[Phillip Beall]

All,

When working as a uniformed law enforcement officer I hated how hot it was to wear a Kevlar vest in the summer.  Looking at US military personnel in the Middle East wearing HUGE body armor and carrying guns, ammo and a pack; I often wonder how they can even function, much less be stealthy and productive at killing the enemy.  And on our tractors, working on projects around our place; I frequently wish that I had something – ANYTHING – that would help me to be even slightly cooler in the summer months.

I have imagined all manner of 12 volt, ice and water circulating cooling systems.  Imagined.  I am not creative enough or smart enough to figure out how to reasonably approach addressing the matter.  At times I have looked online and while there are some options (examples here), none seem very well developed or to have many really great reviews.  I always figured “The first person that solves this problem well is going to be a billionaire.”  I can hear it now “What, you didn’t know that it gets hot in the summer?”  Sure, of course I know that.  This is a guy that mowed grass to pay for flying lessons before he was old enough to drive himself to the airport.  Grass cutting is a summer gig, so I get that.  To anyone that would retort with that I say this – Have you done even the slightest bit of research and educated yourself on what electricity and air conditioning have directly done to positively affect productivity?  There are many, many, studies on the topic.  Electricity and air conditioning have produced quantum increases in human productivity.  In my view the “man made” part of any global climate change is debatable.  How electricity and air conditioning have increased productivity; now that is settled science.  So, instead of ancestor worship of how tough everyone used to be, I would like to see some increases of cooling for the human body that are highly usable and continue that productivity trend.

Yesterday there was a Wall Street Journal article The Summer Is So Hot, Workers Are Wearing High-Tech Ice Packs which touches on the topic.  They pretty thoroughly discuss ice packs made by IcePlates, produced by Knoxville, TN, based Qore Performance.  They lightly touch on EZ Cooldown, produced by a Netherlands-based company.  Think of blue ice when you think of it.  Both products are currently in use domestically, but completely untouched by that article are things such as a device made to get vehicle air conditioning pumped behind ballistic vests while law enforcement officers are in their vehicle.  This recent My Paris Texas news story Mathews Auto Group ‘Pays It Forward’ to Honey Grove Police Department, discussing their contribution of the CoolCop Body Armor Air Conditioning system to a Honey Grove police officer; that was an interesting read.  By the way – Way to go Matthews Auto Group!  Going to the CoolCop link I was disappointed to see a really poorly executed website.  Great domain name, interesting offering, really – I mean REALLY – lame website.  Oftentimes I see marketing departments just squash a company and their message because they are over-aggressive.  In this case, talk about a product that seems to be highly in demand only limited by poor marketing development; hopefully they do something about that.  If they see this post – I am always dubious of the legitimacy of a website when their “Contact” page does not list a physical address, or even what state they are in, and has no phone number…

Ice, water circulating systems, air circulating systems, low-tech wet towels; those are where we appear to be…in Northeast Texas in late August of 2024.  We all know it gets hot in the summer.  Just in Paris, we have service sector personnel outside (think Chick-fil-A order takers), law enforcement officers wearing ballistic vests, utility workers climbing poles and in bucket-truck buckets, people doing landscape maintenance work, people pouring and finishing concrete and doing other construction work; the list is endless if you stop and look around sometime.  Their health and productivity just begs for a solution other than telling them to wet a towel and wrap it around their neck or get an inside job.

Does anyone have a commercial off the shelf (COTS) product they can point us to?  Does anyone have what they think is a viable way to do it?  Even the US military has asked for help with this, so the problem is recognized and solutions are being sought.  Anybody?

73

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

[Steven Smith]

I have NOT yet tried this product………..

However I have looked at it……

https://gobiheat.com/    (click near top of the page to see their new cooling Vests)

The down side I believe it the added weight
The Water cooled vest weighs in over 4 pounds when you add it all up….

What does everything weigh?
This is our most common question! The empty vest, including the piping and pump, weighs 1 lb 12 oz. The 6 oz battery pack fits comfortably in the pouch at the back of the vest. We recommend adding one 16 oz frozen ice core (1 lb) and 16 oz of cool water to the reservoir for optimal circulation.

Sitting in a chair on a Bass boat might be OK
but up moving around and even casting lures might be an issue

Mean while I am using wet Towels and Hydrating a lot !!!

Just my two cents worth in the discussion 🙂

Steve KG5VK

[Charles Penry]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/25/climate/heat-cooling-fabrics/index.html

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