Hat flyerLiving and playing golf in South Carolina can be a hot proposition so how exciting was it to see a piece of information come across my desk about a hat that can keep your head up to 30% cooler?  Very exciting since most heat leaves the body through the head, yet we need to wear a hat for protection from the sun.  The big announcement is that Coolcore® technology has partnered with Imperial Headwear to launch “The Best Cooling Hat in Golf.”  Yes, yes yes, I want that, but my first question is how does it work and my second is does it really work?

According to the companies involved, Imperial Headwear is the only company using this award-winning chemical-free technology in their fabrics.  Imperial was founded in 1916 and is the leading manufacturer and marketer of premium quality headwear for the golf market.  Coolcore® is the global leader in chemical free cooling fabrics.  With their fabric formulations, they have been the only US Company and the only company globally to receive the Hohenstein Institute’s Innovative Technology award for “cooling power”.    Ok, that sounds impressive – and the hats look great too – but again HOW does it work?

Coolcore® fabrics are designed to have three essential functions:  1 – wicking to move moisture away from the body, 2 – moisture transportation to avoid saturation and accelerate drying, and 3 – regulated evaporation for a consistent cooling effect.  These three are achieved through its patented fiber construction (which involves a hollow type fiber) which results in the hat being slightly damp all over and not saturated in any particular area.  Because there are no chemicals, polymers, gels, crystals or phase changing materials involved, the performance of the material is not degraded over time or through wear and tear or washing.  The result is up to 30% lower surface temperatures and drier garments that don’t cling or saturate.

I’m still a little confused over the difference in moisture wicking and moisture transportation so I did a bit more digging and here is what I found:  Wicking involves moving moisture from point A to point B.  In textiles this means the moisture is being drawn away from the body into the fabric.  Wicking action only takes place in the area where moisture is present.  Apparel manufacturers usually enhance wicking properties with chemical agents, which can degrade through use, exposure, time and washing.  Moisture transportation, on the other hand, involves channeling moisture through hollow core fibers all over the garment.  Wicking can help draw moisture into the hollow fibers, but then it is moved in all directions throughout.  Moisture transportation helps avoid saturation and clinging.

Next I went to the field.  The initial launch of Imperial powered by Coolcore® products happened at the 2015 PGA Merchandise Show and those orders were delivered to golf shops this Spring.  My research says they were received with rave reviews.  Here is a brief video showing how all of this works.

So yes, I will be the proud owner The Best Cooling Hat in Golf and recommend you try it as well. Thank you for interacting with us here at TheGolfDirector.com and we hope to see you in the fairways.  For more information about these products, check out the WEBSITE HERE.