Evaporative Cooling Vest - Pro's or Con's??

[betoney]

The last week of June, a buddy and I are embarking on an 8-day ride to include a loop through Southern/Central Utah, Western Colorado and Northern New Mexico and Arizona. - Its going to be HOT!
 
I already have vented gear, but that only does so much, I was thinking about buying an evaporative cooling vest for the trip.  Has anyone used one?  are there differences between brands?  any hints or tips on using them efficiently/correctly?
 
Thanks guys
 

[sterlinggold]

The last week of June, a buddy and I are embarking on an 8-day ride to include a loop through Southern/Central Utah, Western Colorado and Northern New Mexico and Arizona. - Its going to be HOT! 
I already have vented gear, but that only does so much, I was thinking about buying an evaporative cooling vest for the trip.  Has anyone used one?  are there differences between brands?  any hints or tips on using them efficiently/correctly?
 
Thanks guys

I've had a really good experience with the Brosh Optimal Kevlar jacket. It uses Dri-FIT material that actually wicks the sweat out unlike mesh that lets the air pass and dry you out. The Kevlar is not all over the jacket just in the areas prone to sliding so it's not blocking the air/wicking action. I use it everyday for my commute and it holds up real well. 
 

[racreative]

We used lots of water bottles and just poured them over our mesh jackets at each stop.. I'm kind of a cheapskate I guess...

[rain]

I have a couple, they work great under non-humid conditions.
Keep in mind, they hold a LOT of water, and are heavy. You have to use them with a mesh jacket or less.
Mine weighs in about 3 or 4 lbs, that's all water!
They dry out very slowly after use if they've haven't used up all the water during your ride.
So, if you pack one, and use it on a multi day ride, then don't need it, you have to lash it to the outside of your junk to finish drying out. All in all, I like them.
You can also get what used to be called a 'hoon cooler'. It's a platypus or bota like bag you lash under your arm, and it has tubing that leads to a collar you wear around your neck. You give it a squeeze, it soaks your T-shirt, and you have another 10 or 20 minutes of cool.

[betoney]

We used lots of water bottles and just poured them over our mesh jackets at each stop.. I'm kind of a cheapskate I guess...

 
I have done the exact same thing before, it actually works quite well.
 
 
 
Last year on an August ride from Reno, West through the Sacramento Valley, the heat was brutal!!  At each rest stop we would just pour a bottle of water over our head, chest and back.
 
 

[norcal616]

best advice is to get acclimated to the heat if you spend most of your time in A/C... human bodys take 4day to 2wks to get acclimated to heat...

[chai09]

Agree with sterlinggold post abouve.
I also use Brosh Optimal summer jacket with Dry Fit and Kevlar its great in hot summer days
wwwbrosh.com
 

[chitown]

They work for some relief but it has to be miserable for me to pull it out. Usually end up loaning it to someone who isn't acclimated. Use my Mission Multi Cool (neck/head) more frequently.
 
By far the best kit for extending my enjoyment/endurance in hot conditions was rigging up en route hydration which at the moment is a Platy bag in a small pack that rides on top of my rear seat dry bag. Can easily drink while riding and re-wet the multi cool at stops.

[redfjniner]

The last week of June, a buddy and I are embarking on an 8-day ride to include a loop through Southern/Central Utah, Western Colorado and Northern New Mexico and Arizona. - Its going to be HOT! 
I already have vented gear, but that only does so much, I was thinking about buying an evaporative cooling vest for the trip.  Has anyone used one?  are there differences between brands?  any hints or tips on using them efficiently/correctly?
 
Thanks guys

I only use the vented jacket when at home.  When on a multi day ride I use my Olympia 3 season jacket with lots of sippered vents.  4 vertical on the back, 4 vertical on the front all of which allow for large areas to be opened up and the cover tucked away making the jacket almost as good as a fully vented jacket.  BUT, I rarely open it up as when it get over 90, I usually wet down a tea towel and just put it around my neck, letting it drip down my chest and gut.  I then zip all the vent closed on the jacket, close the collar and ride.  The little bit of air that leaks in caused the evaporative cooling to take place.  My problem is that the cooling vest are too cold.  Many years and thousands of mile with just the towel.

[sk8nsanta]

I thought about buying one for my jacket, but found that wearing a tech/running tshirt and getting it damp under a sink right before riding has worked quite well for me. Guess it really depends on what jacket you're wearing and how long you'll be riding between stops. I'm sure a quick water bottle squirt down the front and back of the jacket would work just as well.

[chai09]

On 6/4/2018 at 6:57 AM, sterlinggold said:

I've had a really good experience with the Brosh Optimal Kevlar jacket. It uses Dri-FIT material that actually wicks the sweat out unlike mesh that lets the air pass and dry you out. The Kevlar is not all over the jacket just in the areas prone to sliding so it's not blocking the air/wicking action. I use it everyday for my commute and it holds up real well. 
 

 

[new1709rider]

Just checked out the Brosh summer jacket, and like so many vented or mesh jackets it's only offered in black. I don't understand this, as long as you're moving and getting air flow this might be fine, but due to road construction and heavy traffic on my past summer commutes I've spent a lot of time stopped or barely moving. Sunlight on a black jacket gets hot fast under those conditions. Seems like it would be much better to have a white or light colored jacket for summer riding.

[wordsmith]

I agree totally about the poor choice of black materials - fabric or leather - when riding in hot and/ or humid conditions.   Black can make the heat seem even more intolerable than it should.

This may not help anyone seeking an alternative in markets other than Oz, but my year-round jacket is a full mesh one - I jest that it's more holey than Mother Teresa -  with minimal other solid fabric panels.   The brand is DriRider, and it's made in Pakistan, and cost me a very affordable AUD$230.   Even the back is largely mesh, as are the arm-pit areas and lower arm lengths.   A thin zip-in/ out waterproof liner is included.   As a bonus, it is stated that the mesh has been coated with silver nano-particles, which reflect away the sun's rays.   It certainly is a blessing here, where today it's 34 deg and tomorrow 36 deg C (97 F).   We are now in the first weeks of autumn (but summer doesn't yet know that!) and the very high 70%+ humidity can be a curse, to such an extent that I simply don't ride in such conditions. 

[Cruizin]

On 5/17/2018 at 5:40 PM, betoney said:

The last week of June, a buddy and I are embarking on an 8-day ride to include a loop through Southern/Central Utah, Western Colorado and Northern New Mexico and Arizona. - Its going to be HOT!
 
I already have vented gear, but that only does so much, I was thinking about buying an evaporative cooling vest for the trip.  Has anyone used one?  are there differences between brands?  any hints or tips on using them efficiently/correctly?
 
Thanks guys
 

I have this one by Rev"it and it has outperformed all the others that I have bought before. 

REV'IT! Liquid Cooling Vest

WWW.REVZILLA.COM

---

The difference between ‘air-cooled’ and ‘liquid-cooled’ - but for your body. The REV’IT! Liquid Cooling Vest is a drastic hot weather comfort upgrade.

 

[daboo]

My first thought is to read up on some articles on riding in heat.  David Hough has some you can find easily with an Internet search.  Here's a good one. 

Motorcycle Tips: Hot Weather Riding

WWW.SOUNDRIDER.COM

In David Hough's articles, you'll find there's a threshold temperature where you have to change your strategy.  Around 93F, having hot air blowing on your body only heats it up more.  Sweat dries immediately before it can cool your body.  At that point, you want to limit the amount of air hitting your body.  

When I did my post-retirement ride through those areas, I wore a Olympia Dakar mesh jacket.  While it is a great mesh jacket, I didn't get 100% of the air flowing through it.  I also wear a Hit-Air airbag jacket that blocks some of the air.  That actually worked wonders.  I also wore a Cycle Gear Heat-Out long sleeve t-shirt and a Cycle Gear cooling vest.  The Heat-Out long sleeve t-shirt kept the wind from directly hitting my skin on my arms.  

I soaked my cooling vest overnight in the motel sink.  Then in the morning, I'd put it into a large ziplock bag.  I remember pulling it out one day in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.  The temperature outside was in the high 90s, maybe 100F.  I stood there in the restaurant putting on my cooling vest, water dripping off onto the carpeted floor.  This teenage girl looked at me like I was crazy to be putting on this dripping wet clothing.  I just smiled, knowing I was going to be extremely comfortable when I went outside.

Being able to block out some air, but not all is worth thinking about.  As I wrote, the airbag vest blocks off some, not all air.  I met a couple at a rest stop.  Temps were over 100 F.  She said they had cooling vests, but there's lasted only 30 minutes before drying out.  Mine lasted me 3 hours.

If I was to buy another, the only thing I'd change would be to look for something with a collar.  Otherwise, the Cycle Gear cooling vest worked great.

Chris