Veskimo cooling vest

[Arr MiHardies]

Anyone have any experience with these? http://www.veskimo.com/

[2manycars]

I have had the veskimo for 2 summers now. It is one of the few cooling devices that seems to work, however it is not without its issues. I originally had the "cooling unit" in the rear trunk of my RT, but have since moved it to the rear seat. YOu use it by filling the "cooler" with ice and and hooking it to the water cooled vest which you wear under your protective gear.

The concept is if your core (chest area) is cool you wil be cooler as well. It does do that, but only as long as the ice lasts. The issue is that on a real hot day when you probably wil want to use it, the ice may only last for 45 minutes. I generally freeze a plastic container in my freezer overnight. The unit is small cooler with what appears to be a Tupperware container with a small circulating pump-it appears to be from a fish tank. The Tupperware container goes in a tiny insulated beach cooler. The cooler is not especially well insulated. In the hot sun the ice melts pretty fast. Once on the road you can refill it, but if you use regular ice cubes versus a block of ice and the ice cubes melt much faster than the larger block for obvious reasons.

The other issue is the vest itself. In order for the cold water to circulate through the vest, you need to tether yourself to the cooling unit with thick hose. Unhooking the hose "can" make a bit of a mess even though the hose has a valve that seals the hose upon disconnection. Would I recommend the product. With reservations yes. If you do not need to cool off for an extended period, and you don' t mind having the rear seat taken precluding a passenger it does indeed work.

I hope that helps somewhat.

[Arr MiHardies]

But the bonus over a cool vest is you don't get all wet. Have you tried putting the uninsulated chest inside something that is well insulated? I do also realize that with all the plumbing, you are greatly increasing the surface area of the cold water, and thus giving more area for it to release its potential thermal energy and thus warm up.

But the price tag on it is incredibly hefty... Almost think I'd be better off building my own with a better ice chest and a fish tank water pump.

[2manycars]

But the bonus over a cool vest is you don't get all wet. Have you tried putting the uninsulated chest inside something that is well insulated? I do also realize that with all the plumbing, you are greatly increasing the surface area of the cold water, and thus giving more area for it to release its potential thermal energy and thus warm up.

But the price tag on it is incredibly hefty... Almost think I'd be better off building my own with a better ice chest and a fish tank water pump.

I tried several different insulated coolers, but the design has to allow for the large hoses to enter and exit which limits what can be used somewhat. I also need one of a size I can easily secure to the passenger seat. The other problem of course is that you can not have a second rider when using the cooling vest.

[GI Jane]

My husband and I both love ours. Its great that it is also a camelback. Of course we each drive our own Spyder.

[Arr MiHardies]

Camel back won't work as I have a seat back, it would just get in the way.

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[GI Jane]

I just put mine over the seat back and away we go!