Champion tests gear with super insulator: Is ’solid smoke’ ready for its closeup?

Coat maker tries to beat insulator’s heat problem

NEW YORK — As Canadian mountaineer Jamie Clarke scales Mt. Everest this month, he’s wearing a suit that’s just a few millimeters thick, almost as thin as a windbreaker.

But he’ll likely be more worried about overheating than freezing, because of a space-age insulator outfitter Champion is using in his full-body suit.

The insulator, called aerogel, is silicon modified to contain microscopic pockets of air.

Past tries to incorporate aerogel into coats have fallen flat. It cost a lot, is hard to work with and tended to insulate too well, causing wearers to overheat.

Champion parent Hanesbrands and Toronto company Element 21 have spent two years and $2 million to solve those problems. Hanesbrands is sponsoring Clarke’s Everest climb.