As the first U.S. company to receive the Innovative Technology recognition from the world-renowned Hohenstein Institute, the effectiveness of Coolcore’s fabric is represented in a variety of data taken from test results all around the world.

In the lab

We’re very proud that Coolcore became the first U.S. company to receive the prestigious Innovative Technology award from the Hohenstein Institute. In 2015 the ITMA Future Materials Awards gave Coolcore its Best Innovation—Sports and Outdoor Apparel award for our patented cooling fabrics.

The Hohenstein Institute was founded in 1946 as an independent, privately owned research and teaching center for the textile and clothing industry. With more than 500 employees in 40 offices in 20 countries, Hohenstein has been testing and certifying textile products of all kinds for more than 60 years. During that time, they have built a solid reputation for designing renowned testing systems based on independence and neutrality, with no possibility of commercial influence.

Hohenstein developed the WATson test for cooling fabrics. The test measures the cooling and drying power of fabric samples. Coolcore’s fabric was measured against seven competitors and three competing technologies.

Cooling Power Test

The first WATson test took place over 90 minutes, with temperatures recorded every second. At the tests conclusion Coolcore had demonstrated superior cooling power over all the competitors:

  • 36% more cooling power than Leading Athletic Company “B”
  • 50% more cooling power than Leading Athletic Company “F”
  • 78% more cooling power than Leading Outdoor Company “C”
  • 30% more cooling power than Leading Athletic Company “D”
  • 40% more cooling power than Leading Athletic Company “E”
  • 25% more cooling power than Leading Outdoor Company “A”

Drying Power Test

Drying power is simply a measure of how long it takes for a fabric to dry once sweating ceases. This is also related to lack of saturation. Since Coolcore materials excel at moisture transportation, at the end of the test (or exercise) you are left with a shirt that is uniformly moist but not saturated anywhere, so drying happens quickly.

The WATson machine’s sweating plate is shut off at 70 minutes. At the 80-minute mark the temperature reading shows that the Coolcore material is significantly drier than every competitor. Due to the higher cooling power of the Coolcore fabric during the test, the Coolcore material was evaporating more water, resulting in less overall water that needed to dry at the end of the Cooling Power test.

Wet Cling Test

Wet cling is a specialized test developed by the Hohenstein Institute which gives a relative value of how much a fabric “clings” or sticks to a person’s skin when wet. They draw the fabric over their proprietary system (after exercise) and measure friction to simulate the cling. A lower number is better and anything above 10 will have discomfort from wet cling as a result of the saturation.

Coolcore versus competitor graph wet cling results