Built for cold: How science and sport product testing support winter sport performance

Canada is a winter sport nation. From community rinks and ski hills to Olympic and Paralympic podiums, athletes across the country regularly train and compete in cold environments. While much attention is placed on training programs, technical skill, and physical preparation, one critical factor often receives less focus: how athletes respond to cold environments while moving, and how sport apparel and equipment influence that response. 

Cold conditions are more than uncomfortable; they can directly impact performance. Temperature affects:  

• Heat regulation: How the body balances heat production and heat loss.  

• Perceived effort: How demanding the activity feels.  

• Focus and readiness: Ability to stay sharp during training or competition.   

Apparel and equipment play a central role in managing these demands, yet they are often designed or evaluated under conditions that do not fully reflect winter sport environments. This is where applied sport science and cold-environment testing become essential. 

Inside the environmental chamber 

At the Canadian Sport Institute Alberta, researchers with the Sport Product Testing group work closely with athletes, coaches, and sporting goods industry partners to understand how cold impacts performance.  A key tool in this process is an environmental chamber, which allows apparel and equipment to be tested across a wide range of temperatures and humidity levels in a controlled and repeatable way. This makes it possible to examine how cold environments influence movement, perception, and physiological responses, while still maintaining the consistency needed for meaningful evaluation. 

Cold exposure creates a complex challenge for athletes. From a physiological perspective, being too cold can lead to discomfort and reduced readiness during low-intensity periods or breaks. Being too warm on the other hand can cause overheating and excessive sweating during high intensity activity. These challenges are particularly pronounced in winter sport, where athletes may alternate between periods of high effort and lower activity, often while exposed to wind and fluctuating environmental conditions. 

Apparel design under the microscope  

Apparel plays a critical role in managing these responses. Insulation, fabric thickness, breathability, and moisture management all influence how athletes experience the cold. Apparel that provides too much insulation may feel comfortable at rest but lead to overheating and discomfort during movement. Conversely, apparel that prioritizes lightness and breathability may compromise warmth during lower-intensity periods or prolonged exposure. These trade-offs are not always obvious during static fitting sessions or room-temperature testing, which is why cold-environment evaluation is so important. 

Environmental chamber testing allows our researchers to move beyond assumptions and evaluate apparel performance under conditions that better reflect winter sport realities. By systematically adjusting temperature and humidity, athletes can be exposed to different cold scenarios while performing dynamic movements such as running, jumping, or sport-specific drills. This makes it possible to observe:  

• how athletes adapt their movement,  

• how hard the activity feels, and  

• how their bodies respond physiologically as conditions change. 

One of the strengths of our environmental chamber testing is the ability to capture both objective and subjective responses. Physiological measures can provide insight into how the body is responding to cold stress, while athlete-reported perceptions of comfort, warmth, and mobility offer valuable context.  

Interestingly, these two perspectives do not always align. Athletes may feel adequately warm while still experiencing elevated physiological strain, or they may report discomfort even when objective measures suggest thermal balance. Understanding this relationship between perception and physiology is critical for designing apparel that supports both performance and athlete well-being. 

Movement quality matters 

Movement quality is another important consideration in cold environments. Apparel that is heavier, stiffer, or less flexible can subtly influence how athletes move, even if it feels comfortable at rest.  

In winter Olympic sports, precise coordination is required during tasks such as sprint starts and maximal skating strides in speed skating, cross-over and edge-control mechanics in alpine and cross-country skiing, and rapid trunk–limb coordination during bobsleigh and skeleton push starts. Similarly, many winter sport movements demand large ranges of motion, including deep hip and knee flexion during skating and ski propulsion, as well as substantial shoulder and trunk motion during cross-country ski poling. Over time, even small restrictions in mobility introduced by cold-weather apparel can affect technique, efficiency, and fatigue. Environmental chamber testing during sport-specific tasks helps identify whether apparel supports natural movement patterns or introduces unintended limitations when temperatures drop. 

Before apparel is ever tested on athletes, preliminary evaluation is often conducted using a thermal manikin. These manikins are designed to simulate the human body and provide standardized measures of thermal insulation and evaporative resistance. By using a manikin, we’ve assessed how different apparel systems manage heat and moisture without the variability introduced by human movement, fitness level, or perception. This step is particularly useful for comparing materials and garment constructions under controlled conditions. 

Thermal manikin testing provides an important first step in apparel evaluation by quantifying how effectively garments retain heat, allow moisture to escape, and manage sweat accumulation under controlled conditions. These measurements help inform early design decisions and narrow down options before more resource-intensive athlete testing. 

However, manikin testing cannot fully capture the complexity of human movement, thermoregulation, and perceptual responses. For this reason, environmental chamber testing with athletes builds on these baseline findings to evaluate how apparel performs during real movement. Within the chamber, athletes complete standardized tasks while researchers monitor perceptual, physiological, and biomechanical responses. Because environmental conditions can be precisely controlled and repeated, observed differences between apparel systems can be attributed more confidently to the garments themselves rather than to external variability. 

Implications for high-performance and Para sport 

At the high-performance level, even small discomforts or inefficiencies can accumulate over the course of a training session or competition. As mentioned earlier, apparel that does not adequately manage heat or moisture may increase fatigue, distract athletes, or reduce confidence, even if the effects are subtle.  

For Para athletes, cold exposure can introduce additional considerations. Sensory changes, reduced circulation, dexterity challenges, and prolonged exposure to cold can amplify the importance of well-designed apparel systems. For example, athletes in Para Nordic skiing may rely on fine hand control during poling despite reduced hand sensation, while Para ice hockey players must maintain upper-body mobility and grip strength during repeated high-intensity efforts on the ice. Sit-ski athletes require apparel that accommodates seated postures, harness systems, and pressure points without restricting trunk or shoulder motion. Environmental chamber testing that includes a range of Para athletes and sport-specific movement tasks such as seated propulsion, fine motor tasks with gloves, or repeated transfer and pushing actions, helps identify potential barriers and supports the development of more inclusive solutions. Ensuring that apparel works effectively for diverse athletes is an important step toward equitable performance support in winter sport. 

From a practical standpoint, cold-environment testing highlights the importance of thoughtful planning and evaluation. Coaches and sport practitioners should consider the following:   

• Consider not just fit, but performance across real-world temperatures. 

• Test apparel during winter training to reduce surprises in competition. 

• Integrate athlete feedback alongside objective data for better decision-making.  

Cold-climate testing also reinforces the value of integrating athlete feedback into the evaluation process. While objective data provide critical insight, athletes’ perceptions of comfort, warmth, and mobility strongly influence how they perform and how confident they feel. Creating space for athletes to reflect on their experiences, alongside physiological and performance data, leads to more meaningful and actionable conclusions. 

Looking ahead 

Advancements in materials, environmental testing, and applied sport science continue to expand what is possible in cold-climate research. Canada’s climate, infrastructure, and winter sport expertise position it uniquely to lead in this area. By combining controlled environmental sport product testing with athlete-centred evaluation, researchers and practitioners can continue to improve how equipment and apparel support performance in cold environments. 

Ultimately, cold is not just a backdrop for winter sport; it is an active factor shaping how athletes move, feel, and perform. Evidence-based testing of apparel and equipment in cold environments helps ensure that athletes are not simply enduring the conditions they face but are supported by them. Through thoughtful application of sport science, winter athletes can be better prepared to train and compete with confidence, consistency, and safety in the cold. 

About Sport Product Testing:  

Sport Product Testing (SPT) is an independent research and development group affiliated with the Canadian Sport Institute Alberta. SPT provides objective, actionable insights to enhance the accuracy, usability, and performance of athletic, health, and wellness products. Operating free from traditional academic constraints, the team combines nimble, responsive approaches with rigorous scientific and ethical standards. With unique access to world-class Olympic and Paralympic training environments, advanced laboratories, and elite athletes, SPT supports all stages of the product development cycle—from validation and usability testing to applied research—across footwear, apparel, wearables, equipment, and wellness technologies. Through a customer-focused approach, SPT delivers insights that drive product performance, effectiveness, and efficiency for users of all levels worldwide. 

Learn more at sportproducttesting.com 
Follow Sport Product Testing on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sport-product-testing