Cooling vest info

Tdinova

Tdinova

Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
972
Location
Nova Scotia
Bike
'07STA
STOC #
7235
I hope to leave for California this June 11th with a friend and leave him in Reno for a Hayabusa rally on the 19th . I will then head to the coast and drive the # 1 to San Francisco. I have a camel back pack filled with water which is really good but the heat will still buildup in my upper body. I'm trying to find and buy a vest that seeps water on my body. I have done some research but looking for more info from the best -(you)-

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/macna-dry-cooling-vest is one site

http://www.amazon.com/Ergodyne-Chill-Its-6665-Evaporative-Cooling/dp/B002BDU3QA is another one..

I think I would like the one that is filled with water apposed to the one that you dip in water.

Any thought will be appreciated.
 
I don't tolerate heat very well, but I have ridden through Arizona and southern California during the summer months.

I am rather impressed by the relatively inexpensive Heat-Out base-layer garments offered by Cycle Gear. These work well with a vented outer suit up to about 95 degrees F. Their Bilt "evaportive" cooling vest works very well if you stop every ~4-5 hours for a refresh, which I always do for either fuel or meals. With these and a Camelback, I have not wanted for more. Unless the temperatures approach the extreme, I believe that hydration is more important. Base-layers and cooling vests are more for comfort at less that 95 degrees F.

Personally, I think you'll be fine with a decent base layer and adequate hydration.

Ride safely.
 
I have a Fieldsheer Iceberg... works well and doesn't give me the wet sticky feeling. I've used it in sustained100+ for hours, and it needed re wetted after about 3. The folks I rode to see were worried that I'd 'die' given the heat, and it was surprisingly comfortable. The longer it soaks, the better.

TD, either of the vests in your links will do you well, and I dot think you'll get any appreciable difference in feeling 'wet' or not between the two.

Key in any case: keep yourself hydrated.
 
I prefer a winter weight turtleneck shirt soaked with water at a gas station or somesuch every couple of hours. This under a mesh coat.
 
Although I don't have any personal experience with these I have a friend that swears by the Bilt evaporate type vest from Cycle Gear. He was always comfortable on 100+ days when wearing a mesh jacket over it.
 
Got a cooling vest. Refreshing if you re-wet it every couple of hours.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
Bought the one from Cycle Gear and although you need to resoak it a couple times a day, it works very well under my mesh jacket. Very easy to do at a gas station. JMHO!
 
A mesh jacket is not your friend in a very hot dry environment you would be better off with a regular jacket and cool vest the mes h gear allows you to dry off to quickly. Read about cooling on the IBA web site.
 
Remember the quicker the evaporation the more heat is dissipated. Questions to ask yourself before selecting the vest:
How long do you want to be in the saddle?
How fast do you want the water to evaporate?
How many breaks will you want as you ride in the heat?

If you want to control the evaporation for longer times in the saddle a vented suit is great. If you want fast evaporation and fast dissipation of heat, mesh is great.
 
I have been using the 'miracool ponchos' for years.
They are very simple, not slimy, and work really well in dry climates (the same for all evaporation type vests).
They are heavy initially and last for days.
I tried the 'wet them at the gas station' vests and they don't last as long as I like to ride at a time. So I either had to stop early or get over-heated. The miracool solved the problem.
They have straps for keeping the poncho close to your body which I cut off and they come in 2 colors 'visible' orange and a beige, not very pretty; but, very functional.
 
My experience with the water-recharged type of wet cooling vests is that mesh materials allows too much air flow and dries out the vest too quickly. It is counterintuitive to mesh but wearing a solid type jacket or one piece suit and opening the vents allows enough circulation for the vest to evaporate water and carry off excess heat for 3 hours or more, keeping the air inside the side cooler than outside. If you are not riding this long I guess it doesn't matter as much that the vest dries out very quickly but for sustained LD riding mesh is not good in heat. Stop and go riding in traffic is another matter - a solid suit needs airflow to cool the interior.

When I got into 95+ temps on my cross continent ride I would buy a bag of ice at a gas station and put about 5 or 6 lbs of a 8 lb bag inside my suit against my chest. I poured out or gave away the 2 or 3 lbs so the bag of ice would fit. Now let me tell you that melt water from ice seeping into your clothes evaporating inside a solid suit is very very cool and lasts for more than 3 hours or tank to tank. It's like the A/C set to "max" and 50 degrees on the thermostat control. Very cool.
 
I have been using a Kool-It Evap vest for years on my IBA rides. Works great but a death valley run years ago it made things OK for only 45min before needing more water LOL
 
Lots of replies, thanks. Back in August 4-24, 2012 the same guy and I went to California. We went as far as Denver, then south up the million dollar highway, over to The 4 corner monument, staying the night in Hanksville (3 day ride from Denver to Cedar City). These days the temp was 100-105. The next day we went to Cedar City where I left him and I went down to Vegas. He continued to Reno for a Hayabusa rally. I had to stop at the Honda dealership in ST George UT for cooling down and an oil change. The temp was 110. I finished that day in Vegas with temp of 118f 48c. SHE WAS HOT. I would have passed out if I never had my camel pack sucking every 3 mins or less. I drive with a Alter Ego jacket with my mesh only... After reading some of the replies riding with mesh is not good at those temp, I should have had 1 more layer on.

[URL=http://s71.photobucket.com/user/bssv/media/California%20Reno%20Trip/a6ee78fa-a249-439c-9d11-d9d014693fb1_zpssqewxkcc.jpg.html][/URL]



 
I have had this for years, inexpensive and works great in dry climates such as the Southwest US. Does not work great in humid climates like the Southeast US. My home state is Tennessee, so it does not get used that much.
http://www.techniche-intl.com/catalogus/hyperkewl-cooling-sport-vest.html
Re-wet it at every gas stop. I wear it under a mesh jacket,; I ain't gonna be wearing a "regular " jacket in 112 degree F. heat such as I experienced in AZ and UT.
Get a couple of these too, amazingly effective, in dry heat. Keep one in the cooler and one on your neck:
http://www.techniche-intl.com/catalogus/hyperkewl-cooling-deluxe-neck-band.html
When I ride for most any length of time in the heat I always pack a small soft cooler with ice and water.
 
What type of outer gear do you wear? If you are wearing vented gear in ~114 degree F temps, you are asking for discomfort.

As I commented previously in this thread, I find that the Bilt Heat-Out base layer garments work well. The addition of a well-saturated cooling vest will likely make your experience more comfortable.

Additionally, more-than-sufficient hydration is very important. You may need to stop for potty breaks more often than you may care to, but you will likely be more safe and comfortable.

I have friends in the Phoenix area who are anticipating ~120 degree F temps during the next few days. Enjoy your desert climate! ;)
 
Last edited:
lawlknight said:
Does any of this stuff work well when it's 110-115 degrees? It was 114 today and I was miserable.
Click to expand...

Its been a few years since I've done it, but I've ridden in 115-117 for a few hours at a time in relative comfort. My approach was simple and cheap. Soak T-shirt in a gas station bathroom sink, fill helmet liner with water from sink and dump out excess. Wear normal jacket (aerostich or similar) over T-shirt, ride for 45-60 minutes until water dries, then repeat. There are more sophisticated garments out there, but this technique gets the job done without having to buy special purpose clothing. If you care about how you look when you arrive, then you probably want to drive an air conditioned car. This approach isn't going to be your first choice, and the other available options aren't going to be much better I'd suspect.
 
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