Cooling Headgear Prototypes

As part of a collaboration with Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton, Nike has developed a cooling hood that can help to speed up recovery time for athletes. Eaton provided inspiration for the new hood by pointing out his difficulty in keeping his head and face as cool as the rest of his body. He explained that pouring water over his head often helped to cool him down and the Nike Sports Research Lab used this idea to help design a sports recovery product that would mimic a similar feeling.

This cooling hood covers the face, neck and head of an athlete. The prototype features inner layers that are designed to retain water so that it can gradually cool the temperature of an athlete's head. The goal is to mimic the feeling of water being poured over one's head, but in a more controlled manner. This hood is ultimately intended to speed up the recovery time between practices or events.

While the cooling hood is currently just a prototype, Eaton continues to work with Nike to research the physiological advantages of a head cooling device.