Aerogels, long familiar only to researchers and pioneers, are now making their way into consumer products. One such example is the newly introduced Life-PocketTM by the Norwegian company Helly Hansen.
It is rumored that when the Canadian Skiing Team was asked which improvements they hoped for in skiing apparel, they explicitly demanded for an insulated smartphone chest pocket, which facilitates a longer battery lifetime. With the aim of making the pro-skiers innermost wish a reality, the team at Helly Hansen found a partner which had a solution at hand — PrimaLoft (USA), a company focused on insulation for outerwear, gloves and footwear.
Using “Primaloft Aerogel Gold” insulating material, the designers at Helly Hansen have created a pocket which protects the battery of cell phones even in the most extreme weather conditions (-28.0 °C / -18.4 ℉). This high performance insulation composite (CLO ratings: 1.29-2.00) is a pressure resistant material encapsulated in a waterproof membrane that can be used for insulating pockets, shoes and gloves.
Since the aerogel is only located on the outside of the jacket, body warmth is utilized to maintain a certain temperature inside the chest pocket and hence prevent temperature-related performance decrease of smartphone batteries. According to the company, jackets equipped with the Life-PocketTM and the Life-Pocket+TM keep phones two or three times warmer than regular ski jackets, respectively.
Initial hands-on tests of the product showed a significant increase in battery life, demonstrating that the aerogel-insulated pocket delivers on its promise (more details).
It will be interesting to see whether the unique characteristics of aerogel materials begin to attract a broader interest from product designers.
Read more at: https://www.hellyhansen.com/news/the-life-pocket-saving-battery-life-in-cold-environments/
Read more at: https://www.airfreshing.com/news-helly-hansen-life-pocket
Read more at: https://gearjunkie.com/aerogel-helly-hansen-lifepocket-powder-suit
Read more at: https://gearjunkie.com/primaloft-gold-aerogel-insulation
