FERRINO HIKEMASTER LINE
WITH AUXETIC TECHNOLOGY
DESIGN PROJECT AIMS
1To improve thermal and ergonomic comfort for hiking backpack
2
To increase the wellness of users, thanks to the reduction of the metabolic costs of physical activity
WORK TEAM
A three-year partnership between the R&D team at Ferrino, Comfort Lab in Città Studi Biella and the Sport Technology Lab in Bologna (University of Bologna).
LABORATORY TESTS
1Implementation of laboratory tests in the product development stage to use objective data to assess proposed solution validity.
2
Backpack performance has been tested in a climate chamber under controlled environmental and physical stress conditions to assess a series of physiological parameters that show the metabolic costs of physical activity: temperature, moisture, sweating.
TESTS IN CLIMATE CHAMBER
The environmental conditions were as follows: air temperature (Ta) 23.4 ± 0.4°C and relative humidity (RHa) 47.4 ± 0.8.The tests were performed on 10 subjects, 5 women and 5 men. Backpacks loaded with 20% of the body weight of the tester, who was then subject to physical activity for 50 minutes.
Assessment of thermal comfort: temperature and moisture detected using sensors positioned on the tester’s body and on the backpack.
TSurface temperature of testers and backpack at the end of the test, using thermographic surveys.
Weight of testers and backpack before and after activity to assess sweat loss and residual sweat.
Questionnaire given to testers to survey their subjective feelings and of temperature and moisture.
SOLUTION
MAKE THE SHOULDER STRAPS ON THE NEW LINE OF HIKEMASTER BACKPACKS IN AUXETIC MATERIAL
Auxetic materials are characterised by a negative Poisson coefficient, subjected to traction, they tend to expand.
Making shoulder straps in these materials can offer the following advantages: