Intense physical activity causes feet to sweat. But now a shoe infused with a common sugar substitute could use that sweat to refresh and cooling your feet.
The Louis Garneau Carbon Pro Team shoes, designed for cycling, use a the sweetner xylitol, more commonly found in gum and toothpaste, to make your feet feel cool even during a heavy workout. Xylitol is an alcohol-based sugar, so when it comes into contact with moister, it evaporates.
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Normally, this aspect of xylitol gives gum and toothpaste a minty cooling sensation. But when used in shoes, it cools the feet. In the last several years, several companies have experimented with putting it into fabric, such as cooler sleeves for your arms. In this case, Louis Garneau put the xylitol in the soles. Ordinarily that would make it more difficult for the xylitol to work because of the lack of air movement. But the company designed the shoes with a lot of extra ventilation to improve the airflow.
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The shoes can be yours for a “cool” $329. There’s no word on whether they help with foot odor, though.
Image: Louis Garneau
Tags: Chemistry, Physical Fitness, Shoes, Sports
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