Cooling vests - compared and explained

garyahouse · Aug 16, 2013

Looks like we've got another option out there. Several years ago, this motorcycle air conditioner was shown on the net. I entered it as one of the possible cooling vest options out there, but since we later discovered that they weren't available, they weren't discussed much on this thread. It was item number 13 on the very first post of this cooling vest thread. Today, I rec'd a notice that they were available and I could buy one if I wanted to. However, for 1200 bucks, i don't want to. However, if this thing works, and I assume it does, it could revolutionize hot weather riding. Here's the letter they sent me, copied below:

Gary

darksider #44

EntroSys BikeAir Motorcyclist Air Conditioning System is now available for purchase We know how good you feel on a ride when the weather is perfect and you're comfortable in your gear. Now you can have that feeling a lot more often!

Thank you for your patience over the past few years while EntroSys perfected their motorcyclist air conditioning system. The system is now available in the U.S. in very limited quantities.

The BikeAir system is designed to keep you comfortable on your motorcycle from 25 to 105 degrees F, by blowing cooled (or heated) air into an air-vest worn under your jacket, and has 3 cooling modes, 3 heating modes, and 3 fan speeds.

You'll find a lot more information on our web-site at www.bikeairusa.com including an overview of the technology, a demonstration video and technical information, along with rider reviews and testimonials, and a just published rider review covering two weeks and 2,800 miles of riding with BikeAir.

Currently, we have a very limited supply of 30 units available for purchase in the U.S. The MSRP is $1,500.00 minus your 20% discount for registering on EntroSys.com resulting in a price of $1,200 plus shipping and handling. Once these units are sold, we'll be taking deposits so you can reserve a unit from the next production run.

To order a system please call BikeAirUSA directly at 561-207-8853, if we're unable to answer your call please leave a message with your phone number because calls will be returned in the order received. Questions about the system can be sent [email protected].

Thank you again for your interest in EntroSys BIkeAir, and for your patience. We're looking forward to helping you enjoy your motorcycle even more, and sharing your experiences with the BikeAir community.

Be safe.
BikeAir USA

Copyright © 2013 BikeAir USA, All rights reserved.
You're receiving this e-mail because you requested a 20% off discount on the EntroSys BikeAir Motorcyclist Air Conditioning System

Our mailing address is:

BikeAir USA
5500 Military Trail, STE 22-303
Jupiter, Fl 33458

Add us to your address book

unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

FJR-Pilot · Aug 17, 2013

The only way I would go with a system like that would be if:

The unit was totally hidden
The hose was mostly hidden
The price was down quite a bit

How cool would this be if it were built in to the bike? Under the fairing. In dash heating and air conditioning with a hose that coupled to your purpose built armored jacket

The current unit is kind of like being back in the 60's and 70's before all auto manufacturers were integrating A/C units into the vehicle. You could buy the big unit that bolted onto the transmission hump under the dash, cut a hole in the firewall, and then run all the hoses and wires up to the compressor you then had to mount to the engine.

Maybe Honda will come out with a factory A/C unit on the Gold Wing!

wheatonFJR · Aug 17, 2013

FJR-Pilot said:
The only way I would go with a system like that would be if:

The unit was totally hidden

The hose was mostly hidden

The price was down quite a bit

How cool would this be if it were built in to the bike? Under the fairing. In dash heating and air conditioning with a hose that coupled to your purpose built armored jacket

The current unit is kind of like being back in the 60's and 70's before all auto manufacturers were integrating A/C units into the vehicle. You could buy the big unit that bolted onto the transmission hump under the dash, cut a hole in the firewall, and then run all the hoses and wires up to the compressor you then had to mount to the engine.

Maybe Honda will come out with a factory A/C unit on the Gold Wing!

...right next to the air bag.

garyahouse · Aug 28, 2013

garyahouse said:
Looks like we've got another option out there. Several years ago, this motorcycle air conditioner was shown on the net. I entered it as one of the possible cooling vest options out there, but since we later discovered that they weren't available, they weren't discussed much on this thread. It was item number 13 on the very first post of this cooling vest thread. Today, I rec'd a notice that they were available and I could buy one if I wanted to. However, for 1200 bucks, i don't want to. However, if this thing works, and I assume it does, it could revolutionize hot weather riding. Here's the letter they sent me, copied below:
Gary

darksider #44

EntroSys BikeAir Motorcyclist Air Conditioning System is now available for purchase We know how good you feel on a ride when the weather is perfect and you're comfortable in your gear. Now you can have that feeling a lot more often!

Thank you for your patience over the past few years while EntroSys perfected their motorcyclist air conditioning system. The system is now available in the U.S. in very limited quantities.

The BikeAir system is designed to keep you comfortable on your motorcycle from 25 to 105 degrees F, by blowing cooled (or heated) air into an air-vest worn under your jacket, and has 3 cooling modes, 3 heating modes, and 3 fan speeds.

You'll find a lot more information on our web-site at www.bikeairusa.com including an overview of the technology, a demonstration video and technical information, along with rider reviews and testimonials, and a just published rider review covering two weeks and 2,800 miles of riding with BikeAir.

Currently, we have a very limited supply of 30 units available for purchase in the U.S. The MSRP is $1,500.00 minus your 20% discount for registering on EntroSys.com resulting in a price of $1,200 plus shipping and handling. Once these units are sold, we'll be taking deposits so you can reserve a unit from the next production run.

To order a system please call BikeAirUSA directly at 561-207-8853, if we're unable to answer your call please leave a message with your phone number because calls will be returned in the order received. Questions about the system can be sent [email protected].

Thank you again for your interest in EntroSys BIkeAir, and for your patience. We're looking forward to helping you enjoy your motorcycle even more, and sharing your experiences with the BikeAir community.

Be safe.

BikeAir USA

Copyright © 2013 BikeAir USA, All rights reserved.

You're receiving this e-mail because you requested a 20% off discount on the EntroSys BikeAir Motorcyclist Air Conditioning System

Our mailing address is:

BikeAir USA
5500 Military Trail, STE 22-303
Jupiter, Fl 33458
Add us to your address book

unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences

Reviews are starting to trickle in: CLICKY See page 6 of the link.

Gary

AKjitsu · Sep 2, 2013

Macna cooling vest: Con

First, a little context: I live in the southern Arizona desert where evaporative cooling is pretty severe. We normally don’t use evaporative vests under mesh jackets but rather use textile jackets with some adjustable venting. This results in a reduction of the downright uncomfortable level of cooling from highway speeds and allows the water supply to last a lot longer. It’s simply not realistic to expect any evaporative vest to last as long as manufacturers’ claims in this environment.

That having been said, I’ve tried a lot of evap vests and the best I’ve found so far is the Revit product. It’s good for about 1.75 – 2.5 hours at desert highway speeds. Not the 6 hours claimed by Revit but, still pretty useful. I recently tried the Macna vest and have this to say: Ptuuii!! I spit upon the Macna vest! I followed the manufacturer’s instructions and put in a half liter of tap water. Didn’t seem like much but the instructions cautioned against over-filling. It did provide some cooling. Not much but, better than nothing. After an hour on the highway, it was dead as a doornail. To make matters worse, unlike other mesh-based products, the Macna has a sold surface and once it’s dry it blocks any venting you were getting. Given the outrageous ratio of claims versus actual performance, along with the very high entry fee, I’m forced to conclude that this thing falls within the definition of fraud.

I’m going to try it again tomorrow with a full liter of water to see if that improves things any. But as it stands now, this thing would need at least two major upgrades to qualify as a useless POS.

yamafitter · Sep 11, 2013

Macna cooling vest: Qualified Pro

Had a chance to ride with the vest today on a fairly hot & humid day (32oC = 90oF) and fairly high humidity. The Humidex was 40oC (104oF). I filled the vest with 0.5 liters of tap water and then tried to make sure that the water soaked into all parts of the vest. I put the vest against the skin under a sport-tek fibre riding jersey. When I first put the vest on I felt some cooling. With my black riding jacket the thermal gain from the jacket would overwhelm the vest if I stood in the sun too long but moving along I felt moderately comfortable.

I think if you got stuck in a traffic jam the vest would not offer enough cooling to keep you comfortable but would provide some cooling effect. I rode for three hours and could still feel the vest providing cooling. I'm going dirt biking tomorrow so I will put the vest back on tomorrow and see if the vest is still providing cooling as advertised.

Is it worth $160? My thoughts are if you need serious heat relief keep saving your money and buy one of the ice water circulation systems.