Thermochron Case Study – Riding in style and comfort

How Thermochrons are helping Pearl Izumi make the best cycling apparel in the world

Physiologist Robert Pickels runs the Advanced Development Team at Pearl Izumi, one of the world’s foremost cycling apparel manufacturers. He uses Thermochrons and Hygrochrons (our humidity loggers) to understand the microclimate between a cyclist’s apparel and their skin.

“Understanding how different materials affect the comfort of our customers is really important to us at Pearl Izumi,” said Robert. “It helps us make choices about materials and design.”

The testing process that Robert has developed is extremely advanced, a testament to Pearl Izumi’s committment to R&D.

“For one of our recent tests, we hired out the Environmental Wind Tunnel at the Ottowa Institute of Technology,” explains Robert. “It allowed us to create a wide range of environmental variations, including temperature and humidity, to see how the subject jacket membranes reacted, and how our cyclists’ comfort was affected.”

Robert put a lot of research into measurement techniques before settling on the Thermochrons.

“There are a number of papers out there that confirmed the effectiveness of Thermochrons in human situations. But for us, the biggest benefit of the Thermochron is that there are no wires or power sources. I can just attach the button to any surface with an adhesive ring and be collecting data in seconds.”

The tiny size, the toughness, and the self-sufficiency of the Thermochrons and Hygrochrons makes them ideal for researchers. They can be configured to take readings anywhere from every few seconds to just a few times per year.

We offer terrific bulk discounts for scientists who need to order multiple loggers for their work.