BILT Cooling Vest

Anyone try one of these. I found one on sale and thinking about trying it. I'm about ready to try almost anything.

http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=BLT_6529-S_G

Not sure if you're asking about evap vests in general or that specific brand.

If you're asking about that specific brand, no.

If you're asking the more generic question, I have a Silver Eagle evap vest that looks similar and a phase change vest.

The evap vest works really well when the humidity is low (think Denver, Salt Lake, Phoenix, etc.). In high humidity it doesn't work so well.

The phase change vest works very well regardless of humidity, but they're bulky and take a couple hours to recharge.

generic

I looking for something to keep me cooler in MidWest. It 97/dp 75. And I plan on riding as much as I can before the again stick metal up my back.

In high humidity and high temp, I like these best, but they are pricey.
http://www.coolvest.com/Cooling_Vest_Technical_Information/Default.aspx

These phase change at 59F. Ice next to your skin causes your capillaries to constrict and you can still overheat, but if you're wearing a ridimg jacket, ice in the outside pockets works pretty good.

evap vests don't work well (for me anyway) when the dp is that high. now you just have that much more warm water on your chest.

We have a few of these...
http://www.techniche-intl.com/en/ca...echkewl-phase-change-cooling/vests/index.html

same principle as the ones alzyck linked to. Have had them for years and got them thru a safety equipment company. Feels like a ballistic vest, but works for a few hours. Used mine in 100 degree afternoon heat this week under a part mesh jacket. The inserts were still semi frozen after three hours.You can tell your core is running cooler, at least I can

On long days I throw a spare set of cold packs in my sidecase cooler, keeps my water bottles cool as well.

Helen doesn't like it due to the bulk, she prefers the evap vests which are also Techniche brand . I'll use either depending on conditions.

Most of the cooling vests I have seen work by soaking in water. In hot & humid weather these do not work and will ultimately make you hotter. It might seem counter productive but buy long underwear. Dicks sells Addidas Clima Cool long johns for $35 that will wick away the moisture which will cool you down. Under Armour makes similar products. I wear those under mesh. That way it is wicking the areas not mesh or under the armor parts. I also have a camel back I put in my tank bag to stay hydrated. Olympia and Revit both make mesh pants and jackets that are not black. They both make lighter colored silver, white and pewter apparel that reflect the sun instead of absorbing it like black. A white t shirt in the sun is 30 degrees cooler than black. I also have some Revit Dirt gloves. They are mesh but have great protection built in the palm and knuckles. I don't want to sacrifice safety for comfort. Finally ride north!

I have one of those vests. I have used it in hot areas, both dry and humid. It works better in the dry for obvious reasons. It is still far better in humid areas than no cooling vest however. Don't let those who expect miracle cooling and voice their disappointment when they tried it in humid areas turn you away from it. Any cooling you can get is of benefit to maintaining your attention and skill level in hot weather. While driving in Houston, is different than Tucson because of humidity it still worked for me. For the price shown on your link it's money well spent.

I've tried to the evap vest in the south and instead of being hot and sweaty you end up hot, sweaty, and wet. If the water doesn't evaporate it acts as an insulator and makes you more hot. If you average humidity is above 70% I would say get the phase change vest.

Disagree with wearing in humid weather being better than nothing. It defeats the purpose of why you sweat in the first place.

When sweat evaporates from the surface of your skin, it removes excess heat and cools you. This is actually due to a neat principle in physics, which goes like this. To convert water from a liquid to a vapor, it takes a certain amount of heat called the heat of vaporization. This heat energy increases the speed of the water molecules so that they can escape into the air. Typically, all of the sweat does not evaporate, but rather runs off your skin. In addition, not all heat energy produced by the body is lost through sweat. Some is directly radiated from the skin to the air and some is lost through respiratory surfaces of the lungs.

A major factor that influences the rate of evaporation is the relative humidity of the air around you. If the air is humid, then it already has water vapor in it, probably near saturation, and cannot take any more. Therefore, sweat does not evaporate and cool your body as efficiently as when the air is dry.

So if you wear something wet that further traps the sweat against your skin you are not cooling your body. It may feel good for a few minutes but it is utterly defeating your bodies ability to cool down. This is why you want some sort of wicking material that helps to remove the sweat from your skin and let it evaporate instead of wearing some material like cotton. Cotton will just absorb the sweat and eventually trap that against your body and once again defeating your body and it's ability to cool.

This is science and not opinion.