Performance attributes relevant to thermal wear comfort of hip protective garment: influence of comprising pad materials, pad thickness, pad area, and pocket fabric structure

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the performance attributes relevant to thermal wear comfort of the commercially available hip protective pads and materials intended for impact protection that can be used for the hip protective pad. Design/methodology/approach The performance attributes relevant to thermal wear comfort (i.e. dry thermal resistance and evaporative resistance) of the pads were tested using MTNW Integrated Sweating Guarded Hotplate (iSGHP). Findings It was found that: the pad with more porous structure has more advantages in terms of evaporative resistance; the permeability index will be higher on the pad with an opening such as a segmented pad; the permeability index will be lower on the thicker and larger pad. The pocket fabric with open structure will have lower dry thermal resistance and evaporative resistance. Originality/value The study results showed that the properties of the utilised materials influenced thermal comfort performance. These results could be useful for designing and engineering hip protective garments.