Mountain Hardwear launches new cooling technology for clothing
14/06/2012
Cool.Q ZERO is a visible technology comprised of “tiny blue circles” that are embedded into the fabric of the apparel, Mountain Hardwear said. The circles contain a cooling polymer that, when exposed to sweat or moisture, causes the circles to swell, creating what the company calls an instant and prolonged cooling sensation that helps minimise heat.
“Hot weather and heat are incredibly challenging conditions for anyone participating in outdoor activities, especially runners and aerobic athletes,” said Topher Gaylord, president of Mountain Hardwear, at the time of the launch. “Cool.Q ZERO changes this by enabling athletes to run more comfortably in hot conditions.”
Elite athletes sponsored by Mountain Hardwear have already had the opportunity to test Cool.Q ZERO in extreme heat situations, including the Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim run (a 75 kilometre run in which runners start at the top of the Grand Canyon, run to the bottom, cross the Colorado River, then run back up the other side before retracing their steps and running back down into the canyon and returning to their starting place) in April in temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius. One of the athletes, Max King, a distance runner based in Oregon, said afterwards: “I tested the new technology in a heated, controlled environment but this real world test blew away our expectations. The stuff just works.”
Mountain Hardwear, a subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear, is currently introducing Cool.Q ZERO to retailers across the globe and will showcase the new technology at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in August 2012. So far, styles featuring the technology include men’s and women’s performance running shirts, a hiking shirt, headwear and additional accessories including arm coolers and bandanas.
Cool.Q ZERO was developed by Columbia Sportswear’s performance innovation team (PIT), a newly centralised research and innovation division of the company tasked with developing new, revolutionary consumer solutions for the whole brand portfolio, which includes Mountain Hardwear, Montrail, Sorel and Columbia.
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