Nomex Cooling Vest

[JohnPaul]

It's soo hot here in Florida, I'm looking for a good, lightweight cooling vest. I found this nomex cool vest and thought it may be good. Just wanted to see if anyone every used this one and if it was any good.

Link:

http://arcticheatusa.com/store/index...21ce15e94695ce

[kea]

If you bought one of these vests, would it fit under your existing driver's uniform?

[mousecatcher]

I had a similar vest last year and got rid of it. The "ice" packs are too bulky and prevent the belts from cinching tightly enough. Especially problematic with the HANS. Then after they melt it's even worse. But even when the packs are frozen solid I just can't get tight enough in the car to feel that direct connection to the chassis.

I like my belts very very tight. If you like them loose it would probably work ok (although that would be a bad safety choice, IMHO -- belts must be tight for the HANS to be effective). As for cooling it's pretty good. The tradeoff wasn't worth it for me.

Maybe just have your crew guy dump a liter of water inside your suit before you grid up.

[JohnPaul]

If you bought one of these vests, would it fit under your existing driver's uniform?

Not sure how it'll fit. that's one of the things I wanted to find out in this post. I know there are people out there using these types of vests and this one if the slimmest and lightest I found (1.75lbs-2.25lbs).

Also just looked at the Ice vest website, it says it was developed for racing cars and doesn't interfer with with seat belts. Has anyone used it and can recommend it?

[Richard Dziak]

John Paul:

Most drivers will remove their driving suits between practices, qualifying, and race sessions. Most 3 layer Nomex fire proof suits are too hot to wear around the paddocks. I race in New Mexico and Arizona where temps far exceed the temps in Florida. We race in 95 to 100+ degree heat.

A simple approach to staying cool is drinking lots of liquids, and I wear a beaded neck band that gets soaked in ice chest water. I also soak a long sleeve t-shirt type shirt in the ice chest water. It is really cold when you put on the shirt and keeps you cool.

I think most drivers will attest that once you get going in the car, you're not even thinking about any heat index. Your so busy racing and concentrating that you really don't feel the heat. Your helmet will most likely have air vents and once you start moving the air flow cools down your face.

Try the ice water soaked long sleeve t-shirt. You won't find very many, if any formula race car drivers wearing cool vests. At least in my years of racing I have never seen anybody wearing one. These are mostly seen woren by drivers in closed wheel race cars.

[mousecatcher]

I race in New Mexico and Arizona where temps far exceed the temps in Florida. We race in 95 to 100+ degree heat.

But it's a dry heat.

I think most drivers will attest that once you get going in the car, you're not even thinking about any heat index. Your so busy racing and concentrating that you really don't feel the heat.

No way that's true! Here even in lovely norcal, we race in 95-100 degree weather at the height of summer and besides what the experts (vendors) say, I can tell you for sure it robs your performance. Ever notice on those really hot days, you get tired just BEING in the sun doing NOTHING? Certainly you might not THINK about it, being preoccupied and all, but on those hot days the track is also slicker, so the problem of the heat robbing you of performance is compounded by the fact that you actually have to work the car that much harder due to track conditions, demanding even more of your energy! The dry heat comment was meant to be a joke, but actually in my experience those high humidity days can make even 80-85 degrees unbearable.

Now sure, the real athletes can cope with it just fine but "most drivers" I think are not at that level.

[mousecatcher]

.

[cooleyjb]

I'd spend that 300 dollars on a suit that breathes better and was light in color.

[Brett Lane]

Another thing to do is lay an ice pack on your chest until you get the one minute warning.

You may not feel the heat as much when your driving, but you all know you'll feel it after you're done. Especially if you're not sufficiently hydrated before you start.

[stephen wilson]

As others have mentioned, I couldn't wear the vest in the car. But I can use two of the cool-paks. After I get loosely belted into the car, I tuck one in each side, outboard of where the belts sit. It would be better with pockets sewn in though, once they moved while driving, intefering with my elbow, especially while shifting.

[JohnPaul]

Maybe I'm just a hot sweaty mess but, I've been doing alot of outdoor activities in South Florida for the past 12 years (bikes/karts etc) and it's too hot to just wear a lighter suit or color, stay out of the sun until getting on the grid, which all help, but after 10 minutes it take a toll on your performance and comfort. Any I agree with mousecatcher on the dry heat comment, it really make a huge difference.

I guess my post was more to see if there was better vest to go with rather than debate if it was worth using in general. I've already come to the conclusion that I want one and that there is no disadvantage to using one if you can fit it under your suit and gear properly and seat belt strapped as tightly as without the vest plus it's fireproof and only weights 2lbs (I fluctuate in weight more on a daily basis).

Now if I can't get one that fits correctly and doesn't interfere with selt belts then I won't buy one (i'll just install A/C in the car).

check out this link:

http://www.icevest.com/vests.html

[S Lathrop]

My solution, that worked very well for me, was to soak my nomex underware in water. Once you got the car moving the evaporation would keep you cool. As the race progressed my sweat would replace to lost water and I would remain cool for the entire race.

I learned this trick after having problems with heat in a very tight race at Elkhart. I nearly crashed just after the finish on the cool off lap.

[JohnPaul]

My solution, that worked very well for me, was to soak my nomex underware in water. Once you got the car moving the evaporation would keep you cool. As the race progressed my sweat would replace to lost water and I would remain cool for the entire race.

I learned this trick after having problems with heat in a very tight race at Elkhart. I nearly crashed just after the finish on the cool off lap.

I originally though about that but read a bunch of posts on wetting down your underwear and people saying that it very, very dangerous to have wet underwear in an event of fire. The idea was that the heat for a fire could steam you like a lobster, even if you don't come in contact with the fire, that is a very scary. I don't know if this is true but you need to look into this.

[S Lathrop]

I originally though about that but read a bunch of posts on wetting down your underwear and people saying that it very, very dangerous to have wet underwear in an event of fire. The idea was that the heat for a fire could steam you like a lobster, even if you don't come in contact with the fire, that is a very scary. I don't know if this is true but you need to look into this.

I knew that risks. My experience with heat demonstrated to me that the heat exhaustion represented a far greater risk. It impared my judgment during the race and after passing the S/F line I almost passed out. You need to balance risks.

I raced 15 years both club and pro. Keeping your body as comfortable as possible in the car can give you a competitive advantage late in a race.

[JohnPaul]

I knew that risks. My experience with heat demonstrated to me that the heat exhaustion represented a far greater risk. It impared my judgment during the race and after passing the S/F line I almost passed out. You need to balance risks.

I raced 15 years both club and pro. Keeping your body as comfortable as possible in the car can give you a competitive advantage late in a race.

I agree with everything you say, I just hope that you never have to be in a postion to test the "steam like a lobster" theory. be safe.

[Ted Idlof]

For the past 5 years, I have used the Cool Vest phase change material (PCM) that melts @ 59F not 32F like ice. Not sure how that compares with the Arctic Heat tech you're considering. I made my own vest, sewing pockets for the 4 PCM packs on a tank top. The packs sit vertically outside the belts and along my ribs and horizontally in the small of my back. The positioning is great; allows the belts to be tightened fully.

Works quite well when I'm waiting on the Thunderhill pre-grid in 105F heat for 20 minutes. The packs last about an hour, so they are still working on the cool down lap. They "refreeze" in about 20 minutes in the fridge or in ice water.

[mousecatcher]

I originally though about that but read a bunch of posts on wetting down your underwear and people saying that it very, very dangerous to have wet underwear in an event of fire. The idea was that the heat for a fire could steam you like a lobster, even if you don't come in contact with the fire, that is a very scary. I don't know if this is true but you need to look into this.

I can't see how that's a valid concern. Even with a cool vest, your sweat is going to soak your garments.

[Matt King]

Frankly, it's an absolutely ridiculous thing to worry about, considering with or without a cool shirt you can easily soak completely through your underwear and drivers suit just by sweating. If you're on fire and can't get out of the car in sufficient time that steam from your wet underwear is a concern, you've got WAY bigger problems.

The internet--lending creibility to wacky ideas since 1997.

[JohnPaul]

I can't see how that's a valid concern. Even with a cool vest, your sweat is going to soak your garments.

Yeah, that makes sense. I didn't say it was true, I'm just bringing up points that were said a lot on this forum.

[mousecatcher]

mmm ... lobster

[JohnPaul]

mmm ... lobster

lol, gotta love it!