Snowballin'

Men's testicles are located on the outside of their bodies for a reason, they have the ability to retract and go up towards the body when its cold, as well as to come back down when they need to cool off. This motion serves to regulate the temperature of the testicles because sperm need to stay cooler than regular body temperature to survive. Which is why an undescended testicle like I had (where one of my balls didn't drop) or a retractile testicle (where it has the ability to move between the scrotum and abdomen) can wreak havoc on a man's fertility if it's not corrected. It's also why they tell you not to wear tight fitting underwear, or keep your laptop on your lap, or spend too much time in the hot tub; the heat prevents the nuts from regulating properly and can reduce your sperm count and quality significantly.

 

In previous posts I talked about different things I did to increase my sperm count. Two of those things involved scrotal temperature regulation. The first was to stop wearing boxer briefs to bed at night and start wearing loose-fitting pajamas. The other, was to start what I have come to call Snowballin'. Snowballs are underwear K found online. I'm going to tell you my experience, and give a bit of a review on them.

 

The underwear are tight fitting and they come with a pocket sewn into the front along with a second pair and three ice packs. They're shipped in a nice little box and include an information packet on how to use them. The cost was about $50 US which would be fairly reasonable but with shipping and handling and the exchange rate they ended up being closer to $90 Canadian.

 

The ice packs, or SnowWedges™ as they call them are strange-looking. They look exactly like SportCheck's Firefly logo and the way they fit in (at least the most comfortable way I could figure out after awkwardly reaching down the front of my underwear for 5 minutes) looks to be totally counter intuitive but as it turns out is not bad comfort-wise. You tuck the ice pack down into the front pocket and underneath the scrotum. The idea is that icing your balls can reverse the effects of heat exhaustion from wearing tight underwear, or sitting down all day, or if you're like me sleeping hot. Initially, the cooling can be a little much and I find myself sitting with my legs wide apart  like I'd been riding a horse for a week to alleviate some of the direct contact. The ice packs are really shallow and don't come with a lot of gel inside so they don't last very long, so it's good that the set comes with three ice packs because you can rotate them as they warm up.

 

The underwear itself is relatively comfortable and is made from a soft organic cotton, but I find the waistband digs in a little. Could be I just need to hit the gym though. Since I only wear these in the evening, I haven't put them through any rigorous physical activity but they seem pretty solid and imagine they would hold up well. I'm a little disappointed they only come in the one grey color though.

 

I can't say for sure if it was Snowballin' that caused the increase in my sperm count, but the theory is sound and there are some studies about the positive effects of cooling the testicles. The Snowballs website lists some studies but the studies are relatively small so I would recommend doing your own research. Based on my research I would definitely recommend using this approach in some fashion.

 

That said, although the overall experience of using this product has actually been kind of nice, the price tag, is not. If it wasn't for the exchange rate, that may not be the case, but for now the reality is that I'm pretty sure I could find a used sewing machine, take a sewing lesson, buy the fabric, and sew these myself for cheaper. Or better yet, just get K to sew a pocket into my existing underwear (I could do it, but the quality would be sub-par). Now that I have them though, I'm going to use them, but the cost far outweighs the benefit. I could buy more than 10 full size ice packs for what we paid for these and just ice my boys normally. Or if I was really desperate, I live in Alberta so 9 months out of the year I could walk outside, get some snow and truly be Snowballin'.