Who likes sticky, stinky, sweaty clothes?. At least not me. That’s why compression garments are awesome — they wick sweat away, so you can do your workouts without having to put up with gobs of sweat hanging off your shirt. The Omni-Freeze Zero wants to change that, though.
Instead of wicking away sweat, the new line of indoor and outdoor sportswear feature a unique technology that actually puts it to good use. According to maker Columbia, perspiration will activate elements in the fabric that lowers its temperature, helping cool your body down while you sweat ever so profusely.
How does it cool you down? Each garment in the Omni-Freeze Zero line will come with blue rings of cooling polymer covering them. These rings will swell when exposed to moisture (e.g. sweat), creating an immediate and prolonged cooling sensation. Basically, it gives you extra cooling right when you need it (when you’re sweating), so this might actually end up being useful for a lot more situations than just workouts.
The technology will be integrated across a wide variety of sportswear, including shirts, performance layers, headwear, sleeves and even shoes. If you were hoping you could snag it to keep cool this summer, though, sad to say — the line won’t hit stores until Spring of 2013. Best stick to your iPhone fan to help cool yourself down for now.
