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d3o is a dilatant material developed by the British company d3o Lab. The special properties of this material make it useful in protective clothing and garments where the wearer may be exposed to blunt trauma.

Recently, the material has been used in the production of protective garments used by US and Canadian skiers during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games^[1] .

Contents 1 Description 2 Products using d3o 3 References 4 External links

d3o (dee-three-oh) is a specially engineered material made with "intelligent" molecules. These molecules flow with you as you move but on shock lock together to absorb the impact energy.

Incorporated into clothing d3o is lightweight and malleable providing the user with increased control through ensuring flexible yet highly effective impact protection.

Since 2005 d3ohas been actively incorporated a range of products:

• The skiwear company Spyder has created racing suits using d3o for the U.S. and Canadian Olympic skiers.
• Sells, a goalkeeping brand, collaborated with d3o lab to create goalkeeping gloves and shin pads for soccer.
• Kjus placed innovation, style and comfort at the forefront of their range of men's and women's snow apparel incorporated with d3o.
• Reusch's Unshok gloves use d3o to protect the central stress zone of the palm without limiting the hand's necessary mobility.

Out soon...

• March 2007 - RACER MCR race glove, winner of JPMS product of the year 2007.
• Winter 07/08 - Ignitelaunch their range of soft headwear integrated with d3o for the additional benefit of impact protection.
• Winter 07/08 - Sessions are the first to integrate d3o technology into a base layer, the winner of a highly coveted SnowPress Innovation Award 2007.
• Quiksilver's incorporation of d3o into their already hugely successful range of beanies was met with industry approval as they picked up an ISPO boardsports award 2007.

For more info click here

1. ^ "US and Canadian Skiers Get Smart Armour"

d3o's newsroom

• d3o Lab
• "d3o Create Intelligent Material for Use in Protective Clothing"
• "d3o in Shoes for Skateboarders"
• CNN feature on d3o

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