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What is Nike AeroAdapt?

June 25, 2019

It’s Nike’s latest breakthrough: proprietary material innovation designed to help keep athletes at their optimal temperature so that sweating, overheating or getting chilled won’t interfere with a workout. 

Nike AeroAdapt Material Innovation 4

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley in the Nike Pro AeroAdapt Long-Sleeve Top

How it works

Generally, air flow decreases in apparel as you sweat because fabric becomes saturated, but with Nike AeroAdapt it increases. That's because the moment AeroAdapt senses sweat, the material’s moisture-reactive yarns open the fabric to release body heat and let air in. The wetter the material gets, the more it opens. As the moisture evaporates, the vents close to trap body heat, helping to prevent the athlete from feeling chilled or staying wet during a warm-up or cool down. 

The technology responds to whomever is wearing it, meaning things such as moisture, from both sweat and the environment, as well as personal body temperature, can impact when the vents open and how long it takes for the vents to close and the panels to dry.

Why is it important to keep an optimal body temperature?

The bottom line is you perform better when you’re not too hot or too cold. However, when you begin a workout, you’re typically below the optimal body temperature for performance (which, by the way, the Nike Sport Research Lab —NSRL — determined should feel like an internal version of “74 and sunny” for most people). As you work harder, you go past that ideal temp because you get hot and start to sweat. Then, after you finish, you pass back through the comfort zone to suddenly being chilled because you’re wet. 

 

What it looks like

Nike AeroAdapt Material Innovation 1

When dry, the fabric appears flat and the yarns are in straight, horizontal lines. When wet, the yarns contract to allow air flow and the fabric appears crinkled and raised. 

Where you’ll see it

Informed by NSRL’s thermoregulation research, AeroAdapt panels are placed in varying areas of high heat, sweat and cooling for the biggest benefits. This includes side and back panels (these act like an exhaust system because air that comes in has to have somewhere to go), the chest (a preferred area of cooling confirmed through perception testing) and more.

Nike AeroAdapt will debut in five garments within the new Nike Pro Collection from Nike Training and two Nike Football garments, expanding Nike’s adaptive product platform to apparel for the first time. 

Read More: Nike Training Nike Football Design Aeroadapt