The Essential Balaclava Kit

The Essential Balaclava Kit is designed to enhance family skiing and snowboarding experiences by delivering sustainable warmth through its innovative balaclavas paired with stackable rechargeable warmers.

Team: 1 researcher, 2 designers, 2 engineers + me
Role: UX and strategy consultant
Responsibility: User research, market research, product design, prototyping, business strategy
Time: Jan 2024 - May 2024

Background & Summary

Ignik Outdoors' Journey to Warmth and Sustainability for Families

Ignik Outdoors is a company committed to making innovative and sustainable outdoor heating products.

We worked as external consultants with Ignik and focused on a solution that encourages participation in winter sports, keeps families warm, and positively impacts the environment.

To identify the problems, we conducted surveys and interviews and inquiries with winter sports customers. Through iterative design and testing, we developed the final product and crafted a strategic business plan.

Cold Discomfort on Chairlifts

A Barrier to Bonding and Participation in Skiing and Snowboarding, Despite Their Dominance in the US Winter Sports Market

Skiing and snowboarding are the most popular winter sports in the US

Context Inquiry

Cold discomfort hinders skiers and snowboarders from bonding, especially on chairlift rides

88% of users feel coldest on the chairlift rides. (Survey: N=35)

Chairlift rides are social but challenging due to sitting stationary in the cold wind at high altitudes, affecting the face, hands, and neck while sweaty. (Interview)

Parents report struggling to keep themselves and their children warm during chairlift rides, which typically last 5-15 minutes, often involving two connecting lifts. (Survey: N=35)

18.46 M

active skiers and snowboarders

$67 B

annually on snow-based recreation

Social bonds drive winter sports participation

A woman from a multi-generational family stated, "I only started to enjoy going outdoors when I started going with my in-laws.” (Interview)

56% of users participate in outdoor activities to bond with family and friends. (Statista: N=30,399 )

A father from a family of four said, "Kids need to be motivated to get outside, be active, and have fun, even in the cold weather. Otherwise, they might be stuck at home for months together.” (Context Inquiry)

Source: The Chairlift: Bringing Skiers Together in Ways Nothing Else Can

Contribution: I conducted desktop research, initial interviews, surveys, and context inquiry to gain a deep understanding of the impact of cold discomfort in winter sports and to define the problem area while considering business values.

Current Heating Solutions

Fall Short for Family Skiers and Snowboarders

Non-battery heating products fail to protect the coldest body parts during 5 to 30 minute chairlift rides and are not eco-friendly.

Coldest body parts are not well protected due to cold winds and sweat

Skiers must stay active to keep warm, leading to worries and unsafety

Curling fingers into a fist

Covering Face

Tucking hands

Dropped ski poles and warmers scatter across the slopes.

Battery-powered heating solutions are insufficient and cause trouble for family skiers and snowboarders

Heated Gaiters: Unsafe & Ineffective

Don't stay secure on the face.
Tangle under the helmet.
Bulky battery attachment.

Hand Warmers:

Not Eco-Friendly & Inconvenient

Are often littered.
Not hands-free, risking dropped gear.

Heated Blaclavas:

Uncomfortable &

Hard to use

Power button is hard to locate with ski gloves on.
Requires an external battery.

Frustrating Family Charging Experience:

Multiple adapters, cables, outlets, and different charging Levels to monitor for family members

Contribution: To focus on the inactivity phases of skiing and snowboarding, I conducted in-depth interviews with focus groups and performed competitive analyses of different types of heating products. This allowed the team to understand the problems better and identify specific market gaps affecting family skiers and snowboarders.

Iterative Design & Prototyping

Driven by User Feedback, Values, and Market Needs

To meet user values and address product gaps, we defined key requirements: Long-Lasting Heat, Ease of Use, Portability, and Versatility.

Value Analysis

Long-Lasting Heat

Heating solution that lasts hours.

Easy To Use

High usability even with ski gear and gloves.

Children should be able to use it without adult assistance.

Portable

Lightweight and affords to be carried on every run without additional weight.

Versatile

Suitable for adults and children to apply heat to the areas they are experiencing the most cold.

We brainstormed, mapped existing products, and tested prototypes iteratively, incorporating feedback from 15 users at each stage.

Existing Product Mapping

Iterative Design and Prototyping

Brainstorming

Contribution: I employed value analysis with the team to create product requirements. Then, we brainstormed, mapped existing products, designed, and prototyped interactively based on test feedback to develop a user-centered product that effectively meets user needs and market demands.

Finalizing the Essential Balaclava Kit

Family-Focused Product Kit Aligned with Ignik's Brand Strategy

The Essential Balaclava kit includes balaclavas with integrated pockets, stackable warmers, and a charging dock.

Stackable Warmers

Charging Dock with Cord

Balaclava with Integrated Pockets

Strap to locate the pocket

Stackable & rechargeable warmers provide localized heat to the cheeks when inserted into the balaclava, and can be managed simultaneously.

Manage and charge warmers together at the same time easily with the charging dock

Child-Friendly

Compact & Ergonomic

Quick Heating Mechanism

Specially designed balaclavas with integrated pockets to accommodate rechargeable warmers, aimed to provide targeted heat to the cheeks

Insulation Layer
for Pockets
Thinsulate

Inner Layer:
Pockets Fleece

Outer Layer:
Merino Wool

Slanted Pockets

Strap to locate the pocket

Strategic Plans

Achieving a 50% Projected Net Profit Margin

The Essential Balaclava Kit is designed for families of all sizes, centered on the average American family of three.

The Essential Balaclava Kit

Adult Blaclava KIt

Child Blaclava Kit

We focus on partnerships with major retailers like REI for initial product distribution

Business Model Canvas

The projected breakeven is after selling 229 units and a 50% profit margin within the first year

Breakeven

Volume:

14 units + 215 units

D2C

Retailers

Assumptions

Income Statement

Costing Estimation

Contribution: I developed the financial model by analyzing the competitive landscape and aligning it with Ignik's business goals and bargaining power. Based on this model, I set the pricing strategy, defined the product offerings, and crafted the distribution strategy tailored to our target customer segments.

Impacts

This project benefited Ignik and myself as a designer and a researcher

Impact for Ignik Outdoors

Our project made a real impact on Ignik Outdoors. They loved our stackable warmers idea and made it a top priority.

They also implemented our recommendation to prioritize retailer partnerships to expand market reach.

This strategic approach is guiding them in developing a focused, market-ready product

Understand engineering trade-offs

We learned that the cheeks, neck, and hands are the coldest on chairlifts.

While we explored options to warm all these areas simultaneously, the bulkiness of ski gloves made heating hands with impractical.

Removing gloves increased the risk of dropping gear, a major concern for users.

Don't be obsessed with innovative solutions

As discovered that skiers prioritize portability over multifunctionality, we abandoned more innovative concept warming all coldest body parts simultaneous, addressing the primary issue while aligning with current skiing habits.

This taught me to make informed design choices based on users’ true needs.