To be used in temperatures up to 40° C, ventilation and a relative humidity up to 90%.
Our proprietary Hydrogel© technology contains a patented water-absorbing polymer and water (>95%). Hydrogel© coolwear products provide cooling by evaporation. Hydrogel© polymer grains are embedded between two layers of fabric. When puchasing a Hydrogel© coolwear product you can feel hard polymer grains in the sealed pockets. The grains turn into our soft Hydrogel© after the first activation with water. Upon wearing, the water slowly evaporates from the Hdyrogel©. When all water has evaporated you can feel the grains again. This activation-evaporation cycle can be repeated hundreds of times.
ACTIVATION: Immerse the vest in a bucket of tap water (salts and chlorine will decrease the water-absorbance capacity of
the polymers) for about 20 minutes and the polymer grains will turn into a soft gel; our Hydrogel©. Your Hydrogel© coolwear product is now activated and ready for use . You can dry the garment exterior fabric with a towel or just hang it out to dry in a ventilated area until the fabric feels dry to the touch. Hydrogel© coolwear cools up to a week (assuming a use-time of 72 hours) at 7°C below ambient temperature. So when you’re in an environment of 35 °C the coolwear will cool at 28 °C; at low humidities (<50%) and proper ventilation this may cool down to 20 °C. You can repeat the activation process time and again, even when the product has not been fully dried-out.
ICE-COOLING: Hydrogel© coolwear boasts a unique and patented 2-in-1 cooling principle. Besides evaporative cooling, Hydrogel© can also be turned into ice. When additional cooling is required (e.g. in sports) you can place the activated Hydrogel© coolwear product flat out in the freezer. This provides 10-20 minutes of extra intense cooling. When the ice has melted, your Hydrogel© product will continue to cool by evaporation. For ice-cooling make sure the outer fabric is dry, prior to putting the product in the freezer. When the fabric is wet, two layers may freeze together and can be torn when separated.
STORAGE: Only store the product when all water has evaporated from the vest; you should be able to feel the hard polymer grains. The evaporation process should be performed in a properly ventilated area. After that you can dry fold and store the product, preferably in the dark and at ambient temperatures.
WASHING: Hydrogel©coolwear may only be washed by hand with green soap. Any detergent-based soap will damage the polymers in the product, destroying their absorbing capabilities. Follow washing instructions inside your Hydrogel© coolwear product.
ALTERNATIVE: For conditions (temperature above 40 °C and humidity above 90%) and circumstances (under – protective –
clothing)situations with more extreme values or zero/minimal ventilation, we recommend our Flexible PCM© technology.