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Cooling vests? Who uses them? What’s the best?

Gabe said:
I had all kinds of different vests and whatnot for years, and they all worked okay, and then I tried this:

https://www.roadrunner.travel/blog/2011/10/19/ld-comfort-review-undergarments/

And it's amazing. You don't need airflow! Just soak it and wear it under your non-vented jacket or Aerostich. It creates a little air-conditoned microcliamte next to your skin. I was actually shivering lane-splitting in LA on a 100-degree day. For real.

https://ldcomfort.com/dryline-long-sleeve-turtleneck-top.html

LS%20Mock2.png


Another nice feature is it's pretty thick, so you can wear it dry to keep warm, meaning you don't have to pack many layers to be comfy with say an Aerostich in temps from 50 to 105 degrees. Amazing times we live in.
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Great stuff, at first glance it doesn’t seem like it would work but what l like is that not only your top half gets cooled off but if you pour some water on the bottoms then the legs are cooled as well, something no vest can do. I don’t think I’d want to wet the entire pants portion, only the legs or I’d be sitting in a squishy situation.
 
Evaporative is enough for me, but I rarely use it, and never commuting.

An evaporative vest, and likely any vest works better if it's a snug fit. I've had two, and I returned the 1st. The 2nd fits better and works much better. The 1st one mostly made me damp & hot, and feeling like I needed a shower.

If I were going to wear one commuting, I'd likely look for a dry one. Though less important for me who'd likely only wear it on the way home, than for someone who'd wear it on the way in to work.
 
Try the 50 dollar version first. :teeth

There are even less expensive ones.
 
greenmonster said:
$369? Holy crap, but if it works maybe...
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That's the kind that's not easily replenished out on the road.

You have two choices.

1. Ice/recycled col water. Once it's used up, it's useless unless you have easy access to more ice/cooled water.

2. Simple evaporative. Easy to replenish as long as you gave easy acesss to water. Perhaps not as effective but you can replenish and keep on going.
 
greenmonster said:
$369? Holy crap, but if it works maybe...
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Definitely cheaper options available.

Simply soaking your T-shirt and opening a few vents is effective... but not for my 45 minute commute. It lasted me about 0.5 hours.

It really depends on how long you need active cooling. For me, commuting on the blistering hot days in the bay area... the comp cooler works really well. and will last about 3 hours before you need to replenish with icy water. Probably about 1.5 hours replenishing afterward... for commuting.

But if I were riding all day in 95+ degree weather, I'd stick with soaking my t-shirt or some other type of evaporative cooling, deal with the wetness, and pack extra water for hydration of both my shirt and my body.

ymmv
 
ST Guy said:
That's the kind that's not easily replenished out on the road.

You have two choices.

1. Ice/recycled col water. Once it's used up, it's useless unless you have easy access to more ice/cooled water.

2. Simple evaporative. Easy to replenish as long as you gave easy acesss to water. Perhaps not as effective but you can replenish and keep on going.
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I've tested this kind of vest, years ago. I think I found that riding down I-5 in the summer, I was able to get about 90 minutes of cooling out of a pound of ice. That's pretty much as far as I ride between stops, anyway. I wonder if making ice cubes out of salt water would make a difference?
 
Rob said:
Definitely cheaper options available.

Simply soaking your T-shirt and opening a few vents is effective... but not for my 45 minute commute. It lasted me about 0.5 hours.

It really depends on how long you need active cooling. For me, commuting on the blistering hot days in the bay area... the comp cooler works really well. and will last about 3 hours before you need to replenish with icy water. Probably about 1.5 hours replenishing afterward... for commuting.

But if I were riding all day in 95+ degree weather, I'd stick with soaking my t-shirt or some other type of evaporative cooling, deal with the wetness, and pack extra water for hydration of both my shirt and my body.

ymmv
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Have you tried an evaporative vest? Not only will they hold a lot more water than a T shirt, but they are designed so that you don't get nearly as wet as a wet T shirt.
 
I have never tried a cooling vest but physics says a given volume of water requires a fixed amount of latent heat to evaporate. If a vest holds less water it will remove less heat, if it holds more it will remove more. In other words, if put in the same conditions it takes longer for the larger volume to evaporate. Wouldn't you just wear a vest that holds more water? Or if you don't want to spend $350, why not simply wear two or three t-shirts instead of one? ;)
 
RVFRick said:
I have never tried a cooling vest but physics says a given volume of water requires a fixed amount of latent heat to evaporate. If a vest holds less water it will remove less heat, if it holds more it will remove more. In other words, if put in the same conditions it takes longer for the larger volume to evaporate. Wouldn't you just wear a vest that holds more water? Or if you don't want to spend $350, why not simply wear two or three t-shirts instead of one? ;)
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you-re-taking-the-piss-now.jpg
 
ST Guy said:
Have you tried an evaporative vest? Not only will they hold a lot more water than a T shirt, but they are designed so that you don't get nearly as wet as a wet T shirt.
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The wetness from my heavy weight t-shirt that spreads in a gravitational manner allows me to forgo liquid elimination stops.:wtf
I find that in the ‘stitch I start out with only the back vent opened and open the pit vents as the t-shirt dries. I think I had 3 re- soak stops coming back from Weaverville on 101 and was still on the wet spot when I got home.:twofinger
 
RVFRick said:
I have never tried a cooling vest but physics says a given volume of water requires a fixed amount of latent heat to evaporate. If a vest holds less water it will remove less heat, if it holds more it will remove more. In other words, if put in the same conditions it takes longer for the larger volume to evaporate. Wouldn't you just wear a vest that holds more water? Or if you don't want to spend $350, why not simply wear two or three t-shirts instead of one? ;)
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"Most" cooling vests are around $50.
I purchased the HyperKewl deluxe years ago and have used it every summer when high heat sets in. I chose the deluxe one with a collar to help kewl the neck too. It works.
These vests usually have a material in them that absorbs more water (than cloth T-shirts) and hold that water longer.
As Budman noted, I carry mine in a 1 gallon ziplock bag. When needed water is added to the bag (and sometimes ice) before donning the vest. To re-wet I use the same gallon baggie.
 
I have MS and use all sorts of cooling aids, both evaporative and gel pack. For motorcycle use the evaporative type seem to work the best. The gel pack stuff is pretty bulky and will eventually time out, needing to be refrozen. I have many extra ice packs stashed in the freezer, couldn’t get through a summer without 'em.
 
I’ll start with an evaporative vest and see how that works. It was 30 degrees this morning in Pleasanton so this isn’t a concern right now but good to know for the future.
 
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