cool vest for hot weather riding

Well yesterday in sheer desperation I went to Lone Star BMW and bought a cool vest for riding in the heat. It cost 42 bucks tax title and delivery, I immediatly went to their wash room and soaked it in their sink, hauled it outside and put it on. Being soaked to the max did not make me wet to the skin. I had to ride from Lone Star to Cedar Park in 4pm traffic on Hwg 183 which means a lot of heat and traffic to get in the way. I did not wear my mesh jacket over it and was astounded to discover it made riding much more comfortable, although my arms still cooked under the suns heat. I took it to work this morning at 2 am and it was still damp at the time. When I started for home from Creedmore in far south Travis county I put it on after soaking it again and put my trusty Joe Rocket mesh jacket on over it. SHAZAM. I could not believe the difference in the heat, my arms still got the wind on them but did not get the sun rays to cook them, and my torsoe could feel the cool from the jacket very markedly. I could stop at long lights and not end up panting like a dog. I just marveld all the way home. The neck was particularyl cool to my skin. Normally by the time I ride the 40 miles to my house I am fit to have a fork stuck in me for I am truly done. I can hardly stagger into the house looking like a lobster on the plate. I am now a true believer and intend to go back for the neck tie they sell to wear in my work truck while driving. The A/C in my truck is not all that good and anything that will help keep me cool is welcome. My boss is not ready to hear about one of his drivers driving in his underwear and steel toed boots. I just cant believe it took me so long to find this little pearl of info, I cant afford to drive my F-150 the 80 miles round trip due to the hight price of gas. so there you have it, a low budget review of riding apparel.

who makes it and do they have a web site?

I have two different evaporative cooling vests. One is a Joe Rocket Sahara vest that zips in my Phoenix mesh jacket and the other is a Techniche that I picked up from a street vendor in San Antonio for about $10.

Both of them work great. Soak them in water and they will keep you cool for a few hours on the highway...longer if you're not moving too fast. It's amazing how much water they hold. Both of them weigh about 8oz when dry. Soak them for a few minutes and they hold about 5lbs of water...well over half a gallon. Add a good hydration pack and you'll be able to tolerate summer heat without much effort.

TexBiker said:

I have two different evaporative cooling vests.

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And these are effective in the S Texas humidity?

I wore a soaked terry cloth t-shirt under my jacket when I lived in Tucson, but that is a whole different environment.

I wore mine recently on a 95deg/85% day and it worked great. Over ~20mph, the relative humidity really doesn't affect how well these vests work. You still get a nice "wind chill" effect.

Ok, good to know. I never considered using one since it's always so humid here. I figured if a swamp cooler wouldn't work here the evap vest wouldn't either.

All I know is that it was very hot yesterday and quite humid, I did two things different for the ride home, I wore the vest soaked in water and my Joe Rocket mesh and perforated leather jacket. I had discovered the exposure to the sun on my arms was part of my problem. Wearing the jacket and the vest underneath allowed me to get home in heavy traffic feeling much better at the end of the 40 mile ride. I am going to buy another jacket to wear in my work truck during the day. Its opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about heat management.

jhansen said:

who makes it and do they have a web site?

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So, which one did you get?

Chris Mitchell said:

My boss is not ready to hear about one of his drivers driving in his underwear and steel toed boots.

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I'm not ready to hear about it either.








So, back on topic... when you get home, are the rest of your clothes wet?

I've got one of these, and never really liked it. Better than nothing, but it always felt clammy, and I personally found it didn't work very well on humid days.

I bought two vests with phase change thingies that freeze solid in ice water, you put 'em in pockets in the vest. They work for about two hours, then you need to soak 'em again...nice 20 minute stop does the trick, carry a soft cooler with you, get the ice and water at a gas stop. These things actually work BETTER with solid cloth or leather than with mesh or perf leather...they stay cold longer due to no evaporative loss. And you don't get that clammy feeling.

And, as I've said before, you're all set if you want to get a job as a greeter at WalMart.

Nice, Texas people, too...they have the WalMart Freeze style and now have evap vests, too...and I just noticed they have a new hydration vest some might like.

http://www.ridecool.com/index.htm