Cooling Vest

[Big Rabbit]

I live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. We have and are currently having terrible temps (in the 100's) with high humidity. It is very uncomfortable biking. I found something called an IsoTherm cooling vest. It's a vest with pockets for ice packets (front and back/shoulder to waist). It is fairly expensive. Has anyone heard of this vest? Has anyone used one?

[Tri Girl]

Haven't heard of that. I have a cooling vest. It's me putting ice cubes in my bra 'tween the girls (my bra becomes a catch-all for many things, it seems). You'd be surprised how long the ice will stay and how cool it makes you. Learned that when training for my Ironman and being out on Saturdays in the heat of summer for 7-8 hours at a time.

We're having your weather, and you're having ours. Can I please have the higher temps, lower humidity and less rain back please? You can have this rain and extra high humidity with temps in the 80's.

[tulip]

Tri Girl, we'll certainly take your rain and cooler weather!

If you have a Camelbak, you can freeze water in the bladder and then wear the Camelbak. Or fill it with ice and wear it.

[OakLeaf]

That seems heavy.

I wear an inexpensive evaporative cooling vest on the moto. I question whether it would be effective at the lower speeds of bicycling, but I know they sell them on bicycling websites. It's very light and lasts about an hour and a half at freeway speed. The greatest advantages of evaporative vests are the low cost and that they can be recharged in minutes simply by soaking them in water.

Sure, public restroom sinks can be disgusting, but it beats heat exhaustion, and you're only putting it on your torso, not in your mouth.

[tulip]

no heavier than wearing a Camelbak with water in it. I wonder if they make evaporative cycling jerseys. They must.

[Tri Girl]

Tri Girl, we'll certainly take your rain and cooler weather!

but it's NOT cooler. That's the thing. The higher humidity makes it feel like an oven. I can handle 100 with 50-60% humidity- this 88 with 85-90% humidity is killing me. I'm sending it your way- you can have it back.
In 15 years (retirement) we're moving back to Tucson where it's 110, but with only 10% humidity. I dream of those days...


I always freeze my camelbak halfway with water (keep it that way in the freezer all the time). I fill the other half with water and not only do I have ice cold water, the coolness on the back feels good. it's not that heavy.

[Catrin]

I always freeze my camelbak halfway with water (keep it that way in the freezer all the time). I fill the other half with water and not only do I have ice cold water, the coolness on the back feels good. it's not that heavy.

I do this, and if I know the next ride is going to be a real scorcher I will fill it about 2/3 full of water before freezing it.

I do not notice the weight at all, and the coolness on my back is quite nice. It isn't all that noticeable, but I take what coolness I can find in this heat!

[ny biker]

I find that a bag of ice in my jersey pocket helps cool me down.

The Shack uses pantyhose filled with ice.

[Big Rabbit]

Sorry I haven't thanked y'all for your input but I've been on vacation in the mountains of North Carolina. It was so nice and cool there and now I'm back in this sauna called the Washington Metro Area. Ugh!

Anyway, thank you all for your input. I'm thinking that the ice in the bra is way cheaper than a cooling vest. I'm debating about purchasing a camelback and icing it.

[marni]

soaking a hankie in water and tying it around your neck and keeping one bottle (partially filled and then frozen and topped off just before the ride) just to dump over your head peiodically are other options- plus riding earlier, shorter, and stopping half way through the ride to hit some ac spot for an iced coffeee or drink are other options. Today's ride was 97 degree with some breeze but getting ready to rain and dribbling on me humidity.

marni

[Loraura]

The Shack uses pantyhose filled with ice.

Which is better than a zip lock baggie of ice becuase when it's melted, it's gone, and not a baggie of warm water, and panty hose takes up hardly any space in the jersey pocket.

If you just grabbed one knee kigh hose with your cycling stuff, you could always put ice in it from a water-refill stop (convienience store).

[featuretile]

I just got back from Sacramento, CA where I went on the American River Bike Trail. It got well over 100 degrees, and after about 20 miles I started to feel really bad. I finally went into the American River with all my bike clothes on (minus the shoes) including my head and long, thick hair. I was dry in 10 minutes of riding. After that, we kept pouring water on our heads and down our backs at every rest stop and managed to get back without heatstroke.

I won't complain about the foggy, cold weather we've been having in Santa Cruz, CA this summer any more. Don't know how you can take the heat except for getting up very early in the morning and riding before it gets too hot.