CLOTHING

The snowy slopes of a Swiss alpine glacier way above the tourist Piste may not seem the most hospitable place in the world, but it proved to be the ideal location for testing out the performance of newly designed Climbing Boots and Ski Gloves heated with Gorix E-CT. On the Fee Glacier high above the Swiss village of Sas Fee, the 12,000 foot high altitude testing got underway. With specially adapted ASOLO climbing boots and EXTREME ski gloves, inventor Robert Rix stood motionless in the January snow whilst colleagues measured his hand and foot temperatures.

The only draw back for Robert was that only one boot and one glove were heated. The temperature of the Gorix heated glove maintained an elevated differential above the un-heated glove of 6 degrees Celsius, whilst the Gorix heated boot achieved a 9 degree differential over the un-heated boot. Power for the experiment was derived from a battery pack containing 4 AA cells of 1.5 volts each, this power pack provided enough energy to maintain the differential for just under 4 hours in an environmental temperature of minus 11 degrees Celsius.

Heated Soccer Boots may sound a little trite, but consider the fact that top players often use boots that are at least one size too small for their feet, it soon becomes apparent that the resultant restriction of circulation being traded off for the all important "feel" when the game is played at the highest level will inevitably cause cold toes. A trial was set up to test a specially adapted soccer boot fabricated with a thicker internal heel section sufficiently deep to accommodate a small 9 volt battery used to heat a Gorix E-CT insole.

The battery power was the critical factor and the test player had to turn off his boots at half time to conserve the valuable energy for the second half. A lift up sole section was devised so that when the player unlaced his boots and eased his foot up, the power from the battery was turned off. The batteries lasted just long enough for the game to end and the findings of the test were that the player's feet had stayed warmer during the game and he had experienced less discomfort as a result. The low power output from the very small batteries remains an issue and further investigations into alternate battery technology is underway.