Bought a cooling scarf yesterday...

[PasadenaTrudy]

I'm so excited to try out this little thing! I suffer from CFS and am extremely heat sensitive. I have to basically stay in my apt all summer because I get exhausted from the sun and heat. Luckily, I have central air. But, I discovered there are cooling scarves and vests. I'm starting with this and may get a vest later!

http://www.rei.com/product/691097/kafkas-kool-tie

[kiva]

1. Please post about how well it works

after you've tried it - I've been looking at those and haven't made up my mind.

[patricia92243]

2. Be interested if you like it - let us know!

[PasadenaTrudy]

3. Will do!

It will be in the 90s this wknd so I will try it out then if not before.

[Sanity Claws]

4. Please give it a review here after you have tried it

How do you plan to wear it? Around your head, like a hairband? Around your throat, like a scarf?

If you use it around your head, let me know whether it messes up your hair.

[PasadenaTrudy]

7. I'm thinking

around my neck is the best place. Sometimes I put a wet rag around my neck and it helps. Don't want to go out with that look though

[Phentex]

5. I use the chilly pads and they work!

I even stitched the top of one so that I can stuff ice cubes in it, freeze it, then the ice melts gradually as I wear it and keeps it wet. You have to keep the cloth wet to feel the cooling effect.

Now what I haven't figured out is why they don't make clothes with this stuff!

[PasadenaTrudy]

6. They make vests

A lot of people with MS wear them. I may get one. Do a search for "cooling vests."

[Phentex]

10. I have looked at them and they aren't really for exercising...

many have cool packs or gel packs. I just googled and saw one that looks to have evaporative cooling on the front but a big zipper down the middle.

I'm thinking of a tank or top made just of the cooling material.

[MiddleFingerMom]

8. Evporative cooling really doesn't work in high humidity -- it depends on the release of moisture...

.
.
.
... to the surrounding dry air -- if the humidity is high, the air can hold no more moisture...
so no evaporative effect.
,
Here's something -- some report that it doesn't work well in over 70% humifity -- leading
me to believe it might not be any better than the scarf == EXCEPT fof a slight advantage
of having a small fan, which would evaporate water by airflow.
.
There's a manual you can look at -- it's at the bottom of the features list.
.
.
.
http://www.sharperimage.com/si/view/product/CoolWare+Personal+Cooling+System+with+motorized+fan/100849
.
.
.

[PasadenaTrudy]

9. Dry heat

here in SoCal...

[Phentex]

11. It works enough here...

I look funny but I don't care.

Now what I REALLY want is a suit similar to an astronaut with a complete cooling system.

[PasadenaTrudy]

12. Yes!

[MiddleFingerMom]

14. I've always dreamt of something like that -- but just a light exoskeleton that would...

.
.
.
... house/hold a personal a/c unit.
.
.
.

[kurtzapril4]

17. Hey, MFM,

I took a meteorology class, and here is what I was taught. Humidity is an inaccurate measure of water in the atmosphere, i.e., if the humidity was really 70%, we would drown.

It is more accurate to look at the dew point, which is the real measure of moisture in the air. Any dew point over 70 degrees is very uncomfortable, and vests or scarves working on evaporation may not be much help.

[Kali]

13. they work great until it gets real humid

the only other problem is if you work out doors and tend to get sweaty/dirty - they can get kind of stinky

I don't like things around my neck, but have even put up with those things trying to stay a little cooler. Still it is this damp thing around your neck.

[LiberalEsto]

15. When I was timing for my kids' swim meets, those things helped a lot.

I got a couple of inexpensive ones somewhere. The wet neck coolers made standing outside on concrete in the sun on a 98-degree day almost tolerable.

[PasadenaTrudy]

16. I just ordered

some wrist bands too. You insert small gel packs into them...