Maximize Performance, Concentration, and Safety The Human Head is Responsible for 60% of the Body's Cooling and Warming
The Competitive Edge in the Heat ®
GelCool Systems for Football
Long Before Your Personnel Suffer Heat Stroke, Their Performance and Health Suffer from Heat Exposure
Would you have won that game in the heat if you didn't have two false starts on 3rd downs? False starts are just one example of the mental/timing/reaction mistakes that players make when they are overheated. Dropped passes, missed assignments, and other mistakes can often be traced back to overheated players.
Maintaining the Competitive Edge in the Heat® is critical on the football field. By maintaining lower cranial/brain blood temperatures, your athletes have greater endurance and mental sharpness in high heat environments. Long before an athlete collapses on the field, he may be significantly affected by heat stress. The first effects of the heat are not apparent, but can be devastating to your players and team. Impaired decision making and delayed physical response are common early effects of the heat and they are hard to detect until the symptoms have progressed to a dangerous level. By this time, treatment is far less effective. Cooling the head with GelCool Systems gel packs is only one part of an overall heat safety program which must include proper hydration and core body temperature management, but GelCool gel packs help directly cool the brain, which is key to quick decision making, quick reactions, and such simple but important issues as avoiding false starts (which always go up in the heat).
GelCool Systems Patent-Pending Professional-Grade Gel Packs align with the existing helmet anti-trauma pads, maintaining the helmet's proper fit and alignment while providing significant cooling benefit. This cooling is graduated through a thermal distribution layer, so the athlete receives steady cooling over the entire cranium surface, avoiding the discomfort caused by a strong surge of cold temperature. GelCool Systems gel packs are designed to deliver cooling within a safe range of 42-60 degrees (F) for the majority of the cooling period, which avoids negative thermal issues such as vasoconstriction or ice burns.
Medical research shows that cooling the cranium (not the neck) is the single most effective way of lowering blood temperature in the brain and helping cool the entire body, since 60% of the heat our body releases is through the head. The brain is far more sensitive to heat effects than any other organ. While GelCool systems are providing cooling, they are rapidly pulling heat away from the player by means of thermal induction. This is far more effective than the existing passive air cooling holes installed in football helmets (download our temperature over time graph).
Our systems provide safety you can afford. They range in price from $290 for an individual system to $3,050 for a high school system, and $7,300 for a college/pro team system. For more pricing information click here.
GelCool Systems gel packs fit securely within major manufacturer's football helmets. Since the broad layer of the gel pack which is in contact with the top of the athlete's head is shaped to match the concave shape of the inside of the helmet, the helmet's fit and alignment are maintained while comfort is actually improved - the material in contact with the head is a soft, absorbent, high-tech microfiber fabric that wicks perspiration away from the user's head. The surface of the cooling pack that is on the head is a uniform 3/8 inch thick, so it doesn't adversely affect the helmet fit. For more technical detail, please see our technical overview page and download our GelCool Testing Summary document.
GelCool Systems is changing the way professionals work in the heat. We offer several levels of GelCool (TM) pack based cooling systems. Entry level systems provide a modular, high-quality cooling gel pack system with specialized coolers (for temperature management and designed for transport from city to city). Large college and professional football teams may choose our high-tech GelCool Elite (TM) system which sends athlete cranial temperature to the trainer's laptop at the sideline. This system is customized for each team's needs and is provided in conjunction with our radio technology partner. Please consider what we can do to help give your team the winning edge and significant additional comfort and safety.
Professional-Grade
Several key factors differentiate GelCool Systems products from any other offerings. First, our products are manufactured to professional specifications and tolerances, allowing their use by professionals, who require predictable and dependable service. Second, quality and material controls are very high, which provides the level of quality required by professional trainers (these packs are manufactured in the same Tennessee factory that makes the g-suits for U.S. Military pilots). Third, GelCool Systems products are sealed units that release a negligible amount of water (condensation) onto the player. Finally, our products are specifically designed for use in helmets. GelCool gel packs deliver the most cooling available in a 7 ounce package: the most cooling per pound of equipment to deal with football practice heat in summer football practice and in early games.
All products have limitations. GelCool System's products are no different. Please completely read our disclaimer before buying (read disclaimer).
Please Note: GelCool Gel Packs are Currently Available for Only the Riddell RevolutionTM, VSR-4TM, and Revolution IQTM Helmets. For More Information About GelCool Systems Please Email Us at info@gelcool.com
1. The team places the cooler and blue cart (for used packs) next to one another on the sideline, within easy reach of the players coming off the field.
2. Players coming off the field remove their helmet, pop the used gel pack out of the helmet (about 2 seconds) and drop it in the blue cart (the gel packs will be washed later in the team's drum washers).
3. The player then takes a new gel pack out of the cooler and places it in the helmet (about 2 seconds). .
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GelCool Gel Pack Usage Calculator
This average usage calculation is based upon the typical length of a drive, the desire to change packs earlier rather than later in extreme heat, and the need for excess capacity. Our gel packs cool much longer than 10 minutes, but our testing and allowance for real world game behavior and variables lead to the use of a low average number of 10 minutes in this calculation.
Even though it takes 3 hours to play a game, actual playing time is still only 60 minutes. Finally, this approach addresses your largest players first, the linemen most affected by the heat. If more players want to use cooling gel packs, you may simply purchase a second cooler.
Game Length in Minutes: 60
Avg. Minutes Per Gel Pack: 10
Player Rotation X3 (1) .33
Packs Per Player: 6
Number of Players: 55
Number of Packs Required: 100
Professional and college football teams would typically purchase one or two Extra Large Gel Pack Cooling Systems. Please see our Online Products Page for more details.
(1) Player Rotation Coefficient: A typical 55-player squad will rotate starters and support players, dividing the total game time among these players.
GelCool Advanced Cooling Gel Packs for Football
Click on Thumbnail to Enlarge
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Our Active Ingredient is Non-Toxic and Non-Caustic
GelCool Systems uses propylene glycol, which is a common food additive (not Ethylene Glycol, which is found in anti-freeze). Propylene glycol is used in sour cream, ice cream, facial soaps, candies and more.
Click here for Dow Chemical's product description. To download the MSDS for our gel please click here (1.8 Mb PDF file). .
GelCool Systems Overview of Head Cooling Physiology
1. Increased metabolic activity from exertion creates excess body heat.
2. Protective clothing inhibits the body’s ability to dissipate the excess heat.
3. GelCool Gel Packs cool cranial blood via thermal induction: blood carried throughout peripheral cranial vessels becomes cooler as gel packs absorb heat.
4. With cooler blood circulating, metabolic activity is reduced(1) and brain function improved.
5. Reduced metabolic activity allows the body to slow vital organ activity (heart, lungs).(1)
6. Perspiration is reduced since the need to dissipate excess heat has fallen(1).
7. Reduced perspiration leads to reduced loss of electrolytes, which improves endurance.
8. Pulmonary function is eased, allowing greater oxygenation of the brain and muscles.
(1) Reduction in metabolic/vital organ activity and perspiration are only possible if the body's thermoregulatory systems determine that overall body temperature is within a safe range.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The use of GelCool Systems Cooling Products is Only One Part of An Overall Heat Safety Program Which Must Include Proper Hydration and Monitoring of the Ambient Temperature According to Applicable Regional Standards Using a Hygrometer (Measuring the Difference Between Wet and Dry Thermometer Bulb Temperatures). The Chart Below is an Example at 30 Degrees C:
Partial Relative Humidity Chart for 30° C
Difference Between Dry Bulb and Wet Bulb Temperatures
Relative Humidity
None
100%
0.5°
96%
1.0°
93%
1.5°
89%
9.0°
44%
9.5°
42%
14.5°
19%
15.0°
17%
18.0°
5%
.
Learn More About the Riddell RevolutionTM Helmet You Will Be Redirected to Riddell's Website
GelCool Systems Has Applied for Trademarks for the Logos and Names Used in this Website. GelCool Systems Has Applied for Patents for The Products Listed on this Website.
GelCool Systems Does Not Represent That The Use of These Products Will Eliminate All Risk of Heat Illness or Related Illnesses. It Remains The Responsibility of the User to Determine Whether Conditions Are Safe for Physical Exertion. Some Environments Are Unsafe (Too Hot and/or Humid for the Given Level of Physical Exertion in Warm Weather, or Too Cold in Cold Weather) Regardless of the Methods Used to Mitigate the Heat Risk (Such as the Use of GelCool Systems Products). ThereforeGelCool Systems Assumes No Responsibility for any Injury Suffered While Using Our Products. GelCool Systems, Inc. Products are NOT Designed to Protect from Physical Shock, Trauma or Blows to the Head. The ONLY Recommended Use of Our Products is to Provide Cooling (or Winter Warming) to the User's Head.
The Use of GelCool Systems' Products is Only One Part of An Overall Thermal Safety Program Which Must Include Proper Hydration, Core Body Temperature Management, and Appropriate Levels of Physical Exertion.
