Wearable clothing gets cool

from Wearable clothing gets cool
by John Weir

The Swiss textile innovator HeiQ launches an upgraded version of its popular dynamic cooling technology HeiQ Smart Temp. Based on an instant cooling hydro functional polymer, this patent pending technology provides activated cooling to the wearer for enhanced performance and thermal comfort. Inhouse thermoregulation performance measurements of a treated fabric revealed a 1.5°C to 2.5°C (2.7°F to 4.5°F) cooler skin temperature compared to an untreated fabric.

The Swiss textile innovator is now offering a new addition to the HeiQ Smart Temp family: HeiQ Adaptive AC-06. This patent pending technology version equips the sports enthusiast with activated cooling and enhanced performance and thermal comfort. Upgraded HeiQ Smart Temp interacts with the wearer, helping to lower the skin’s temperature when it needs it most. The innovation is based on an instant cooling hydro functional polymer that is activated when the skin temperature exceeds a range between 28°C and 32°C (82.4°F and 89.6°F) and deactivated once cooling is complete. Two actions are used to keep the body at the optimum performance temperature: Even before the first sign of sweat on fabric, a melting action is activated, sending instant-cooling impulse directly to the skin. And when the heat is really turned up, a vaporizing action transports sweat away from the body, reducing the skin’s temperature by 1.5°C to 2.5°C (2.7°F to 4.5°F) compared to an untreated fabric sample. Overall, the wearer feels cool, comfortable and focused to perform better – even in the most uncomfortable of conditions.

Inhouse thermoregulation performance testing has revealed high reduction rates of the skin temperature measured over a certain time by utilizing a thermal imaging infrared (FLIR) camera. The FLIR camera set-up imitated the human skin while sweating at different levels of activity. “In contrast to the Dynamic Evaporation testing, the FLIR camera measurement allows us to quickly though accurately visualize the temperature change of a fabric treated with HeiQ Smart Temp, for example compared to an untreated fabric sample,” says HeiQ’s Chief Technology Officer Walter Nassl.