Hot weather gear

[kmac]

Where I live heat is a much bigger issue than freezing temps. For cold weather folks there are tons of options, heated grips, seats, socks, gloves, pants, vest, jackets, and I would even bet helmet liners. On top of that even just good gear without the electric liners can be quite warm.

I have used the cool vest set up before and the cool neck roll out west here in the summer and neither do much and what they do cool down only last a short time before they dry out.
The cool vest does not do much if you still want to wear a good jacket with CE protection. I literally ride in shorts and a T-shirt often in the summer because it is just TOO hot to wear ATGATT.

I hear people insist that their XXXX gear is cool with the vents open but I have never found that true in the deserts of the south west.

Does anyone make a true cooling suit of any sort? And if not....why? We have engineers and geniuses here, lets go.

I was riding yesterday with my Thor spring jacket and had all of the vents open and was still hot at 84*F....HELP

 

[trikepilot]

I live in the Southeast where 84 is nothing in the summer. 90's are frequently hit and temps in the 100's are not often but we do have them. But the worst part here, is the humidity which can easily be in the range of double or more of what most westerners (maybe not PNW'ers!) are used to. So it can really suck in the summer here. I have been riding in full mesh gear (Airglide from Olympia) for the past seven summers and it has been comfortable at speed - albeit hot when not moving. The jacket/pants have CE armor and have protected me in many a get-off while keeping me as cool as I guess is possible. I am not sure that there is any good solution to adequate cooling with adequate protection during extreme heat

Any temptation I have had to ride without ATGATT (shorts and tshirt) was thoroughly destroyed by a clinical rotation years ago in the ER where I picked chunks of road debris out of a squid's hip and leg with a hemostat. His girlfriend was in the next bay getting the same treatment. I don't ever plan that to be me!!

 

[Koinz]

Do a google shirt for cooling t-shirt. The material somehow absorbs moisture and produces a cooling effect, but there has to air movement to help.

I have a couple of these shirts I wear under my mesh gear and they do help. The problem is that the start to stink from body odor that is absorbed from the sweat, so you have wash them often or at least rinse them out.

 

[kmac]

LOL...I said 84*F....that was yesterday, mid February and it is gonna be a hot summer I think. We get well in excess of 100 and up to 110*F out here in the Inland Empire...120*F in the deserts.

As far as riding goes, I will take the humidity anytime. When it is humid {we do get it at times} you sweat and when moving the airflow cools you off. When it is 4% humidity and 110* + the air is stifling and feels like you are standing in front of a blast furnace...dries you out instantly. You can literally feel your face and lips chapping.

I do not like, or prefer riding in shorts and T, that is why I am thinking. I would like to at least ride in some sort of a jacket and long pants. I appreciate the ATGATT, but am not a loyalist to it. I have been down at over 100 without ATGATT and survived. I think decent pants {jeans or something similar} hold up pretty well even in a slide, you might get some rash but not serious. That is a different topic though.

Just looking for something to stay cool WHILE wearing protection.

 

[kmac]

Do a google shirt for cooling t-shirt. The material somehow absorbs moisture and produces a cooling effect, but there has to air movement to help.

I have a couple of these shirts I wear under my mesh gear and they do help. The problem is that the start to stink from body odor that is absorbed from the sweat, so you have wash them often or at least rinse them out.

Same goes as my last post...very little effect in super dry desert setting. At the Colorado river in our boat we stop and get in the water with T-shirts on and get sopping wet, take off and are bone dry in a couple miles when it is over 110* and under 5% humidity....we have to stop constantly to get any evaporative cooling. If you southern/eastern/northern guys have never been out here to Az. IE Ca. area you would be shocked at the difference.

 

[trikepilot]

I have spent lots of time out west and especially in the desert southwest where it is VERY hot and dry.

What you describe is somewhat contrary to the laws of evaporative cooling and the enthalpy of vaporization of water. This phenomenon is why you see so many swamp coolers in hot and dry areas (like the desert SW) and none in the Southeast where they simply would not work. Hot, dry air can be cooled significantly via the transition of liquid water to water vapor at the cost of much less energy. This action is compounded when evaporative conditions are especially advantageous - ie: hot and dry.

The bottom line is that if you ride with a wet shirt in 110 degrees and dry versus riding in 90 degrees and sweltering humidity - your wet shirt will cool you better in the hot/dry climate but it will dry out super fast and lose that cooling ability. The short will stay wetter in the hot/humid conditions for longer but it will cool less effectively. Simple physics. You ride where this scenario will give you high efficiency of cooling but super short lifespan. Southeasterners get less cooling but longer life. I just hate riding with a wet shirt!!

This appears to be very cumbersome, but maybe you should look into this - http://entrosys.com/

 

[kmac]

I understand exactly what you are saying, evaporative cooling works better in a dry climate. BUT, for that to work you have to have moisture. When it is almost 0 humidity your shirt/under gear... whatever, just does not stay damp enough long enough to work for me.

The human body is not a house. We make our own moisture, sweat. When I sweat and am damp and wind blows over that moisture it cools me. If it is so dry I do not sweat, or what I do sweat immediately dries out there is no evaporation...thus no cooling.

I have been wrong before, but I know the deserts and I have ridden in humidity. When sitting still or in low activity no wind situations humidity does SUCK. Way worse than dry heat. But when 80 mph wind is passing me....sweat is a good thing, humidity causes that sweat.

 

[snakebitten]

100F 100%Humidity.
Way of life here. 55 years of it.
Still wear the gear. It's just a commitment I can't overcome.

Still hate this wet cold winter more. I'm not mentally tough enough to stay nice in it. Wears me down.

 

[trikepilot]

We make our own moisture, sweat. When I sweat and am damp and wind blows over that moisture it cools me. If it is so dry I do not sweat, or what I do sweat immediately dries out there is no evaporation...thus no cooling.

I have been wrong before, but I know the deserts and I have ridden in humidity. When sitting still or in low activity no wind situations humidity does SUCK. Way worse than dry heat. But when 80 mph wind is passing me....sweat is a good thing, humidity causes that sweat.

Kmac what you are describing happening to you is exactly correct. But what you are attributing it to is all wrong. Not to put too fine a point here, but I have been an ICU nurse for years and I am currently getting a masters in anesthesia so I am very up-to-date on my human physiology.

Sweat is the body's physiological response to heat. All you need is the body to reach whatever setpoint temp and some moisture in the body - and you sweat. We humans are 60-70% water so unless you are really dehydrated - you will sweat irrespective of whether you are in 110 and 30% humidity in CA or in 50 degrees and 60% humidity. Whether or not you sweat is completely INDEPENDENT of what is going on outside the body (heat, humidity, or whatever). Humidity does not "make" you sweat.

So it is like you mentioned above - it is not that you do not sweat when it is hot/dry, rather what you do sweat when it is hot/dry evaporates nearly instantly with a more transient evaporative feel to you. You don't feel like it is cool and you are left hot and dry. In these parts you also don;t feel cool, but you are all wet because all the sweat has a harder time evaporating.

So back to the riding... it all comes down to your desired comfort parametersl and as Snake pointed out, your level of risk assumption. I always ride ATGATT cause I have seen what happens to people who did not and had an "incident." I am willing to trade a bit of riding comfort for safety. My full mesh gear with CE armor will do a passable job of bridging that gap.

 

[kmac]

So since we are done discussing pit stains....can we get back to the "stinking" topic...lol

What would it take to make some sort of cool suit and does it exist...or does even the tech exist?

I am thinking about A/C...some sort of heat exchange system. On my motorhome fridge you can plug it in and run a standard high pressure refrigerant system with a condenser and evaporator OR, you can push propane through a coil system built in and burn the propane at the far end which the flowing propane freezes the coils in the fridge....

I am not suggesting a pilot light on my helmet and coils around my body with a large propane bottle strapped to my legs, but some sort of electro/pressure/off gas whatchamajigger that cools an ATGATT suit liner.....then we all get to wear ATGATT and be comfy...electric heated winter liner and cooled summer liner...no liner spring and fall just open vents.

 

[pnwrider]

This should help:

http://www.bikeairusa.com/home.html

Could be yours for as little as $1500...

Sounds like a lot to me, but if I was living in a hotter area of the country I might be more tempted.

 

[kmac]

The tech DOES exist....however I was hoping for something less obnoxious and compact...not something that deflates my wallet that much....lol

Maybe I will be riding with propane bottles strapped to my legs and a pilot light on my helmet

 

[creggur]

Southeast rider here - florida swampland to be precise - full Klim Latitude kit with Cycle Gear Heat Out underneath. With all the vents open it's not bad as long as I'm moving.

I've seen road rash, bad road rash, on someone wearing jeans and a mesh jacket. No thanks - the mesh actually cooked to his skin in the slide. No damn way - if it's too hot to ride with proper gear, I simply won't ride.

 

[rem]

If you live in the Yukon, you make the decision not to ride on those days when it is too hot. That would be just the one day every other year. No worries. ::025:: ::025:: Let's be careful out there. R

 

[greg the pole]

We have no such problems here.

It actually got above freezing today. Too bad, my back lane is a skating rink...

 

[ejy712]

I have settled on an AeroStitch Darien Light Jacket and First Gear mesh pants for summer riding.

The jacket is good year around. In the winter I put in the thick microfleece liner and wear two coolmax long sleeve tshirts. In the summer I wear the jacket shell and a coolmax tshirt. This is good for 10 degF to 105 degF 95% humidity for me (doesn't get much hotter in Delaware). However, this does involve a trick in the summer. I have cut holes in the hand guards and covered them with screen. My wife sewed drape weights in the bottom of the jacket sleeves. Air coming through the hand guard holes goes up my sleeve and inflates the jacket. When I'm moving I get fresh air all over my arms and torso, front and back. This air also comes out of my collar. It's really quite comfortable. I do make sure I drink a lot of water. Even when it's humid I think I loose a lot of water through sweat.

The Darien Light jacket has shoulder, elbow, and back armor. So I feel well protected.

In the winter I cover the hand guard screened holes with velcroed vinyl covers.

I tried a mesh jack and found that it is cool enough on the front. But I get no air to the back of the jacket. So my back got really hot, especially when the sun was on it.

The mesh pants work ok. My legs don't seem to be as critical with regard to heat. The mesh keeps them cool enough. I also use a beadrider seat cover. That keeps air moving where the seat meets my butt.

This combination is not great in stop and go traffic, which I avoid like the plague. I haven't found anything that works well for hot weather in stop and go traffic.

I'm still looking for a good all-weather pant. No luck so far...

Oh, the Darien Light jacket shell is water proof, and goretex. I don't even stop when the rain starts (well, except to change pants if I have the mesh ones on).

 

[fredz43]

+1 on the Darien Light jacket. I wore my hi vis Darien Light on a 4500 mile trip from IL, down to MS, and then across TX and to CO and back in 2012 and the hottest day was 110 and several days in 102-105 temps. As mentioned, the air up the wide sleeves, out the under arm vents and back vents help a lot. In cold weather I wear my Tourmaster long sleeve electric jacket liner underneath. In rain, I close the zips and keep going.

 

[EricV]

Had a reply all typed out... then the crappy internet service dropped my connection. ::010:: ::010:: Crappy old Mac doesn't help. Beachballs from hell thanks to low threshold programmers. Uhg.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. To expand on RonH's comments, wetting down and zipping up really does work. Mesh, especially over body temp, does not. Mesh just increases dehydration. You don't want to expose your skin to the hot air flow. It will simply pull the moisture out of your body that much faster. Hydrate or die is no joke. I've been riding long distance and doing rallies for 10+ years and this technique really does work and has helped me survive 120+ temps in the desert. High humidity is another story, and the only thing that helps me is to ice down when high heat and high humidity is the issue. I've put a 10 lb bag of ice in my lap and let it cool my core, as well as putting ice inside my riding jacket in those conditions. Not to mention an occasional 10 minute stop in a beer vault when the opportunity arises and I'm in need.

LDComfort fabric is designed to keep your skin dry when you are sweating, to avoid monkey butt, etc. However, the secondary effect of it is that you can get it wet, and you are not having wet against your skin, but it holds water better than other fabrics if there is no ventilation. So if you wet down, then zip up to allow only a little air flow. This creates a cooling effect that can last an hour or up to two, depending on the conditions and your gear. I have comfortably covered desert conditions at 120+ degrees this way.

Here is a pdf link that explains it better than I can. I've been wearing LDComfort gear for the last 10 years and it's good stuff and lasts a long time. Still wearing the shorts I first bought.

Click Me!

 

[fredz43]

That is very interesting, Eric. I wear LD Comfort shorts under my Darien pants, but never did try to wet them (with water ;D). I didn't know that they also made LD Comfort shirts, but that sounds like a good idea for under my Darien jacket. I think Ron has a good point about zipping up in that hot weather. I recall that when we were riding back from CO in 2012 and it got up to 110, I had to make sure the visor was fully down on my full face helmet, as when I tried to crack it open, it was like a blast furnace. Perhaps if I had closed the collar on my jacket, it would have been better. I'll look into the LD Comfort shirt and try it under the Darien jacket.

 

[EricV]

That is very interesting, Eric. I wear LD Comfort shorts under my Darien pants, but never did try to wet them (with water ;D). I didn't know that they also made LD Comfort shirts, but that sounds like a good idea for under my Darien jacket. I think Ron has a good point about zipping up in that hot weather. I recall that when we were riding back from CO in 2012 and it got up to 110, I had to make sure the visor was fully down on my full face helmet, as when I tried to crack it open, it was like a blast furnace. Perhaps if I had closed the collar on my jacket, it would have been better. I'll look into the LD Comfort shirt and try it under the Darien jacket.

I found that wetting the sleeves and tummy area work best for me. Not so much the shorts! but in all honesty, when I place the bag of ice on my lap, I poke holes in the corners of the bag so that it drains out onto my legs. My riding pants have mesh there, and the ice water runs into my LDComfort shorts and does seem to help. The legs where the mesh is are not really in the airflow on the Super Ten while seated, so that is somewhat of a compromise to zipping everything up.

I do agree, at high heat, visor up is an unpleasant blast furnace effect! I wet down and zip up the collar and just leave one sleeve open a tad, and zip up the pit vents and arm vents, but leave the back vent open about 1/4 so I get some flow thru. that minimizes drying out, but maximizes cooling.

The other part of that is ride and route smart when you can. I crossed Death Valley in July at dawn w/o issues, though it was still 95F. A friend took my same route 6 hours later and ended up dehydrated and beat up in 125F heat.

Edit: Forgot to add that the standard LDComfot shirts have a mock turtleneck collar. Not to my taste, but they also make a zip up collar that I frigging LOVE! I leave it un-zipped at some temps and zip it up at others and for me, it's a huge difference in comfort level. I love that I can get some air flow in warmer temps that are not quite to wetting down level, yet zip it up all the way when I am ready to zip my jacket up all the way too, either for cooler temps to protect my neck from chaffing or in hotter temps when I'm wetting down.