Cool Wings - product review

[witeowl]

OK, I got mine, and I'm a bit disappointed. First, I listened to those who said that their cooler was too small, so I went ahead and listened to my gut and ordered a large (my measurements said a medium). They fit well.

93 degrees today, so it seemed a good time to try them. I put them on and instantly felt hotter; kind of stifling. I figured that maybe they'd work better when on the move. The stifling feeling stuck with me, even when coasting downhill. In fact, I was noticing that I could feel the breeze through my jersey better than through the coolers! Finally, I took them off and felt instantly cooler. Not a lot cooler, but enough. It was wonderful to feel the wind on my arms again.

Here's my hypothesis: I live in the desert. Any sweat on me is nearly instantly evaporated (well, until I really start sweating, of course), so my body can keep itself pretty cool despite the heat. (The benefit behind the old cliche of, "Yes, but it's a dry heat.) So, the way I figure it is this: In the low humidity, my body is better able to cool itself down. In higher humidity areas, the humidity is a detriment, and the arm coolers help overcome that problem. But here in the desert, they don't help at all. That's my hypothesis, anyway.

In any case, I'm stuck figuring out what to do with these things. TE doesn't give refunds for "useless in my region", so I wonder if De Soto would be willing to give a refund. I could hold on to them for any future trips to higher humidity areas... Oh well, live and learn.

Glad they work for the many of you who love them!

[uforgot]

Witeowl - I live in high humidity and thought I was nuts. I had the same experience as you. I felt so much better when I took them off. I have had them for quite a while, way before this thread even started. Not sure what the difference is, but the things were just miserable on me, and I tried them several times in different situations, I even tried them when I mowed the grass on the riding lawnmower.

They do fit nicely and don't slide down though.

[OakLeaf]

I will say that once they become waterlogged, either by sweat or by rain, they're no longer effective. From that, I'm pretty much convinced that they work by increasing airflow.

I'm still bemused by the way that the gripper is bigger than the sleeve part, though. Maybe I just got a defective pair.

[witeowl]

@uforgot: Well, it blows my hypothesis out of the water, but I guess it's worth something that I'm not the only person they don't work for. I wonder why we're different? Shame it took $30.00 to find out. I wonder how they'd do as lightweight arm warmers???

@OakLeaf: Saturation definitely wasn't a problem. Since there's virtually no humidity here, it takes a lot before I'm dripping sweat, and I can't recall ever sweating so much that my arms were damp here in the desert. (In higher humidity areas like San Diego, yes, but not here in the desert.) About the gripper: I'd suspect a defective pair. The top part for me is just a natural finish to the shape, which does slowly increase from the wrist up. It's not significantly bigger.

[OakLeaf]

@OakLeaf: Saturation definitely wasn't a problem. Since there's virtually no humidity here, it takes a lot before I'm dripping sweat, and I can't recall ever sweating so much that my arms were damp here in the desert.

That's what I mean, though - if humidity is so low that your sweat is already evaporating as fast as you can sweat, then increasing air flow won't increase evaporation, or cooling.


ETA - just out of curiosity, because mine are wearable, but if they're defective I think I'll exchange them: survey for anyone with the arm coolers - how much bigger is your bicep than your upper arm where the grippers are supposed to ride? As well as I can measure myself (in approximate riding position, with some tension in the bicep but not a lot), it should only be 6-7 mm.

[witeowl]

That's what I mean, though - if humidity is so low that your sweat is already evaporating as fast as you can sweat, then increasing air flow won't increase evaporation, or cooling.

Right, that's exactly what I was trying to say with my "doesn't work in the desert" hypothesis. But then uforgot shattered that.

[Biciclista]

except it is also reflecting the sun OFF of your skin which contributes to your feelings of comfort.