By Andrew Liszewski
When it comes to tennis, or any racquet-based sport for that matter, it doesn’t matter how polished or perfect your swing is if you can’t keep a grip on the racquet itself. So to reduce the amount of sweating in your palms during a match, a company called Control Freek has developed a new racquet with a built-in air conditioning system. While some type of ultra-lightweight electronic fan component would definitely be impressive, the cooling system actually uses the motion of the racquet to keep cool air flowing to the handle.
On the Dominator model for example, there are two large air scoops situated just above the handle that grab the moving air while you swing. The air is then funneled out a series of smaller holes located all around the handle which keeps your palm cool and dry while you’re holding it. And while I think the idea definitely has potential, I have to wonder how you replace the grip on the handle, which will most likely still deteriorate over time from being played with. All those holes mean that simply buying a roll of replacement grip tape and doing it yourself is out of the question.
[ Control Freek Cool Racquets ] VIA [ Inventor Spot ]
Sure hope it doesn’t whistle.
On the other hand, a combined string and wind instrument, how cool is that?
haha, that would be cool. maybe if you regripped it then poked the holes through again with a pen :), but then your tape job would look all sketchy