Cooling Vest Gel packs or Evaporative?

I am looking at getting a cooling vest, and would like your advice/opinion.

First of all I will be wearing this only during the afternoon commute here in the DFW area, mostly hwy with a little stop-n-go. I only need it to work for 30 minutes maybe 40 max on a really bad day. I also have access to a large industrial freezer -40F at work. I will be wearing this under a mesh jacket. I have never worn any type of cooling vest, but I have done some research, and am leaning towards the gel pack types. I have ruled out the phase change because of $$$. Would a non-mesh jacket work better with the gel-pak type vest? Or would a evaporative vest be good enough in our climate? I don't want to be really wet though. Thanks

Khager
Funny, what a timely request. I live in Keller too and just ordered a couple
of miracool evaporative vests for a trip in a couple of weeks. My commute
on my wing is 18 mile round trip. Its not fast avg speed is between 35-45mph.
The vests come in this Tuesday. Might just try it out on the way home as its
pretty hot coming home at 4pm in the afternoons.

My evap vest got here a couple of weeks ago. I carry it in the side bag in the morning and wear it home in the afternoon. It makes a huge difference. After riding almost 200 miles today I had to get back out to run an errand this afternoon. I made the mistake of telling myself that for this short of a trip leaving the vest off would be no big deal.... it was.

The plus for the evap verses the gel pack vest is that you have the option of using it for trips besides to/from work. Mine works well for several days on a dunking. Definitely wear the evap under mesh for the best effect. Gel.... I have no first hand experience with, so I cannot say whether it works better under mesh or not.

khager said:

Or would a evaporative vest be good enough in our climate? I don't want to be really wet though.

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This is my third summer season wearing a Joe Rocket Evaporative vest for the afternoon commute. The commute ranges from 30 - 50 minutes in the 6 -7 PM heat. I will usually put it on when the temp gets in the upper 90's and it makes a great deal of difference.

I prep it for the trip by submerging it in the bathroom sink for a few minutes and then wring it out till it's not dripping. It easily lasts the duration of the comute and I hang it once home so it's dry by morning for the next day.

--Mike

http://www.tuffrhino.com/MiraCool_Reversible_Vest_p/hs1040.htm

These will do the job, a riding friend said these work great.

John

Cool Vest if you're just using it for commuting and have access to a freezer at work. The three main advantages of phase change over evap are one, you don't get wet..period. Your work clothes will stay completely dry. Second, phase change works in high humdity where evap cooling can suffer. Third, you need no airflow for phase change. You can wear it under any gear and it will still cool when your stuck sitting still in a traffic jam in July. For commuting to and from work, that is all I would want if I needed to be presentable (business attire).

As for trips, get a Miracool. Phase change sucks on the road for several reasons. One, the cooling packs don't last as long as they are advertised. This will depend on how hot it is outside, that being said. When we tested out a vest about a year ago, we got 90 minutes out of it. Second, you have to find ice water too 'recharge' them at the fastest rate. That is in the neighborhood of a half hour. Third, the only real option you have on the road is to carry a, very expensive, second set of cooling packs in a bulky soft-sided, water proof cooler that can be used to 'recharge' one pack while the other one is in use. IIRC, the vest and packs will run you around $180 and a second set of packs will add another $130 to the bill.

One Miracool will set you back $30 - $35, charges in minutes, and lasts for several hours - days depending on outside conditions.

ed29 said:

Gel.... I have no first hand experience with, so I cannot say whether it works better under mesh or not.

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Phase change requires no airflow and mesh will not increase the cooling properties. It may even hasten the amount of time that the packs can cool since they will be expose to blasting hot air while the m/c is in motion.

Each cooling vest has it's advantages and disadvantages. If we had the $$, there would be a set of phase change vests in our arsenal. When I get done w/school and get back to work, I will be looking really hard at the phase change if I have to be in business attire.

For short trips I use the neck coolers , when I have to ride in summer time I keep a couple in a ziplock sandwich bag in my cooler on the bike . Instant relief when you wrap one around your neck . Your collar will be damp for about 30 minuits but it will be dry by the time you get home .

For summer time trips out west I have wet vest . Around here it will last an hour or so before needing rehydrated . In dry country it lasted two to three hours . I keep it in a gallon zip lock in the cooler , when I am on the road I put it back in the bag and pour a bottle of cold water in it to rehydrate while I am inside cooling down . By the time I am ready to go the vest is too . SEYA

Thanks for the replies everone. I think I will try the evaporative vest first since they are so cheap about $20 or so.

Update,

Thanks everyone I ended up getting a Mira cool vest off of eBay, used it 3 days so far and it is great. I soak it in a bag of mostly crushed ice and a little water for 30 min to an hour before I leave work. I get damp but not real wet. When I first put it on it is quite chilly, the cooling effect from the ice water last until I get home (30 min) whether I am moving or not. I tried it on a longer ride Sat, and after about 30 min, you better be moving at hwy speeds if you want to stay comfortable.