The heat is on, and rightfully so as June is here and that means summer – at least in the Northern Hemisphere. And Columbia Sportswear is talking about Omni-Freeze ZERO, the company’s new groundbreaking apparel technology, which is the culmination of a four-year development project.
The result is a new line of apparel that actually cooler in hot, moist conditions. It features distinctive blue rings, embedded and visible in the fabric to help disperse heat! How cool is that? About the only thing not cool is that we’ll have to wait until Spring 2013 to try it out.
There hasn’t been this much drama over swim attire since the bikini arrived followed World War II. With just two months until the London Olympics swimsuits are stirring up trouble. This comes in the wake of the Speedo LZR Racer Elite was banned following the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
Swedish design house Hövding has come up with an airbag-style bike helmet that puts an inflatable protective hood around the wearer’s head at the time of impact. The helmet is worn in a collar and only inflates when an impact occurs. 
If you’re going to spend your days catching fish you should look good doing it. For this year you can suit up in the Nobis Fisherman Jacket, which is part of its Spring 2012 outerwear collection. It is a functional jacket that is made to stand up to the elements.
While there are plenty of ways to get out of the sun, these aren’t always possible when hitting the bike. On some rides there is little if any shade to be found. One option is to get covered in sunscreen, or donning the right apparel.
Patagonia is one of those companies that’s ahead of the competitor pack. Many of the clothes and other merchandise it produces is made from recycled and sustainable materials. And now Patagonia is revealing details about where its garments and other merchandise is manufactured. The Footprint Chronicles is a Google Maps listing of the company’s supply chain including textile mills and factories. You can see how many people work at each location, what languages they speak on the job, and what merchandise, such as baselayer or accessories, is produced at each location.
The modern ball cap can trace its ties to baseball all the way back to 1860 when the Brooklyn Excelsiors wore a similar design to keep the sun out of their faces during game play. The ball cap has evolved throughout the years and is worn not only by baseball players, but almost every athlete wears one before, during, or after game play. Even our military wears them while on duty as part of the uniform (at least the Navy). Nearly everyone owns at least one ball cap, but do you know how many are made in the U.S.A.?
How do you know if you are moving correctly when it comes to specific exercises? We’ve seen various motion tracking devices and even suits. Now comes the Move from Electric Foxy, which features a special tank top wit sensors at the hips and shoulders that can monitor movements during exercise and offer feedback if the wearer isn’t doing something correctly. While still in the concept stage this could be Move towards the future of exercise. 
On a hot day, especially race day, it’s difficult to stay motivated and focused on a run. There’s a number of new products out there that help you stay cool, and now HeadCoolie joins those offerings. 
Helmets are crucial protective equipment for football teams, yet they often get uses year after year and no longer protect the players as effectively. Helmet manufacturer Rawlings just joined the Youth Football Safety and Helmet Replacement partnership. This group helps promote safety on the field, replaces aged helmets, and serves to educate coaches, players and others in the sport.
A hoodie can be an ideal garment when traveling as it can be big, bulky and soft – things that can be so welcoming in the unfriendly skies these days. But a hoodie alone can’t do it all – or can it?
The trend in track and field attire has been “less” as in less fabric over all. But now Nike is going another direction with skin tight suits that could give runners an edge. The Nike Pro TurboSpeed is a newly designed track uniform that offers aerodynamic techniques that have been used on golf balls – with the idea that it could shave millisecond off a sprinter’s time. And with races that close it can make the difference at the finish line.