booger
12-29-2004, 12:53 PM
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/news/money/story.html?id=abe3f943-37c9-4afe-b288-a333a4c784c9
Banishing that hockey-bag aroma
PuckSkin makes players more comfortable with less bacteria
Jim Jamieson
The Province
December 29, 2004
With recent revelations about the toxic stew of microbial bugs infesting the suit of armour that hockey players haul around the ice, Dave Tweedy's PuckSkin undergarment looks better all the time.
Not that Tweedy's high-tech shorts and T-shirts protect shinny practitioners from bacteria-laden shoulder pads any more than a cotton version, but at least you might feel less soggy and offend fewer with that distinctive hockey-bag aroma.
Tweedy, a Vancouver sporting-goods store manager, and sports-clothing designer Greg McMillan were longtime hockey buddies. Fourteen months ago, they launched a business together they had talked about for years.
Their product, PuckSkin, is a "no-stink" undergarment for hockey -- a game that has unique cooling needs due to the heavy protective coverings worn from head to toe.
In its current design, PuckSkin is infused with silver-ceramic ions to add an anti-microbial capability.
Tweedy acknowledged there are other products with similar properties, but said PuckSkin is designed specifically for hockey.
"The demands of hockey, when you're sweating under a whole layer of equipment, are a lot higher than other sports," he said.
"We have layers that raise the inside of the fabric to make it suede-like. It draws the sweat away from the body to keep you cool and dry.
"A lot of guys wear cotton, but cotton is hot and it holds all the [sweat], which really gets heavy."
Several NHL players have worn PuckSkin, Tweedy said, including Vancouver Canucks' Jarkko Ruutu and Steve Rucchin of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The University of B.C. Thunderbirds men's hockey team has also adopted the garment.
"I'm pretty happy with it," said T-Birds trainer Darren Karpluk. "It's really comfortable, besides the fact it keeps the sweat away from your skin. Guys prefer it when they're in a situation when they might not get a laundry for the next day."
But it is the recreational player and minor-hockey kids who are the natural customers.
Earlier this month, a story about a reporter's hockey equipment being analyzed by a laboratory created a stir when the lab found 188,650 living bacteria on just eight samples.
His article said the micro-organisms found in hockey equipment can cause illnesses such as gastroenteritis (stomach flu), influenza, various skin infections and diarrhea, caused by a strain of E. coli.
"[That story has] made a noticeable difference in sales," said Danny Luongo, owner of Larry's Sports Shop in North Vancouver -- one of two Lower Mainland stores that carry PuckSkin. "When we first started carrying this last year, it was senior men's hockey, but now we're finding more parents are concerned about their kids and are buying this as part of the equipment now."
Tweedy said his firm will manufacture 22,000 units this year and is expanding distribution to the Ontario market. PuckSkin, which comes in three different tops, as well as shorts and pants, sells for between $45 and $55.
jjamieson@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2004
Banishing that hockey-bag aroma
PuckSkin makes players more comfortable with less bacteria
Jim Jamieson
The Province
December 29, 2004
With recent revelations about the toxic stew of microbial bugs infesting the suit of armour that hockey players haul around the ice, Dave Tweedy's PuckSkin undergarment looks better all the time.
Not that Tweedy's high-tech shorts and T-shirts protect shinny practitioners from bacteria-laden shoulder pads any more than a cotton version, but at least you might feel less soggy and offend fewer with that distinctive hockey-bag aroma.
Tweedy, a Vancouver sporting-goods store manager, and sports-clothing designer Greg McMillan were longtime hockey buddies. Fourteen months ago, they launched a business together they had talked about for years.
Their product, PuckSkin, is a "no-stink" undergarment for hockey -- a game that has unique cooling needs due to the heavy protective coverings worn from head to toe.
In its current design, PuckSkin is infused with silver-ceramic ions to add an anti-microbial capability.
Tweedy acknowledged there are other products with similar properties, but said PuckSkin is designed specifically for hockey.
"The demands of hockey, when you're sweating under a whole layer of equipment, are a lot higher than other sports," he said.
"We have layers that raise the inside of the fabric to make it suede-like. It draws the sweat away from the body to keep you cool and dry.
"A lot of guys wear cotton, but cotton is hot and it holds all the [sweat], which really gets heavy."
Several NHL players have worn PuckSkin, Tweedy said, including Vancouver Canucks' Jarkko Ruutu and Steve Rucchin of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The University of B.C. Thunderbirds men's hockey team has also adopted the garment.
"I'm pretty happy with it," said T-Birds trainer Darren Karpluk. "It's really comfortable, besides the fact it keeps the sweat away from your skin. Guys prefer it when they're in a situation when they might not get a laundry for the next day."
But it is the recreational player and minor-hockey kids who are the natural customers.
Earlier this month, a story about a reporter's hockey equipment being analyzed by a laboratory created a stir when the lab found 188,650 living bacteria on just eight samples.
His article said the micro-organisms found in hockey equipment can cause illnesses such as gastroenteritis (stomach flu), influenza, various skin infections and diarrhea, caused by a strain of E. coli.
"[That story has] made a noticeable difference in sales," said Danny Luongo, owner of Larry's Sports Shop in North Vancouver -- one of two Lower Mainland stores that carry PuckSkin. "When we first started carrying this last year, it was senior men's hockey, but now we're finding more parents are concerned about their kids and are buying this as part of the equipment now."
Tweedy said his firm will manufacture 22,000 units this year and is expanding distribution to the Ontario market. PuckSkin, which comes in three different tops, as well as shorts and pants, sells for between $45 and $55.
jjamieson@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2004