What do US soldiers use to cope with the
grit and heat of Iraq? Why, cottony women's underthings, nappy ointments,
panty hose - and moist wipes with the cuddly aroma of baby powder...FULL
RELEASE
Pantyhose for our Soldiers in the Middle
East! Seriously?
October 7, 2003
Yes, it’s true! Our soldiers in Iraq have
had to rely on women’s nylons to protect themselves against nasty,
disease-carrying sand flies.
FULL RELEASE
LYCRA in Graduated Compression Socks Provides Comfort and Care to
Customers
Dr. Kraemer and DuPont research findings of U.S. Airways flight
attendants showed: 77% of the female attendants felt their legs were
aided by the hosiery when they wore them for work and 91% would buy
them. 81% of the male attendants rated the socks better than their
normal and stated their feet and legs were less fatigued when they wore
compression socks.
Compression Stockings Help Aching Legs
NEW YORK (REUTERS) -Compression stockings outperform special floor mats
when it comes to reducing the ache and swelling of workers' legs where
their jobs require prolonged standing, say Dutch researchers.
"Compression stockings appeared to be superior to rubber mats,"
concluded a team from the University Academic Hospital in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands.
Legwear for men hits its stride as Ohio
company launches new brand
November 25, 2003
G. Lieberman and Sons, Ltd., a Granville,
OH based company, is one of the few marketers of leg wear for men. Their
brand is called ACTIVSKIN® "Performance Wear for Men." The new brand,
formerly known as ComfiLon®, underscores the company’s commitment to
provide quality leg wear for active, athletic men seeking its health
benefits.
FULL RELEASE
Playboy Advisor
Column, Playboy Magazine:
March 2005
Q. My boyfriend wears pantyhose in public,
even with shorts. He says pantyhose on men is a trend. Is he goofy or in
style?
A. He may be ahead of his time - except for
the shorts. Thousands of men wear pantyhose for nonsexual reasons (that
is, they are not cross dressers). One major supplier is G. Lieberman &
Son's, whose CEO Steve Katz, began marketing to men in 1999 after trying
on dozens of pairs of women's nylons and noting what he didn't like about
their fit. The result is a durable hose with a fly, longer legs, lower
waist band and more room for the male package. Katz and his wife launched
www.comfilon.com to sell hose as a fashionable alternative to socks and
long underwear for men who have the "nylon gene," or as a practical one
for warmth, circulation or to avoid contact with itchy wool pants. They
also created a more macho site www.activskin.com.au to target cops,
construction workers, truckers, athletes and soldiers in Iraq (to protect
against sand fleas). In fact a pair kept us ventilated and compressed
while answering your letter. That's startling only in that we usually go
commando.
International Herald Tribune:
March 13, 2000
www.iht.com/articles/2000/03/13/topics.2.t_3.php
A defunct women's hosiery company has found
new support in Granville, Ohio, by marketing pantyhose for men. "We call
it legwear," said Steve Katz, co-owner of G. Lieberman & Sons. "Guys who
like silk boxers like these." Men wear the pantyhose, called ComFilon,
mainly for climate control. "They're cooler in summer and warmer in
winter," said one customer, Mike Walcer, an engineer from Houston. He
said he wears the hosiery to keep warm while running. Hunters, skiers,
utility workers and others wear them to improve circulation, prevent
chafing or provide extra leg support, Mr. Katz said.
G. Lieberman had gone out of business when
Mr. Katz decided to revive the company, using an Internet site and a new
variation on the old product. A North Carolina pantyhose manufacturer
helped him re-engineer the legwear with a shorter waist, a longer leg
and a fly opening
NSWIS, Aussie sporting icons and IT Sports
find the right fit - July 10, 2007 -
www.nswis.com.au/Tight-fit-at-NSWIS/default.aspx
The New South Wales Institute of Sport will play host to some
super stars of sport next Monday as itsports launch a new garment in
compression sportswear. With the help of the NSWIS Applied Research
Program a new product in compression tights will be launched on July
16 at the NSWIS, Ian Thorpe Theatrette.
The sporting world has taken a huge interest in the product and many
big names are expected to attend the launch. Confirmed VIPs include:
Itsports directors Graeme Langlands MBE (rugby league immortal), and
former-blues cricketer Steve Small; Australian Rugby Sevens coach
Glen Ella; NSWIS CEO Charles Turner and Applied Research Program
director Kenneth Graham.
Responses to the tights, which are designed to improve athlete
performance and enhance the rate of recovery, have been exciting
from NSWIS athletes, many of whom will be modelling the tights and
available for comment on the day. NSWIS and Australian
representatives Ben Kersten (cycling), Craig Stevens (swimming) and
water polo goalkeeper Alicia McCormack were all part of the testing
process and are now fine advocates for the garments.
NSWIS athletes competing for Australian team selection, ahead of the
Olympics and Paralympics next year, have been given first priority
to the tights as orders are already running in thick and fast as
word of mouth spreads about this fantastic new product.
the right fit
article from July edition of the NSWIS 'Edge' magazine
By LISA HERBERTSON
NSWIS
athletes will be dressed more than just to impress when IT Sports’
compression tights hit the streets in July.
Often sports
clothing is more about aesthetics than functionality. But the new
sports compression tights to be released by IT Sports in July have
certainly tested the boundaries of science and come up trumps.
According to NSWIS
athletes Ben Kersten, Craig Stevens and Alicia McCormack, who have
been involved in the testing process, this new product works magic
for training and recovery needs. “They are very comfortable to wear
between sessions and at night,” Stevens said.
“They help me to
perform at my optimal level at each session by reducing recovery
time and muscle fatigue.”
Australian water
polo player McCormack agreed with Stevens. “Institute Tights are
like a security blanket for me. I don’t go anywhere with out them.”
she joked. “They help me train harder, lift heavier weights and
recover painlessly and effortlessly.
“I started wearing
the tights in the gym because I felt they gave me the confidence to
lift heavier weights.
“Now I wear them to
all my training sessions and if I need good recovery I will even
wear them to bed.”
But the athlete
testing is just one part of the process undergone by IT Sports to
ensure they have the best product possible.
IT Sports Directors
Carl McDonald, Graeme Langlands MBE and Steve Small have an
impressive combined knowledge of sport in Australia. With 34 Tests
for Australia and 195 goals Graeme ‘Changa’ Langlands MBE is a Rugby
League Immortal.
Small is a NSW
cricket legend having played and coached for the blues. McDonald is
actively involved with training the Australian rugby sevens.
McDonald and the other two directors decided there was a need for a
compression tight that helped with performance and recovery.
The Directors of IT
Sports approached NSWIS Applied Research Program Director Kenneth
Graham in 2006 for his advice with the design of their compression
tights.
Graham and his team
discussed the key design criteria for the new product and this has
resulted in a product that matches the way the body moves and
operates in sport.
IT Sports’ thorough
approach included consultation with tailors, sports science experts,
and athletes and the result is very impressive. “The tights have a
very high lycra content and heavy stitching to create anchor
points,” Graham said.
“It’s a
multi-functional design that allows for the disparate body positions
that occur in sport.”
Graham said that
his involvement with the tights had increased his knowledge of
lycra, materials and stitching more than he imagined possible but
that it was these finer points and IT Sports’ attention to detail
that was integral to what he believes is a winning design.
Cyclist Ben Kersten
agrees.
‘As I’m on the road
so much, the tights have greatly improved my ability to recover,
particularly between sessions and on long flights to competitions,”
Kersten said. “I also believe that they have increased my maximum
strength in the gym leading to improved performance when training
and competing’.
Athletes like
cyclist Ben Kersten who have been trialling the product are happy to
get any help they can, and are convinced that IT Sports new tights
could well give them the extra edge they need.
With the tights
beginning to hit the market place the directors of IT Tights are
hoping to design even more compression garments. And with products
such as these on hand to help NSWIS athletes improved performances
and recovery are sure to follow next.
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Tights may give runners a lift
Sydney Morning Herald - June 14, 2006 - 8:29AM
Running tights
designed to support the muscles and boost runners' performance may
actually work as advertised, a small study suggests.
Known as
compression tights, the apparel is marketed to distance runners as a
way to make their muscles work more efficiently - expending less
energy to do a given amount of work.
In the new study,
French researchers found that the high-tech pants allowed 12 male
runners to expend less effort during their runs compared with shorts
or traditional low-tech tights.
This implies that
the gear could delay muscle fatigue and permit runners to go farther
or burn less energy to reach their usual performance level,
according to study co-author Dr Stephane Perrey, of the University
of Montpellier's Motor Efficiency and Deficiency Laboratory in
France.
The findings are
published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine.
Compression tights
have strategically placed bands of sturdier fabric that are supposed
to support the leg's major muscles and limit excess muscle motion as
a runner strides along.
This protection
against muscle "oscillation" may be what allowed runners in the
study to move more efficiently, according to the researchers.
In addition, they
note, the extra-supportive tights may facilitate blood circulation
back to the heart.
The study included
trained male runners who volunteered to test the performance effects
of three types of sportswear clothes - compression tights, standard
shorts and conventional elastic tights.
The researchers
measured the runners' efficiency using portable monitors that gauged
their oxygen needs during the run.
In the initial
experiment, in which the men were asked to run a short distance,
both compression and conventional tights helped the runners to move
more efficiently compared with when they wore ordinary shorts.
During more
intense, 15-minute runs, the compression tights performed best,
trimming the runners' oxygen use.
Perrey estimated
that, for a marathoner who normally clocks in at 3.5 hours,
compression tights could shave about 6 minutes off that time.
But, he told
Reuters Health, the average jogger could also get a performance
boost from the apparel - as long as the size is right.
These socks might be your new secret weapon