Well, no response by tuffrhino, either my every other day emails over 10 days (5 in total), or my two voicemail messages to their advertised toll free cust service phone line.
I have to have a working cooling unit for SFO which is 6 days from now for me, leaving Wed morning.
I very much like the crystal technology as does the Cal Sci article. I'm leaning on abandoning this one for now and purchase a
Colorado Coolwear Vest.
Guess I'll call them to verify size as it doesn't look adjustable after the fact.
<sigh>
OK, IMHO, my now cool Colorado Coolwear Vest is the bomb
it's a full zipped vest, not a overhead poncho and is not adjustable, but very good measurements for sizes are recommended and worked for me.
measure chest and belly...largest measurement determines size...also, whatever T-shirt you wear is probably the size
I wear loose fitting XLarge T shirts, but measurement was well within size Large, so went with that and it fits fine...snug which is what I wanted in a vest.
the owner Bill actually answers his toll free line (two outta two calls) and gave very good customer service and advice. Told me he can ship same day if ordered by 1pm CO time as he prefers USPS Priorty Mail andd was 3 day delivery from CO to LA which is exactly what it was.
now compared to the TuffRhino over the head unit, the CO vest has many more "smaller" channels of crystals which is said to be more effective.
today's conversation after reading the enclosed info was the same:
"Do not over soak!!! Over soaking will cause the crystals to absorb water until they are literally forced through the weave of the materal. It does not add cooling and can damage your Cool Vest.
The fabric of the vest is especially chosen to dry quickly. Long term cooling is provided by evaporation of the crystals in the tubes, not by the drying of the fabric itself though it does provide cooling initially.
I asked about the days in the spring or fall when I leave at sunrise with cool temps and only want to wear the vest on my way home later in the afternoon in warm temps. I was told that would work fine...just soak the vest for ten minutes (he also said it was best to lay it down as flat as possible to soak like in a bathtub with and inch or two of water, but this was not necessary - it would insure the tubes absorb water evenly). No more than ten minutes is best.
Then hand it up for 15 minutes and allow the fabric of the vest to dry. Then just store it in air (never never seal it up in a plastic bag or it will mold, bacteria, and stink) like a top box, saddle or side bag, or even in a tank bag. It will not drip or leak. I'm gonna lay it on a small towel in one of these places.
I'm convinced my habit of soaking the tuffrhino vest overnight in a bowl thinking I can just grab it and go and also putting it into a zip lock bag wet and then adding more water and storing it in the side bag till the afternoon unknowing damaged it and caused the loss of crystals. I'm happier with the CO vest as it's a real full vest, fits close to my body, and has more tubes in it for lots of surface area to evaporate and cool. And they say that's why they are effective the longest. At any time, of course, they can be re-soaked on the road and it's good to go for another 8-10 hours.
So lesson on crystal technology, never leave it soaking more than 10 or so minutes and never store it without air getting to it. And when not using it, hang it up.
