Winter garment offers rapid heating via integrated pads

Polar Seal has developed lightweight heating pads integrated within garments, controlled via buttons on the wrist, that heat up within 10 seconds.

We’ve seen a few different approaches to fabrics that offer dynamic temperature regulation to users, whether that’s by harnessing the power of bacteria or using thermally sensitive polymers interwoven in layers that can provide ventilation in warm temperatures, and now winter adventurers can receive a blast of warmth from their garments whenever they need it.

Polar Seal has designed cold weather wear based on technology used to keep jet fighter pilots warm. The lightweight, flexible fabrics contain two heating elements, one in the upper back and one in the lower back, placed to warm the user’s core quickly while being integrated into the fabric to maintain the sleek aesthetic. Using two buttons placed on the wrist that feature simple LED-lit displays, users can control the two heat pads (even with gloves on), activating just one or both simultaneously, and the level of heat they desire, with the pads taking 10 seconds to achieve the desired heat. The Polar Seal garment has been designed for active wear. The fabric, composed of 92-percent polyester and 8-percent elastane, is light, manoeuvrable and durable — even the control buttons are water and shock proof for a day on the slopes. The pads are charged by standard USB powerpack, with the garment featuring a pocket to hold chargers, and are capable of providing up to 8 hours of heat after a full charge. Polar Seal is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, where where the garment can be purchased for earlybird special prices, with shipping planned for late 2017 and retailing at USD 170.

With circuitry becoming ever smaller, clothing is becoming an increasing target for innovative technologies, whether that’s using clothing as a source of power or as an early warning system for the onset of seizures, so how else could technology find itself interwoven into future fabrics?