ATGATT - New Device!

[FJR-Pilot]

After reading doug5551's post regarding his crash with a deer last week and seeing how his gear did its job it reinforces my same feeling regarding wearing proper gear all the time. Good protection is paramount for safety ... but it comes at high price in the summer months ... HEAT EXHAUSTION. Some of you may have already figured this out but as of late last year I had not. And wow. What a difference!

As summer rapidly approaches - riding in sunny 90+ degree weather sucks at best. A day of that and you are one tired and exhausted puppy when you pull in at 5 or 6 PM. I just want to pass on something I learned late last year: wear a cooling vest. In the past there have been times where we'd soak our t-shirts in water at a gas station to help stave off blistering heat. But the cooling effect only lasts about an hour or so because the t-shirt dries so fast.

As I was browsing a motorcycle web site for parts last year I saw a cooling vest and thought I'd try it out. Wow. Amazing difference at 5 PM when I pull in. I rode north GA and western NC all day Saturday and Sunday over the Memorial Day weekend and temps ranged from 85 to 97 degrees both afternoons. Around noon to 1 PM both days, as the temps started to climb, I stopped and drenched my vest in tap water and put it on under my t-shirt. Amazing difference while riding during the heat of the day. But I noticed it the most when I arrived at my late afternoon destinations both days. My skin was actually cool to the touch! The advantage to the cooling vest over soaking my t-shirt was the amount of time they work. The wetted t-shirt dries to the touch in about an hour. The last half hour of that time performance is way reduced. However, the cooling vest did not run out of cooling after 3 hours both days. Do note that your shirt and upper part of your pants get wet from the cooling vest. But I cannot express to you enough the value of how cool it makes my entire body. Both days I arrived at my destination and was not sweaty, tired and exhausted.

This device is now a critical part of my safety gear for the hot summer months.

I have no interest in any company that either sells or manufactures these awesome devices. This is simply a public service announcement for my fellow riders to enhance your riding safety and pleasure!

• There are many types and styles of cooling vests out there. Check out what's best for you.
• Here is some further information on cooling devices: https://en.wikipedia....ki/Cooling_vest
  
• Here is the one I bought: https://www.cyclegear...vest/web1001053 (it was $39 last year!)
• These look nice: https://www.stacoolvest.com/
  
• https://www.occunomix...tstress2011.php
• https://www.google.co.. . ?q=cooling+vest

 

[UberKul]

Transporting the vest in a 2 gallon ziploc baggie keeps it wet and ready to go when the temps get warm. You can even use the bag to soak the vest on the road or during lunch. :good:

 

[networkguy]

Or theres THIS: EntroSys motorcycle air conditioner

I think the vests are cheaper though

 

[Ignacio]

Evaporative cooling has long been a technique embraced by LD riders. Having tried one or two of those products...my personal favorite now are Comfort Cool Sleeves. What they lack in recharge time is more than made up with effectiveness. It's amazing how much heat you can dissipate from your forearms. And recharging with

 

[Tyler]

This is simply a public service announcement for my fellow riders to enhance your riding safety and pleasure!

• There are many types and styles of cooling vests out there. Check out what's best for you.
• Here is some further information on cooling devices: https://en.wikipedia....ki/Cooling_vest
  
• Here is the one I bought: https://www.cyclegear...vest/web1001053 (it was $39 last year!)
• These look nice: https://www.stacoolvest.com/
  
• https://www.occunomix...tstress2011.php
• https://www.google.co.. . ?q=cooling+vest

Great info... one of the best pieces of additional gear I've purchased... well worth every penny! B)

 

[WRB08]

Thanks so much for the INFO on cooling vest I've been looking for something and this sounds like the answer.

 

[allrider]

Or theres THIS: EntroSys motorcycle air conditioner

I think the vests are cheaper though

What's he sticking that hose on?

Doesn't Bust have one of these?

 

[gixxerjasen]

As summer rapidly approaches - riding in sunny 90+ degree weather sucks at best.

GixxerJasen laughs heartily at your 90+ degree weather!

Yes, I'm wearing a cooling vest in that photo. You can't tell but it's there. It's not doing me a lick of good while I'm standing around in the Texas sun in my ATTGATT gear like a damned idiot taking pictures! But under way it's good for about 30 minutes, which lasts most of my way home on my 45 minute commute. I don't feel like I'm going to throw up when I get home if I've worn the cooling vest.

Note: When I was shopping, you can see there's a bunch out there that are manufactured by one company and then a bunch of folks put their labels on them and sell them. If you are buying this style then buy the cheapest one as they are all the same. I got mine at a local shop (MotoLiberty) and it does the job. There's others out there that are more expensive that do a better job but this one worked into my budget.

Oh yea, don't know how much more of that I'll be doing. At the end of last summer I pronounced myself done and traded the F150 in on a MINI Cooper S. Almost as fun as teh bike, doesn't get me in the HOV lane, but has A/C. If it looks like I can break my record, then I'll ride, but over 100, likely not.

 

[allrider]

I'm on the third Generation of these vests and couldn't live without em in the heat, and here in Seattle that's around 67 degrees. Hopefully we get to use them this year...

No affiliation, here's a source I have bought mine from in the past. Always comparably priced, but he's the little guy in a sea of big fish. Hydration vests

I have the $80 one with the zip off sleeves and high collar. Rode around in 108 degrees without passing out. Quite an accomplishment for a Specific NW'tr

 

[Viking88]

Gixxer Jason - you mentioned that "there are others out there that do a better job.... not in my budget". At suggestions on what keeps the rider the maximum coolest temp-wise regardless of budget? Thanks.V88

 

[escapefjrtist]

Gotta agree with Iggy on this one.

I was a doubter at first, but the LDComfort base layers are the berries for year around riding. I've done the evaporative cooling vest routine and prefer the LD gear hands down. Use the long sleeve top, wet it thoroughly and it'll last just as long as the vests.

Just my $.02 YMMV...

--G

 

[gixxerjasen]

Gixxer Jason - you mentioned that "there are others out there that do a better job.... not in my budget". At suggestions on what keeps the rider the maximum coolest temp-wise regardless of budget? Thanks.V88

I'm going to have to dig for that one possibly. We had a thread going on it last summer on the Two Wheeled Texans thread. I recall it costing in the range of $125 but the guy who bought it also had one of the $30 ones he'd been using and swore that it was totally worth the cost. Let me see what I can dig up.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Here we go:

After years of riding with evaporative vests I took the plunge last year and bought Moto Liberty's phase change vest. Now after a few months from last year about about a month into this year I can gladly say I'm sticking with phase change. It keeps me much cooler' date=' but the biggest thing is that if traffic stops, my cooling doesn't. In fact when I'm stopped in rush hour traffic the vest starts to work even better. Was it spendy, heck yeah, but well worth the money for someone that commutes in traffic every day.[/quote']
I dug that out of this looooooooong thread on commuting gear. -> https://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34976

Here's another thread on the vests -> https://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49290

I have zero experience with the Phase Change vests, but apparently they are the cat's meow. Hope that helps.

Ouch...looks like current pricing is set by the impending triple digit temps we have coming. My car thermometer showed 100F for a bit on the way home, the rest was 96-99F.

https://www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=784

 

[FJR-Pilot]

Evaporative cooling has long been a technique embraced by LD riders. Having tried one or two of those products...my personal favorite now are Comfort Cool Sleeves. What they lack in recharge time is more than made up with effectiveness. It's amazing how much heat you can dissipate from your forearms. And recharging with

Gotta agree with Iggy on this one.

I was a doubter at first, but the LDComfort base layers are the berries for year around riding. I've done the evaporative cooling vest routine and prefer the LD gear hands down. Use the long sleeve top, wet it thoroughly and it'll last just as long as the vests.

Just my $.02 YMMV...

Based on the fact you've tried both and prefer the LDComfort I am interested in learning more. If the long sleeve top lasts as long as my vest (4 hours) then it would be a much better product IMHO because you have less weight and less bulk. The evaporative cooling vest makes you look a bit "plumper" when you take off your coat. I may order the LDComfort top and try it.

 

[Ignacio]

Based on the fact you've tried both and prefer the LDComfort I am interested in learning more. If the long sleeve top lasts as long as my vest (4 hours) then it would be a much better product IMHO because you have less weight and less bulk. The evaporative cooling vest makes you look a bit "plumper" when you take off your coat. I may order the LDComfort top and try it.

I actually disagree that they last nearly as long as a big ol' plump cooling vest...those things would last me a full day of Arizona heat while doing the Iron Butt Rally. The LDComfort sleeves last about an hour or two in the same climate for me. BUT, having a gallon of ice water on board via Skyway hydration rig (the old version of what Garauld is making) they recharge VERY easily while on the go.

I also think airflow over the forearms is better at heat removal than the nooks and crannies of the torso on the conventional vest.

 

[mferriter]

Or theres THIS: EntroSys motorcycle air conditioner

I think the vests are cheaper though

What's he sticking that hose on?

Doesn't Bust have one of these?

I think it doubles as a portable toilet.

 

[RiderX]

Evaporative cooling has long been a technique embraced by LD riders. Having tried one or two of those products...my personal favorite now are Comfort Cool Sleeves. What they lack in recharge time is more than made up with effectiveness. It's amazing how much heat you can dissipate from your forearms. And recharging with

Whate else do you wear with the sleeves under riding suit? I assume these wouldn't work too well over a long sleeve LD comfort top, do you need something sleeveless?

 

[Ignacio]

Whate else do you wear with the sleeves under riding suit? I assume these wouldn't work too well over a long sleeve LD comfort top, do you need something sleeveless?

They work very well over an LD long sleeve top...and that's exactly what I wear. The sleeves are the same material as the long-sleeved LD top and adds a bit of capacity to the amount of water it all holds. Dip the sleeves in a sink at a gas station until they're dripping wet, put them over my existing top, wait 30 seconds as the moisture wicks into the top...and you start to feel the cooling effect. Best $30 I've spent on cooling.

Of course, everybody should realize these things work off evaporation and work phenomenally well in Phoenix with low humidity, great generally west, but I as you head back east and south....not as much.

For a write-up on all the gear I wear....click here.

 

[Burnspot]

Whate else do you wear with the sleeves under riding suit? I assume these wouldn't work too well over a long sleeve LD comfort top, do you need something sleeveless?

They work very well over an LD long sleeve top...and that's exactly what I wear. The sleeves are the same material as the long-sleeved LD top and adds a bit of capacity to the amount of water it all holds. Dip the sleeves in a sink at a gas station until they're dripping wet, put them over my existing top, wait 30 seconds as the moisture wicks into the top...and you start to feel the cooling effect. Best $30 I've spent on cooling.

Of course, everybody should realize these things work off evaporation and work phenomenally well in Phoenix with low humidity, great generally west, but I as you head back east and south....not as much.

Yea, down here in the SE with 1000% humidity, I'm wondering how effective these things are. On long rides, I wear my LD tights and long sleeved shirt and do pretty well, but on the really hot/sticky days, it's still miserable, lol.