Assessment of Ventilated Athletic Uniforms for Improved Thermal Comfort and Human Performance

Abstract

Football uniforms serve as the protective, portable clothing environment for the athlete against the elements of the external environment and physical impact. Each component of the uniform functions to protect, while also providing increased mobility, breathability, and flexibility. Therefore, it is important that ventilated clothing design features are incorporated into athletic uniform applications for successful sweat evaporation to occur. The purpose of this research was to assess material ventilation design techniques for their breathability and thermal comfort performance in football uniforms. The experimental design included a human wear trial to assess the subjective thermal comfort of football uniforms with various material ventilation designs. Results suggest the addition of the ventilated materials in the uniforms improved the subjective thermal comfort of the wearer. These findings provide justification for the adoption of laser perforated material technologies in multiple athletic uniform types. Future research should explore ventilation in protective and military garment applications.