When you think of the Consumer Electronics Show, innovative textiles may not come to mind. The North Face wants to change that. The company showed us its new Futurelight fabric that was developed in-house. It promises to deliver the holy grail of being waterproof and breathable, and they’re confident enough in it that they’ve given it to climbers on some of the most dangerous mountains on earth, like Everest, to test it. It feels thinner and makes less noise (the dreaded crumple sound) than other waterproof materials, and it’s breathable enough that The North Face was able to get rid of vents in its outer layer jackets that use the material. We haven’t been able to take a hike in it yet, but The North Face is going all in. It will debut in jackets, but could be in gloves, boots, tents, and who knows what else in the coming years.—Jeffrey Van Camp

Kitchen Aid

Amy Lombard

The kitchen is one of the best places for a smart display with Google Assistant built in. It can answer simple questions about measurements and stream videos, or give you hands-free step-by-step recipe directions. Unfortunately, kitchens are a dangerous place for an electronic screen. There’s a lot of water splashing around and our hands are always gunked up with one thing or another. KitchenAid’s Smart Display has a 10-inch screen and most everything else you’d expect, but it’s built durably, with IPX5 water and dust resistance. The company even encourages you to clean it in the sink if you need to. It will be fine (though please, unplug it first). All Google displays will get the Yummly app soon, but since KitchenAid owns it, owners will get premium access to it first, as well. The KitchenAid Smart Display should hit shelves later this year for a "competitive" price around $200 or above, representatives say.—Jeffrey Van Camp

Hey, Alexa

If you don’t want a house full of Echo Dots, Legrand (a French company that now owns Netatmo) is all ears. It's showing off several smart light switch designs that talk directly to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. Just say "Alexa" and they light up just as you’d expect, even if you yell across the room, thanks to far-field microphones. Several versions, like this one, are Europe-bound, but there will be US versions coming soon.—Jeffrey Van Camp

Ahead of the Curve

Baby Maker