Veskimo test run

http://www.veskimo.com

Well, I went the distance and bought one.. First off, let me say that their customer service is AWESOME! When I placed my order, I didn't realize that there was only a 20.00 difference between the small one and the largest one.. I also had to switch out the sizes.. I asked the boyfriend to measure and he said 24"... turns out it was really 21"... They were so accommodating and fast... So today, seeing as it was 102+ degrees, it was the perfect day to test it out.

I left the house around noon at it was 100 degrees already... Normally, there is no way that I would even contemplate riding in this heat... but off I went.. Filled the cooler full of ice and about a two cups of water... I wore a plain white T-shirt under the Veskimo vest and a short sleeve, white, button down shirt over the top of it.. I used the 1/1 setting due to the excessive heat.. That means it is one for one minute and off for one minute... That setting will use up the most ice but I wanted to be comfortable. There are three settings available.. actually four.. You can buy the vest without the controller and just run it ON/OFF... With the controller, you power on and then it is either 1/1, 1/3, or 1/7... On 1 minute and off for 1,3, or 7 minutes.

I ran around town with lots of starts and stops... An hour and a half, at the highest setting, I burned through all the 9 qts. of ice. About 4 lbs of ice fills the cooler... Some people have complained that the first blast of cold was "painful".. I personally loved it...

End result? Absolute heaven.. My core temperature was easy 20 degrees cooler.. I rode for nearly three hours... I cannot say that it was perfect, I mean it was 102 outside, but I can assure you that I was in much better shape after that ride than I would have been without it... It is worth every single penny...

Thank you. I contemplated jumping in on the recent group buy on the GL1800Riders site but held off until I could hear some real life comments. My problem is that it would probably get limited use as most of the time we are two-up and there wouldn't be any place to put the cooler.

Texas T said:

Thank you. I contemplated jumping in on the recent group buy on the GL1800Riders site but held off until I could hear some real life comments. My problem is that it would probably get limited use as most of the time we are two-up and there wouldn't be any place to put the cooler.

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As long as you have a luggage rack, that's where mine sits... as long as it was sitting upright, that's the only requirement..

MsSuzieQ said:

As long as you have a luggage rack, that's where mine sits... as long as it was sitting upright, that's the only requirement..

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When we're riding it's for a distance; the rack already has a bag on it and the Pakit Rak behind the bike is full too. You wimmins tend to bring a lot with you on a ride.

Thanks for the report....I stopped by to see my buddy Jim Huntington in Coupland today and he laughed at me when I left...I doused my bandanna and overshirt with water; and Jim said he liked my "mobile swamp cooler idea".
Yours sounds much fancier and better....but hey, I'm a KLR guy at heart!

Gravel Guy said:

Thanks for the report....I stopped by to see my buddy Jim Huntington in Coupland today and he laughed at me when I left...I doused my bandanna and overshirt with water; and Jim said he liked my "mobile swamp cooler idea".
Yours sounds much fancier and better....but hey, I'm a KLR guy at heart!

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Oh your idea works but when we were coming back from Montana, I did that too... problem was, it was so hot, I was dry within minutes... I have discovered I don't handle the heat like I used too... but man when your core is cool, it's nice..

Texas T said:

When we're riding it's for a distance; the rack already has a bag on it and the Pakit Rak behind the bike is full too. You wimmins tend to bring a lot with you on a ride.

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Hahahaha... this woman packs two bags.. that's it.. Well three if you count the camera setup LOL... But you could strap that to the top of you Rak... the hose is plenty long enough..

I rode home from work today and I was miserable, I know about this vest, thanks for the review.

I can't put it on top of the pak because it would block the license plate. Regarding soaking the shirt, that's where the LD Comfort comes into play.

Brian, give your wife a Bushtec trailer so you can pull it, loaded, behind the wing. If you do, what a new world or riding. HB ps, SuzieQ, may I ask how many American dollars is that cooling set-up?

hardybaker said:

Brian, give your wife a Bushtec trailer so you can pull it, loaded, behind the wing. If you do, what a new world or riding. HB ps, SuzieQ, may I ask how many American dollars is that cooling set-up?

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Counting the cooler, the vest and the power source, it was 337.00 USD.

Hardy, I'm giving it serious thought.

Never heard of it. Now I want one.
Never having lived south of Chicago as of last July, this heat is kicking my butt.

I like the back pack one but it's $492. Wow

It's great to get a first hand review from an unbiased source, thanks!

I've considered it, I like to commute to work but it's not professional to show up all stank. Currently I'm still rocking my ghetto camelbak reservoir full of ice water tucked into the jacket back pocket, and it's nice, but this review has my wheels turning...

innominate said:

I like the back pack one but it's $492. Wow

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After talking with Kurt at Veskimo, the one thing he told me is that if your out riding for any length of time, the 9 quart was the way to go... it last longer, it is less uncomfortable, and less expensive..

Kit_McConnico said:

It's great to get a first hand review from an unbiased source, thanks!

I've considered it, I like to commute to work but it's not professional to show up all stank. Currently I'm still rocking my ghetto camelbak reservoir full of ice water tucked into the jacket back pocket, and it's nice, but this review has my wheels turning...

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The nice part is commuting with it is, if you have access to a fridge/freezer, you have a way to keep it cold during the day until time to leave... or at least access to ice for after work..

Fitment is the biggest issue, make sure that you get it snug.. it is ultra adjustable on the sides but you don't want it too long that the tubing is under your pants waistband.. you want it to sit just above that so there isn't any binding...

Updates?