Cooling vest shootout underway

[ActiveMSers]

I've started on ActiveMSers' first ever cooling vest comparo test. Four vests will be tested in this shootout:
-ArcticHeat ice/evaporative
-Glacier Tek phase change (concealable)
-Polar Products "Secrets" ice (concealable)
-Steele ice

Should be interesting. I'll be comparing a number of different elements, compiling both objective and subjective results.

[ActiveMSers]

Initial "lab" tests of three of the four vests are done, and they are a bit surprising. It'll be interesting to see how they perform in "real world" testing....

[ActiveMSers]

Real world testing is wrapping up and there are even more surprises. Wow. Can't wait to put this together. Sorry for the tease....

[ActiveMSers]

Testing continues. I've tested raw cooling power and "real world" indoor use. I haven't done an outdoor 90+ degree test, and that needs to happen to get a more complete picture of cooling effectiveness. It would be interesting to see how much these vests sweat, but humidity is so low here in New Mexico that it's been tricky.

[ActiveMSers]

Hot testing is complete, and there was a surprise winner. Now the only thing left is writing up the article. I hope to have it online in a couple of weeks.

Hmm. I also plan to do a couple more tests to confirm my findings. They are interesting....

[mstile]

Waiting anxiously on this, I'm in the market for a vest to use AFTER outdoor/athletic activity. People worry that my face gets so red and I often run a fever. This would be intended to use right after a soccer game, kayak trip, bicycling, etc.

Good luck and thanks for the info already provided as well!

-mike

[ActiveMSers]

The article is in the can! Well, almost. My scientist wife just showed up with a thermal imaging camera, and OMG is it cool. I might have to do a few more tests now.

[ActiveMSers]

In the interest of getting this published before the summer ends, the thermal imaging has been put on the back burner, which means the article should be up today, no later than tomorrow.