At first glance, the words “hydration clothing” bring to mind images of shirts with pockets for a built in camel pack. Instead of trying to replace the fluids you lose with exertion, this hydration shirt and shorts set by Qore Performance focuses on keeping you from sweating in the first place.
The compression-style, long-sleeve shirt has pockets built over the ulnar/radial and brachial arteries on the wrist and inner forearms, and the shorts over the femoral artery at the front of the inner-upper thigh. These hold heat absorbing HydraQore inserts over pulse points where your blood runs close to the surface.
The HydraQore inserts are essentially cold packs that you “charge” by dropping them in ice water or popping them in a fridge for 15 minutes. Unlike normal cold packs, they hold a chill temperature instead of a cold one, freezing around 60 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 32. This is ideal for maintaining the open blood vessels your body needs to dissipate heat efficiently while you work out.
The company posted a clinical study on Qore’s effectiveness versus regular performance wear. Using a standard treadmill test, they ran 17 subjects between 21 and 33 years old on it once with Qore hydration gear and once without. The study claims 40 percent more hydration on average, and a 3 percent endurance increase.
As for the worry of weird leaks from the inserts, the Qore Performance team says they put the inserts through the ringer and haven’t run into any problems. Even if they do pop, the material itself is non-toxic and comes out in the wash.
The only odd part is wearing a shirt or shorts with little nubbins in it. The placement of the inserts are, after all, in conspicuous places. The edges are rounded, and they weigh about 1.8 ounces each, but that may or may not be a deal breaker if people find having lumps under their arms like plague buboes uncomfortable.
At the current pledge level, black, gray blue and pink are the available colors in the shirts. The fabric is moisture wicking, anti-odor, four-way stretch and UPF 50+.
While Qore has already been around for a little while the shirts are now up on Kickstarter before they eventually end up on the Qore website. There’s a backer option for $70 that nets you a short-sleeve hydration shirt, two HydraQore inserts, and one charge and go bag that helps 12 inserts hold “a charge” for up to four hours. All are estimated to ship to backers in May 2016. Qore already has shorts, sleeves, and pairs of arm bands on sale through its website, so hopefully it won’t be too hard for the company to deliver this crowd-funded project on time.
