With the skiing season just around the corner it must be time to break out the ski pants and start waxing your snowboard.
Although it’s proven that regular physical activity has positive health benefits, cold winter air can be an irritant to the respiratory system and increase the chances of runners and skiers picking up infections. A new heated balaclava designed by the German company Stoll could well be the answer to this seasonal problem.

In collaboration with Nottingham Trent University (UK) the German knitting machine manufacturer Stoll have developed a wool/lycra balaclava that not only keeps your head warm but also warms the air as it is drawn in through a heated woven panel in front of the mouth. The knitted panel incorporates electrically conductive yarn and is powered from a rechargeable button cell battery.
 

Stoll were awarded a gold medal for the product not only the concept itself, but also for the method they developed, using a flat knitting technique to manufacture the balaclava. An example of hi-tech wearable technology which doesn’t use a microcontroller.