Aren't We Cool Canucks, eh?

I first heard about Cool Canuck several months ago.  I read a review on a Canadian giveaway-blog that I keep an eye on occasionally. 

Cool Canuck is a Canadian company (Canadians are sometimes referred to as Canucks don't ya know), and is the first performance clothing company to utilize CoolCore’s innovative cooling fabrics in all of its apparel and accessories.

From their literature:

"This new fabric technology incorporates the use of water, thermoregulation, moisture wicking and moisture transport to deliver an instant cooling effect. Unlike other moisture wicking products in the market, our fabrics are NOT chemically treated. The cooling comes from the technology within the fabric. "

I am always interested in trying out new performance apparel and so when Cook Canuck offered to send a pair of shirts to me and The Captain, I readily accepted.

The men's tee is is very soft and the sizing is roomy.  The Captain normally wears a Medium or even a smallish Large, and you can see this Medium is square cut and boxy, and long.

The shirts are designed with a relaxed fit that allows for greater airflow and increased mobility.  The fabric has a pique knit texture and is snag resistant.

The ladies tee has a shallow V neck and some definitive girly shaping down the length of the body. It is very long so it covers the butt.  I am wearing a size Small and it fits perfectly.  I normally wear a Small, or maybe a Medium if I think I may need extra sleeve or body length. 

We have both worn these shirts while running and found the moisture-wicking properties to be exceptional.   And a few days ago, I wore mine during a fast paced, strenuous, sweaty weight training session, and my skin was definitely kept cool and dry by the moisture-collection nature of this special fabric.

According to Cool Canuck, cooling can be achieved in 2 ways:

"

Self-activation by perspiration: Dry garments are put on dry and allowed to naturally collect moisture through perspiration. As saturation levels increase, so does the cooling effect. The result is a gradual cooling process designed to keep the wearer cool and dry.

Pre-activation by soaking:
When instant relief from the heat is necessary, simply soak the garment in water then wring it out and wear it. By saturating the garment before activity, the cooling process begins right away. This method is ideal for quickly cooling the body’s temperature.      "

I wanted to try out the second method to see if it worked, but it is just not that warm here yet so I will be waiting till the weather man brings warmer temperatures before I conduct that experiment.  But, I can see how valuable this would be on a really hot day, during an activity of any duration ... a run, a bike ride, basketball game, tennis match, and so on.

Cool Canuck has several styles of shirts including a nice looking polo which would be great for golf or tennis. They are available in black or white.

And they also have an extensive line of cool cloths.  These are like towels and retain their cooling properties for up to 2 or 3 hours.  A cool cloth is activated by immersing it in water for a few seconds, wringing out excess water, and then snapping it in the air.  They also make some especially for pets.

I have a friend who used to wet a scarf and wrap it around her neck in the summer to cool herself while we were sailing... I think this would be the same sort of thing. 

So Cool Canuck gets a nod of approval from both me and The Captain.  Although we received the shirts at no cost to us, the opinions expressed are 100% our own.

Check the Cool Canuck web site to see where you can purchase these items for yourself.