Wearable Ice Bath for Whole-Body Recovery

Home & Lifestyle

Traditional cold therapies like ice baths are messy, expensive, and inconvenient. They require large tubs, huge amounts of ice, and setup time. Localized cold packs exist, but they don’t provide the full-body benefits of immersion, such as improved circulation and deeper cooling.

Core Features

This invention is a temperature therapy garment—shirts, pants, or a full suit—designed to deliver cold or heat therapy across a large portion of the body.

  • Each garment panel contains a flexible gel sheet that can be cooled or heated.
  • The sheets are continuous across panels, ensuring even coverage.
  • The garments are designed as compression wear, keeping the gel close to the skin while mimicking the pressure of water immersion.
  • Panels are joined with stretch stitching for comfort and flexibility.
  • Garments are reusable: simply chill in a freezer or refrigerator, or warm in a microwave, then wear.

Inventive Step

Unlike existing localized packs or bulky ice baths, this garment provides broad-surface, wearable therapy that covers 30–60% of the body. It uniquely combines flexible, semi-rigid gel sheets with compression fabric, simulating the effects of cold-water immersion without water or ice. The convenience and portability distinguish it from traditional solutions.

Tangible Benefits

  • Lowers skin temperature to levels comparable to ice baths.
  • Activates brown fat, boosts dopamine, and improves circulation and oxygenation.
  • Reduces inflammation and aids recovery without the hassle of ice baths.
  • Can be worn for just minutes, indoors, without special equipment.
  • Saves money and resources by eliminating the need for large volumes of ice and water.

Broader Impact

This garment could make therapeutic cooling and heating accessible to athletes, patients, and everyday users. It promotes sustainability by cutting down on water and energy use tied to ice baths, while also supporting health and wellness in a simple, repeatable way.

Disclaimer

The image and video are AI-generated based on the description of the invention in its patent application and are intended for illustrative purposes only.

It explains the concept and is not the actual product as it still needs to be developed.

Market need

Cold/heat therapy is a large, durable category used by athletes, workers in hot environments, and people managing pain/inflammation. The global cold-pain therapy market is estimated around $2.2–$2.5B (2024) and growing, and rehabilitation equipment (~$17B in 2024). Wearable cooling is a defined niche: cooling vests are typically a $400–$700M global market depending on methodology.

Technical feasibility

The patent describes garments (shirt/pants/suit) whose panels contain continuous flexible gel sheets (often hydrogels) that operate across defined hot/cold ranges; panels are enclosed in fabric and joined with stretch/elastic stitching to create a compression fit. This enables broad-area thermal contact while remaining wearable and reusable.

Demonstrated examples show skin temperatures comparable to ice baths after short wear, supporting plausibility.

Manufacturing looks practical with existing textiles/gel-sheet lamination processes; key engineering items are freeze–thaw durability, weight distribution, condensation management, and washability.

Potential applications

  • Sports & fitness recovery (home, team, clinic) as an alternative to plunge tubs/cryotherapy. Cold plunge systems typically run hundreds to several thousand USD, so a wearable priced like a premium vest could undercut on convenience/price.
  • Occupational heat stress (construction, warehouses, first responders) and outdoor recreation (hiking, motorsports) where cooling vests already sell in the $70–$400 range.
  • Pain/inflammation management (arthritis, post-op/post-injury) within the broader cold-pain therapy and physiotherapy channels.

Uniqueness & IP position

Relative to common PCM/ice-pack vests, the invention claims continuous gel sheets spanning large garment panels (not small inserts) with compression that mimics hydrostatic pressure—aiming to reproduce aspects of full-body immersion without water/ice. It also specifies coverage thresholds (≥30% and up to ≥60% body surface) as method steps, which could help claim scope vs. “spot-cooling” wearables.

Market size & revenue lens

  • Direct category fit (Cold-pain therapy): ~$2.4B in 2024; a novel wearable capturing 1% share at a $200 ASP implies ~$24M revenue (~120k units). (25,000,000 ÷ 200 = 125,000 units for 1% of a $2.5B market.)
  • Adjacencies: accessory to sports medicine ($450–700M), expanding TAM via team sales, clinics, and safety PPE channels.

Competitive landscape

Alternatives include phase-change cooling vests (numerous brands) and plunge tubs/cryosaunas. The proposed garment’s edge is full-upper-body (or suit) coverage + compression + reusability, potentially delivering “ice-bath-like” skin-temp drops without water, installation, or high costs.

Compared to tubs often priced $600–$6,000+, a <$300–$500 wearable is attractive for mass retail and team procurement.

Risks & hurdles

  • Thermal mass vs. comfort: achieving long, even cooling without excessive weight/stiffness.
  • Condensation & hygiene: need wicking liners, washable covers, and leak-proof gel encapsulation.
  • Sizing & fit: multiple SKUs and panel geometry to maintain compression/coverage.
  • Regulatory & claims: positioning as wellness/sport-recovery vs. medical may simplify approval, but labeling and clinical claims must be conservative.

Commercial verdict

High potential. The market is large, habits are established, and the product offers a clear, convenient, lower-cost alternative to plunges/cryotherapy with defensible differentiators (continuous gel-sheet panels, compression, broad-surface method). With solid durability testing, thoughtful moisture/weight management, and crisp positioning (recovery + heat-stress + pain relief), this could sustain healthy mid-to-high 6-figure annual unit volumes at scale—and be very attractive to sporting goods, PPE, and DTC wellness channels.