather than any connection with Belgium.Ride a carbon bicycle? Ride Vollebak's carbon pants!Carlton ReidThe Tidball brothers freely admit to using their early adopter customers as lab rats. These hardcore users enjoy being R&D testers willing to spend handsomely on prototype garments that might need many versions before becoming fully practical. In that way, Vollebak is more like a technology start-up than a traditional clothing company.We see our gear tested in the extreme scenarios for which theyre designed and in some of the most remote parts of the world, Steve has said.Where can you buy Vollebak kit? From the companys website only. Steve Tidball said that there are no plans for any Vollebak high street shops because that would involve considerable expense, which would consume the companys R&D budget.