Jockey's new staycool underwear and undershirts promise to keep your body up to 1.7 C cooler than normal.
Jockey staycool underwear and undershirts
The promise
Is it hot in here? Or is it just your plain old 20th-century underwear? Jockey promises that the space-age technology behind its staycool undergarment collection will keep your body up to 3 F (about 1.7 C) breezier than normal.
How it works
Available in multiple colours and styles, these high-tech clothes use something called Outlast technology, a fabric treatment first developed to help astronauts keep their body temperatures in check while in space. "Phase change materials" absorb and release excess heat so that fluctuations in humidity never touch your skin. The space jockeys must have really liked it: Outlast was inducted into the NASA-founded Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2005.
How to use it
If you've got a problem putting on underwear, you've got bigger issues than a few degrees of comfort. Okay, you're all strapped in now? Good. Besides the Star Trek-style doodads, the staycool fabric is 100-per-cent cotton (95-per-cent cotton/five-per-cent spandex for the ladies). The men's briefs also have cuffed leg bindings and a contoured construction that helps it to hug your body.
The bottom line
What exactly does a 1.7 C difference feel like? Here's where staycool felt great - at work, at the hottest bars, at the hottest 500-person wedding while dancing to Beyoncé. There's definitely a heightened sense of comfort compared to other underwear, thanks to some combination of the technology and fitted fabric (but not necessarily one or the other). Here's where it didn't prove so hot: at spin class, at the gym, at a bachelor party that included a vigorous hour of laser tag. If you're breaking a real sweat, no piece of clothing will make a difference when your body temperature begins to push 50 C. But who exercises anyway, right? Jockey staycool is a fantastic collection of undergarments to wear, but don't think too hard about the sci-fi overtures.
$20 to $22 for women's tops, $34 for two men's shirts and $26 to $32 for three pairs of underwear at the Bay, Sears and various retailers across Canada (visit www.jockey.com for more information).