Gonna Make You Sweat

August 9, 2021 7:36 PM

Sure, that piece of technical gear breathes, wicks, or insulates. But how do garment and gear manufacturers back up those claims? By testing the pieces on a sweating thermal manikin (YT). Meet Newton, Liz, and Baby Ruth, several members of a growing family (.pdf, see Table 2) working to keep firefighters, bomb disposal experts, and soldiers safer, and performance gear users more comfortable.

What else can sweating thermal manikins be used for? Measuring the heat removal rate of personal cooling systems, measuring thermal insulation of sleeping bags, and determining the temperature ratings for cold weather protective clothing, for a start. Divers, you have benefited from the newest member of the team: NEMO the fully submersible!

Whether it has been tested on the dance floor remains an open question.

posted by MonkeyToes (15 comments total)

Me: WTF is a manikin? Don't you mean mannequin?
Looks up what a manikin is and how it is different from a mannequin.
Me: I was this many days old when I found out what a manikin is.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:59 PM on August 9, 2021 [11 favorites]

Sweating thermal manikin would be a great username for me if it weren't so close to the truth.
posted by Literaryhero at 8:05 PM on August 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

All Thermetrics Newton manikins come with a Dell laptop PC with ThermDAC Control Software, providing full device control, fault detection, data logging and analysis capabilities.

Please tell me you can make it say "Hot enough for ya?"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:07 PM on August 9, 2021 [4 favorites]

Not gonna lie - I read "manikin" as "merkin" not "mannequin" and thought this whole post would be about testing the performance of technical underwear
posted by thecjm at 8:13 PM on August 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

I tried for a half-hour to do a decent parody of Freedom's rap from Gonna Make You Sweat to fit with the subject matter of this post, and gave up.

I sweated, I bled, I failed.
posted by hippybear at 8:29 PM on August 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

My perusal of Liz’s spec sheet said nothing about hot flash/perimenopause simulation. Someone get me Thermetrics on the phone; I have notes.
posted by minervous at 8:31 PM on August 9, 2021 [7 favorites]

Me: WTF is a manikin? Don't you mean mannequin?
Looks up what a manikin is and how it is different from a mannequin.
Me: I was this many days old when I found out what a manikin is.

I’ve also seen the “manikin” spelling used for the figures used in fitting sewing projects (whereas the eventual garment may be displayed on a “mannequin”), and for those little poseable wooden forms used by artists. I have no idea if these are widespread uses or just anomalies I’ve run across.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:40 PM on August 9, 2021

The manikin is interesting but I was hoping to see some actual test data, or some garments designed with the results from using the manikin.
posted by meowzilla at 11:01 PM on August 9, 2021

I tried for a half-hour to do a decent parody

That's not very long, a la la la la long,
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 12:25 AM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

Not to be confused with mannikins or manakins.
posted by Johnny Assay at 4:34 AM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

Or ramekins, or terrapins.
posted by box at 7:37 AM on August 10, 2021

the performance of technical underwear

Saving as possible sock name.
posted by hanov3r at 7:55 AM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

Or the title of a memoir. Perhaps for a Cirque du Soleil artist.
posted by hippybear at 9:15 PM on August 10, 2021

Or the title of a memoir. Perhaps for a Cirque du Soleil artist.

Hah. Would also accept "influential prog album."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:20 PM on August 12, 2021

I keep reading it as “mankini.”

Sweating thermal mankinis…sounds pretty uncomfortable.
posted by sweetpotato at 3:06 PM on August 12, 2021