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Cooling vests

Ok so i didn't know these even existed until about a month ago when we stopped at the Harley shop in El Paso and one of the club brothers bought a Harley branded one. He loves his so I stopped and picked up a Sedici Cooling Vest at Cycle Gear($50) on the way up to Springfield, temps in the upper 90's. It was a lifesaver and cooled me down considerably, lasts all the way between gas stops too. I did talk to another rider who had exactly the same vest and said it didn't do much for him as he was wearing it under a ventilated jacket, not mesh. It seems like the way it is worn directly affects it's cooling ability. Now figuring that the faster it evaporated the better it would work, I wore mine under a t shirt directly on my skin(no club vest or mesh jacket). The other brother who bought one wore it directly under a leather vest with nothing else on. Works great for us under those circumstances. It would seem to me that the way for it to be worn would be under the mesh jacket with nothing else on? So how are you guys wearing these that have them?
 
I wear a heat out shirt with the cooling vest over it, and also a heat out neck gaiter, then my mesh armored jacket.

Heat out shirt gives the vest nearly double the cooling time for your core.
 
Ok so i didn't know these even existed until about a month ago when we stopped at the Harley shop in El Paso and one of the club brothers bought a Harley branded one. He loves his so I stopped and picked up a Sedici Cooling Vest at Cycle Gear($50) on the way up to Springfield, temps in the upper 90's. It was a lifesaver and cooled me down considerably, lasts all the way between gas stops too. I did talk to another rider who had exactly the same vest and said it didn't do much for him as he was wearing it under a ventilated jacket, not mesh. It seems like the way it is worn directly affects it's cooling ability. Now figuring that the faster it evaporated the better it would work, I wore mine under a t shirt directly on my skin(no club vest or mesh jacket). The other brother who bought one wore it directly under a leather vest with nothing else on. Works great for us under those circumstances. It would seem to me that the way for it to be worn would be under the mesh jacket with nothing else on? So how are you guys wearing these that have them?

I bought probably the same on at the Rally and tested it out a bunch during the weekend. I stayed in an airbnb and would fill it in the morning and put it in a bag until I put it on. I found it to be slimy when first used. Also it said that it woudn't make your clothes wet, but it did. I wore it over a "wicking" sports shirt I wear in the hottest weather and under a Rev It Sand jacket with all the vents open. It works and there was a cooling effect. Between trips, I slipped it in the freezer for about 15 minutes and then put it on to head to the Fairgrounds. It REALLY worked then! I wetted it for the ride home Sunday and Monday and I never needed it at all.

I supposed it would work better with a mesh (or no jacket) but for the gear I had it worked better than what I was using prior (dumping bottles of water on the wicking shirt...which by definition wicked off...)
 
Your posts have caught my interest. The question is how much does it weigh? I currently wear a Helite vest over my Motoport air mesh jacket. The jacket relatively speaking has no weight but the Helite vest, although heavy, is not cumbersome, once on the bike.

Would a cooling vest combine with my Helite vest too heavy or too bulky to enjoy the ride?
 
I might add these Sedeci vests are sized pretty small. It needs to fit tight to be effective so i would have figured a size L would be perfect. Nope. A size L wouldn't even zip up. I never considered myself to be an Extra Large guy but that's the size i had to get.
 
The vest is feather light when dry but it swells up and feels like it weighs five or more pounds when fully soaked.

It does fell pretty heavy when wet, but not bulky. If you have a sweatshirt under your gear normally, this would fit just fine.

They told me it should fit tight and they sold me a medium. I thought maybe cause that's all they had left. I wear a 42 in a suit jacket and it's fine. Not sure how big a guy you are Dave. It does fit tight to the body.

Paul, remember, if it's hot enough to need this thing, you're already uncomfortable!!
 
Love my cooling vest. I used it with a mesh jacket and my helite and I believe the Helite kept the evaporation to a reasonable rate- lasted a few hours when I could recharge it at the next stop. Even under my roadcrafter it allows some cooling...but it does wet my pants (better it wetting my pants than me wetting my pants!), maybe I should wring it slightly-
 
Love my cooling vest. I used it with a mesh jacket and my helite and I believe the Helite kept the evaporation to a reasonable rate- lasted a few hours when I could recharge it at the next stop. Even under my roadcrafter it allows some cooling...but it does wet my pants (better it wetting my pants than me wetting my pants!), maybe I should wring it slightly-



How/where do you recharge. The sales guy suggested the bathroom sink at the gas station. I know I wash my hands in there, but yuk.
 
How/where do you recharge. The sales guy suggested the bathroom sink at the gas station. I know I wash my hands in there, but yuk.

I keep a 20 gallon trash bag in the top box. Fill the bag from the faucet to about 3" of water, take it outside, throw the cooling vest in it, shake it good, put the vest on, empty the remanding water and fold it back up.

I first saw a guy do this at a highway rest area in 115F. Been carrying that 20 gallon trash bag ever since. Makes short work of soaking the vest fully.
 
How/where do you recharge. The sales guy suggested the bathroom sink at the gas station. I know I wash my hands in there, but yuk.

I USED to hold it under the sink faucet at gas stations...sort of held it off the sink and soaked it...but your "yuk" got me thinking....though it's worked for the last five years or so...a bag of water a lá Brownie is sounding wise.
 
In the morning I’ll stuff my vest into a gallon freezer ziplock and fill with enough water to soak it thoroughly. I’ll recharge in the bag at service stations with the outside water for radiators or in the restroom. Just occurred to me, though, that this may no longer be an option since I started using a Klim airbag vest over the winter…
 
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I keep a 20 gallon trash bag in the top box. Fill the bag from the faucet to about 3" of water, take it outside, throw the cooling vest in it, shake it good, put the vest on, empty the remanding water and fold it back up.

I first saw a guy do this at a highway rest area in 115F. Been carrying that 20 gallon trash bag ever since. Makes short work of soaking the vest fully.

For years I have been wearing long sleeve cotton turtle neck shirts on extremely hot, humid days. When fully soaked, under my mesh Motoport gear and Helite, this keeps me cool for a minimum of two hours. Water has been obtained at rest stops. Although I haven't had any trips this year, I have added a very heavy duty bag to collect water from rest stop sinks for submersing the shirts. I will most likely continue the wet shirt method as the extra weight of the cooling vest seems a bit much for my size. I also soak a cap I wear under my helmet at stops.
 
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For years I have been wearing long sleeve cotton turtle neck shirts on extremely hot, humid days. When fully soaked, under my mesh Motoport gear and Helite, this keeps me cool for a minimum of two hours. Water has been obtained at rest stops. Although I haven't had any trips this year, I have added a very heavy duty bag to collect water from rest stop sinks for submersible the shirts. I will most likely continue the wet shirt method as the extra weight of the cooling vest seems a bit much for my size. I also soak a cap I wear under my helmet at stops.

I find both a heat out long sleeve shirt, cooling vest under a mesh jacket works best for me. I also soak a skull cap and neck gaiter at the same time. I don't find the vest that heavy for the relief it gives me. I'm prone to heat exhaustion so the added heat out shirt helps keep the drying process a little slower/further down the road
 
For years I have been wearing long sleeve cotton turtle neck shirts on extremely hot, humid days. When fully soaked, under my mesh Motoport gear and Helite, this keeps me cool for a minimum of two hours. Water has been obtained at rest stops. Although I haven't had any trips this year, I have added a very heavy duty bag to collect water from rest stop sinks for submersing the shirts. I will most likely continue the wet shirt method as the extra weight of the cooling vest seems a bit much for my size. I also soak a cap I wear under my helmet at stops.

On the east coast we have Sheetz gas stations. They usually have a sink by the coffee area for washing out your travel mug (which is OK again I guess). Anyhow I tried this bag trick and my non-coordinated self made a mess, but it did work.

I also found that the vest has picked up a bit of the dirt and grunge from the inside of the jacket before I washed the it the other day. IMHO the vest should be black, it's not getting any sun anyhow.
 
On the east coast we have Sheetz gas stations. They usually have a sink by the coffee area for washing out your travel mug (which is OK again I guess). Anyhow I tried this bag trick and my non-coordinated self made a mess, but it did work.

I also found that the vest has picked up a bit of the dirt and grunge from the inside of the jacket before I washed the it the other day. IMHO the vest should be black, it's not getting any sun anyhow.

Put just a few inches of water in the bag, make sure you keep it upright so you don't spill it. Take that outside, put the vest in the bag. Shake, rattle and roll till the vest is soaked, remove and don vest, empty remaining water, fold bag back up and place it where you keep it. I've not spilled a drop out of the bag while taking it outside.

Trial and error may be in order. Do it at home, until you can do it without making a mess :heart
 
Put just a few inches of water in the bag, make sure you keep it upright so you don't spill it. Take that outside, put the vest in the bag. Shake, rattle and roll till the vest is soaked, remove and don vest, empty remaining water, fold bag back up and place it where you keep it. I've not spilled a drop out of the bag while taking it outside.

Trial and error may be in order. Do it at home, until you can do it without making a mess :heart

If I make a.mess at Sheetz they bring out the wet floor sign. If I make a mess at home *I* have to clean it up.


Kidding

Maybe?
 
I used my “cooling vest” extensively while on our MOA Rally sojourn... :thumb
I can soak it, along with my gaiter & slick in the ice chest we travel with that has many liquid refreshments & ice (when we start out).
https://www.techniche-intl.com/?cookieConsent=1

Mr Mario Winkelman, gave an entertaining presentation on his research into LD-rider cooling theories he tested in the Mojave desert...
He told the audience to close up your vents and force air up your sleeves thereby creating a evaporative-cool shell around your torso.
It worked with my big KLIM coat as we traversed a dozen states! :bow
https://ldcomfort.com


Happy Trails whenever U can - Ciao!
HSV-Karen & HSV-Phil
USN-Ret'd —--&-— USAF-Ret’d

'09 650GS-twin —- '14 K-GT
'82 R100CS —-—— '75 R90S
’09 CRF230L —--— ’10 KLX250S
'16 R1200RS —-— ’05 Vespa 200L
:beer
 
Light weight roll top bag

I've tried using a zip lock bag to recharge my cooling vest. They didn't last very long. I had a light weight roll top bag laying around that the vest fit in. Now I just add water and roll it down the required three rolls and clip it shut. No leaks or spills. When I'm ready to wear it I dump out any remaining water and put it on. Roll the empty bag up and clip it onto one of the Rok strap that hold my gear on the back seat.
 
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