Need a gift idea for that person in your life who is always cold? Add yourself to the waitlist for clothing company Petit Pli’s Entropy Vest. The $590 wearable vest keeps a person nice and warm by heating up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. And it lasts up to an hour per use, no cords or battery packs needed. Just flip a switch and a chemical reaction starts releasing heat as it changes from a liquid into a gel-like substance. It’s a personal reusable heat vest that’s perfect for people always complaining about being cold.
The turquoise liquid is something called a phase change material. It stores heat and releases it when changing states into a gel. In order to recharge the material, you have to boil the vest for 15 minutes after each use. That resets the substance back to a liquid that is holding onto heat for the next time you flip the switch.
We saw this fashionable scientific breakthrough on DesignTAXI. The turquoise material weaves throughout the front and back while the rest of the vest is a clear material. There’s buttons down the front and adjustable areas around the waist and shoulders so it fits snugly. Petit Pli suggest it’s fashionable enough to wear on the outside, but we assume most people will add layers over the warm vest.
Next up the company may make a cooling vest using similar chemical technology. Until then, there are neck wraps with gelatinous water beads in them that can be chilled and worn. If it’s your pets that are overheating, you can buy them clothes with cooling fans built right in. Sony also makes a wearable device, sold only in Japan, that can either heat or cool the wearer. And we’ve seen other smart clothing, including fabric that can hear and another that can alter breathing patterns. There’s even electronic textiles that can act as a screen.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
