On June 2, 2025, our KES-QM Warm/Cool Feeling Measurement Tester was featured on the popular segment “Hitasura Tameshite Ranking” of MBS MAINICHI BROADCASTING SYSTEM, INC.’s “Saturday Plus.”

In this program, the “coolness” of 13 types of cooling innerwear was measured using our KES-QM Warm/Cool Feeling Measurement Tester to evaluate how cold each fabric felt to the touch.

 

What is Contact Thermal Feeling (qmax)?

Contact thermal feeling refers to the skin’s sensation of “warmth” or “coolness” when touching an object. This feeling varies depending on the amount of heat transferred from the skin to the object. The indicator “qmax” (maximum heat flux) quantifies this thermal sensation and can be measured using our KES-F7 Thermo Labo and KES-QM Warm/Cool Feeling Measurement Tester.

The qmax value was defined in the 1970s by Dr. Sueo Kawabata of Kyoto University, who co-developed the KES™ system, as a measure to evaluate the contact coolness of fabrics.

Note: Although it is expressed in various ways such as Q-max, Q-MAX, Qmax, or QMAX, the official notation defined in standards such as JIS is “qmax.”

 

Standards and Background

The JIS standard “Textiles – Measurement method of cool touch feeling property” was originally drafted based on our tester (KES-F7 Thermo Labo).

Similarly, the Chinese recommended standard GB/T 35263-2017 “Textiles – Testing and Evaluation for Cool Feeling in contact instant” and the Taiwanese standard CNS15687, L3272 “Method of test for the instantaneous cool sensation fabrics” are based on this principle.

Dr. Kawabata pioneered the technology of quantifying the hand feel of fabrics by developing KES™ in 1972 in collaboration with KATO TECH. Today, approximately 20 types of KES™ series testers are available.

Although it is a niche field, KES™ is widely recognized in the industry. While not a formal standard, it contributes to improving the texture, quality, and comfort of various products around the world.