Quite often when I meet people, the question arises as to where and how this perscalsonki originated. How exactly is such a product made? Where did the idea for prscalsång come from? How exactly is the idea put into practice? How did I manage to develop something like this, when I am a mechanical engineer? Where do all the development ideas come from? Isn't it terribly expensive to develop this, this or that? There are quite a few questions there.
Originally, the idea really came from my own need. At the time, I was living in the Alps and had to spend quite a bit of time in lifts and backcountry. I wanted to wear as little clothing as possible so that I wouldn't sweat like a little pig while moving around all the time. At the same time, however, especially when sitting in a lift, too little clothing was not comfortable or healthy. So I dug up the very first pair of knee-length underwear, into which I sewed velvet pockets on my husband's grandmother's sewing machine during a short visit to Finland. Or originally they were just patches on the bottom.
From that first prototype I learned that extra warmth is good for a down jacket. I thought about breathability, waterproofness and its necessity, I tried additional wool insulation and also foam plastic already at that time. Pockets that are closed in underwear are not good in the end, because the warming insulation is on the skin all the time. Too close. It made me sweat a little, especially if I put more stuff in between. When it's really cold, it's a really good addition. Just like those down shorts and other sweaty pieces.
With these lessons, I started to make a loose pouch for my outer pants. I first tried to find pants with a double layer of fabric with padding, where you could slip the insulation. There weren't really any of those, especially in more technical pants. Of course, I tested something that I glued to the shell with various fasteners for the insulation directly. That worked just fine, but in the end, it was worth putting the insulation in a pouch, which was then attached to the pants. There was glue, stickers, Velcro, string, sewing. I also borrowed my dad's sewing machine forever and it's great for rapping.
Each different experiment found features that either worked or didn't. The glued pocket in the shell is the best, but it was eliminated during the product development phase because I really didn't want to start making pants. That pocket structure for insulation is protected by my utility model protection, at least in Finland. I'm probably not the first person to have tried something like this, but no one has protected such an application. I guess that perberi is such a small-minded thing :)
When I started thinking about this ass underwear from a productization perspective, the issues of ease, portability, washing, maintenance and durability came into play. Fabrics, recyclability, manufacturability, wear structure, etc. Pretty quickly, that pouch model jumped in the direction where it was attached to the shell pants with Velcro stickers. The soft sides of the stickers were glued to the shell pants. I tested maybe 15 different glues to see what works and what doesn't. What destroys the shell material and what doesn't. I found a good glue that stays on even in the cold and doesn't destroy the film or color even when viewed from the outside. Being the sly person I am, I found all sorts of old clothes and components in the storage stash, all I needed was scissors and sewing.
I tested the materials with Velcro and glued them to my friends' pants for testing. At this point, I found the RPET satin material. It's the same stuff that linings of jackets are made of. It's pleasant, especially against underpants, but also against the skin. It's slippery and folds nicely and is correct in terms of functionality. The first bags and insulation inside were without that intermediate lining bag. At this point, I was still looking for a suitable insulation material. There was wool, felt, foam, coatings and everything possible. However, the insulation had to be "standing" enough that it would stay in place, but still soft enough that it wouldn't wiggle around all the time.
At this point, my friend put me in touch with a slightly more professional maker. I got materials from her to test. There was lining and fabric and that kind of thing. In addition, my aunt was an experienced home seamstress and crafts person. With her help, I was able to put together the first models that were a little better cut to the pattern and shape. So 6 years since the idea was born!! Around the same time, I started adapting that string fastening idea to underwear. I didn't want any buckles on it, because they are flimsy. Buckles break, it's painful when you fall on them, they are mainly plastic and they also cost money. So it's completely useless. The string fastening turned out to be really good in the end. The middle lining bag as well. And the insulation itself doesn't need to be a few millimeters thicker. Of course, it depends on how long you sit and how cold the surface is.
In the end, the prscalsång is a hell of a lot better in production than any of my previous prototypes. It fits better, the insulation softens up to be really comfortable pretty quickly, moves comfortably in the pants, and actually works just like I dreamed it would. The drawstring fastening caused a bit of a stir at first. The strings started to unravel, but that was fixed by changing the cutting process to heat cutting. The excessive slippage in the string and unwanted opening that some users reported is one phenomenon that has also surfaced. Just tie it up and go, but apparently sometimes they still open. It's good that you don't have to use a knife to remove them from the pants. Or? Anyway, those strings just changed to a slightly different, woven ribbon. It's probably rougher, but we'll see how well people think they work.
All this fussing comes naturally to me. Why?
I am a product developer. Although in terms of education and profession, I am in the world of machines and gadgets. But in the end, there is not that much that is different about these things. And on the other hand, there is absolutely everything. But of course, this development process involved a lot of testing. And what could be nicer than doing everything possible that you would do anyway, but with a sensitive perber. That's the point, though!
