Modern Vespa

So now living in AZ riding in the heat is an issue. I stumbled across these cooling vests on the internet and they overall sound good. These are the ones you soak in water for about 10 minutes, put them under your mesh jacket and they slowly evaporate to keep you cool. Apparently they last from 30-120 minutes depending on who is reviewing them, but also apparently can then be rehydrated with a bottle of water. So I am curious if anybody has any personal info on them and if there is one that is better than the others. Sorry if this has been done before.

thanks

larry

I’ve used them and they work as advertised. Works better in dry climates (like AZ) than in humid ones.

But don’t store them wet, and DAMHIK.

We just bought a pair of these from the Mesa Cycle Gear but haven't used them yet. One of the employees said that a few of them have the vests and they work well. He claimed he could get up to 4 hours of cooling out of the vest before it had to be resoaked.

Having ridden in 116° (probably closer to 120° on the tarmac) without one, I can honestly say if it lasts an hour and a half, it's worth adding one to your gear collection.

An uninsulated camelbak full of ice cubes & water, feels good as long as the ice holds out
I slip the hose inside foam pipe insulation, so my drinking water cold longer

Having ridden a few times in the AZ heat even quite early in the AM it does get quite hot, I am curious how you find those vests, I am seriously thinking about getting one. One thing I find is that even when hot when moving you do get a good breeze that certainly helps so it makes sense these would help

Usually, we try to avoid riding above 105°, and when at speed it's quite comfortable. The moment you come to a stop, all hell is brought to bear and you start to drip. I'll be sure to post an update when we put them to use.

They are an inexpensive way of extending the riding season at $40.00. https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/sedici-cooling-vest

When riding in the high summer in Europe, I used to soak my T-shirt in water. I.e. every time I bought water, I bought two half-litre bottles. One when down my neck on the inside, one down my neck on the outside. With a mesh jacket that would last up to half-an-hour, which was often time to stop for scenery or whatever anyway.

We bought a pair of the Sedici cooling vests last year and had mixed results. Completely worthless on a bike like my BMW RT where you don't get a lot of airflow o the body. It actually made it worse. Works ok on the Vespa or other naked bikes as long as it is not humid.

I thought of insulating the hose too, then I realised if I just blow the water back into the Camelbak, it will not get warm in the hose over my shoulder.

On my 6 700km 'around South Africa' ride in 2007, I would buy a litre bottle of ice cold still water at a fuel stop, drink about half and pour the rest down around the neck of my riding jacket, saturating my T-shirt. Really refreshing and relaxing in 40+C heat...

We've always done this.

I have a no-name cooling vest in 3XL (I was XXXL when I bought it). It's hard to store a damp jacket in a corporate office, and my commute was short, so I quit wearing it. Yours if you want it.

I also have one that wraps around the neck and shoulders. It didn't last to the west valley so I quit wearing that too.

They feel good in places with a low enough humidity for them to work. You can put them in a refrigerator for the night also to help cool them off. I've been looking at adding mesh to the front of mine I can add ice cubes to let them melt while riding.

You can also get a bag of ice and put it in your groin area. Feels really goid with your femoral arteries running through there and helps cool you down.

So AZ certainly qualifies for low humidity, except in this monsoon craziness. I don't know about a bag of ice in the groin, think I will skip that but thanks for the idea.