Inside X-Bionic's R&D Thinktank

Professor Lambertz, the founder of X-Bionics runs through the basic principles behind the clothing.

This, believe it or not, is the high-level machinery creating X-SDocks from yarn.

New Power T-Shirt is a partial compression garment that also allows direct evaporation.

Clothing is knitted in tubes by complex progammable machinery

X-Bionic produces some of the most overtly technical clothing and socks out there with an obsessive attention to zoning, textures, fabrics and construction that marks it out. But is it grounded on real science or just gobbledy-gook?

OM's industry mole, John Traynor, is just back from a burrowing mission to X-Bionic HQ in Italy, where he got the inside scoop on the brand's technology and tried the new award-winning X-Bionic Power Tee-shirt for size.

Tuning up technology

'Turning sweat into energy' was the theme of the recent Press Experience Days run by X-Bionic at its labs and production faciliity in northern Italy. The winner of over 300 awards and product tests, X-Bionic's presentations mixed up the theory of producing comfortable performance outdoor clothing, with unrestricted access to the production facilities for socks and knitted fabric clothing. And finally, the acid test,  an opportunity to try out the new award-winning Power T-Shirt.

Big Cup

To put things in perspective, X-Technology Swiss Research & Development AG is 'a think tank for visionary concepts' and, in 2011, X-Bionic was named the most innovative brand for the third time at the world’s largest sports and lifestyle competition - the Plus X Award. All in all, serious stuff.

So What's It All About?

Founder Prof. Lambertz challenged conventional thinking on the role of sweat in thermal regulation and comfort with a concept that goes against the solutions of the majority of outdoor apparel suppliers. In a nutshell, he explained that it was essential that sweat evaporates directly from the skin for effective cooling of the body's core temperature.

Whisking it away to outer layers by wicking, as most brands aim to do,  just means that the body uses more energy to produce more sweat for evaporative cooling - see www.x-bionic.com if you want to go into more detail on this.

The 2012 online catalogue has hundreds of pages packed with innovation and lateral thinking; check out the Fennec heat-reflective products. The emphasis on clothing solutions inspired by the animal kingdom rang bells for those familiar with Paramo.

Theory and lab test results were linked to feedback from outdoor pros, such as endurance athlete Noel Hanna see www.7summits2sealevel.com, Under-23 XCMTB World Champion Thomas Litscher and Italian marathon champion Migidio Bourifa. And then there were opportunities for journos to test the theory in practice - running, cycling and trekking.

Research delivered from the University of Verona's Research Centre for Bio-engineering and Motor Sciences into the performance of partial and full compression designs extended the intense programme even further and is at the heart of the new Power T-Shirt project.

The New Power T-Shirt - Partial Compression

Full compression clothing can improve athletic performance but it can also squeeze major vessels - this was the impetus behind the development of the new Power T-Shirt. The result is a garment that provides partial compression along 1mm wide ridges that are themselves a design element, claiming to deliver reduced muscle vibration, improved oxygen and nutrient supply to the muscles and faster recovery; the fine mesh also provides a pressure-free zone. With every movement, says X-Bionic, the air circulation supports the evaporation of sweat and cools wearers during hard workouts. 

Theory Put Into Practice

There's an in-built reluctance to accept 'clever' progress in most of us, but the work done by X-Bionic is definitely intriguing. The combination of theory and practice was compelling, though the focus was on performance regardless of price and angled towards top-end athletes.

That said, while the emphasis was on serious athletic performance, the potential advantages for more run of the mill cyclists, trail runners and adventure racers are no less significant - we all have the same basic physiology after all.

And for walkers and backpackers too. The X-Bionic Trek Short Sleeved Shirt uses fabric technology to help wearers stay cool and dry, plus the knitted-in patent-pending AirDuct Pads on the shoulders and hips spread the pressure of a rucksack.

Does it work? You'll have to wait for a longer term assessment to find out, but one thing is absolutely definite,   the whole design and development process at X-Bionic is underpinned by a thorough programme of research, devlopment and feedback from top-level athletes.