Experimental Study of Heat Dissipation in Indoor Sports Shoes

As indoor sports shoes are intensively used in a warm and sweaty environment for periods of up to three consecutive hours, the built-up heat inside is insufficiently released causing warm and perspiring feet. This results in an increased chance of blisters and skin irritations. Experimental research on the ventilation properties of the shoe was done using a controlled heat source, digital thermometer and thermo-graphic camera. A representative set of five volley- and handball shoes were subjected to performance testing to explore possibilities for improvement. This paper will explain the test set-up, present the experiments results, discuss the outcome from the research experiments and present a set of conclusions and recommendations for further developments in footwear ventilation.