When the heat becomes too much to bear, cooling clothing is a great way to beat the heat. Heat stroke and heat exhaustion happen to thousands of people a year. Whether looking for cooling clothing to keep you cool while running a marathon or simply doing yard work on a summer day, our cooling clothing guide can offer tips and suggestions for getting the right gear to fit your needs.
As any cooling clothing guide can tell you, buying this type of clothing is a bit more complicated than typical clothing. There are a few things to know first.
If you are looking for only a little cooling capacity, a hat is a great way to stay cool. Many people wear hats to stay out of the sun's harmful rays, but wearing a hat traps the heat from escaping your head so while you get sun protection, you are making yourself hotter.
For maximum cooling, there are many cooling vests on the market in a variety of capacities. When shopping for vests, there are two main options for cooling power. The first option is a vest that has ice packs inside of the vest, known as evaporative vests. These packs when thawed out need to be frozen again and this process can be time-consuming. Another option using ice packs in clothing has longer lasting packs is known as phase change cooling vests. These ice packs require less time to use them, only a few minutes compared to hours for traditional packs, because of the chemicals inside that simulate ice without being frozen. With phase change clothing, simply dunk it in ice water for a few minutes and you have hours of cooling capacity.
The other option is cooling clothing that uses active cold water running throughout the clothing, but this is a more expensive route to take. They also require an active power source; whereas the other options do not require power.
Whether looking for a vest or hat, our cooling clothing guide can help you make the best decision for your needs before you start shopping!