Ice Vest - Personal Cooling Cold Vest for Heat Relief, Navy

I bought this vest in anticipation of doing some work on our property in 114 degree weather (Arizona). We had a bunch of fill dirt to move around in a Bobcat - everything was set up weeks in advance so I just had to grin and bear it. It's a pretty simple design and the level of adjustability (velcro, elastic cords) makes it look and feel a bit cheap, but it's perfectly functional. The thin layer of neoprene on the outside (blue) makes a good insulating layer to keep ambient heat from getting in to make sure most of the heat is sucked out of your body instead. The ice panels are easy to swap out and I found the vest pretty easy to adjust - perhaps because I read the directions and opened the little velcro compartments on the front that let out all the elastic cord so it can expand to size. I'm 6'2/210lb and it fits me just fine. On to the effectiveness - this vest is COLD. I was sitting in the cab of a Bobcat in 95-114 degree heat (morning to early afternoon) and although I would say it's actually painfully cold with just a thin T-shirt on (the ice is basically pressed against you directly - so wear a thick shirt if it's too intense), that's not really cold enough when it's that hot out so I guess it's as cold as it needs to be. In that extreme heat I got about 2 hours before most of the vest was melted. I swapped ice packs in the deep freeze and got another 2 hours, but when those were toast the first packs were not re-frozen again. I'd estimate it probably takes 5-6 hours to freeze them so if you want to have cold continuously - you need 2 or 3 sets of ice panels. I plan to buy at least one more set. Although it's intensely cold - it managed to make me mostly forget about the oppressive heat while I was working the Bobcat and I got hours of work done in conditions that would have otherwise probably made me sick. I was still sweating a little, but it made a big difference. A couple of times I had to get out to do stuff by hand like heft around rocks, etc. and it was not enough to keep up under those circumstances - but it was sure better than nothing. For anyone who lives in a hot area and does anything outside - this vest really helps. Away from the house - if you had a cooler and 2-3 extra packs I bet you could get 8 hours of dramatically increased comfort working outside. I'm looking forward to the other ways I can use this vest in the future - it's basically the equivalent of a great winter coat in a cold winter blizzard for those of us that have moved to warmer climes.

This cooling vest is an adjustable neoprene vest that’s just like a wetsuit. It has three separate inserts. One for each side on the front and line larger piece for the back. Inserts are mesh and have Velcro to hold them into the vest itself. The inserts consist of interconnected cubes that are filled with plain water and are presealed so you don’t have to deal with filling them up. You can freeze these already in the mesh pockets or the cubes are removable and you can freeze them that way. You just have to deal with inserting them back into the mesh pockets and then placing them back into the vest. The vest is adjustable on the sides using elastic lacing. Zips up front and vest is meant to be worn snugly against skin so you should wear a garment of some type such as a cotton t-shirt underneath so as to not cause possible skin damage from cold such as frost bite. That’s it. It’s very simple. The ice keeps your core temperature low which in turn keeps your remaining temperature low as well. Depending on outside temperature and amount of time working will determine the amount of time the ice lasts in best. I did about 1 1/2 hrs and the ice was completely thawed in some areas but partially frozen still in other areas. I was comfortable the whole time as far as temp went. You can also purchase ice cube sets that are pre-cut to fit each panel of mesh inserts. You can get the additional inserts needed and keep them pre-frozen in freezer or portable ice chest so you do not run out of frozen panels in the middle of working. I purchased a portable chest with compressor so it can get down to -4 degrees C. I can place everything in ice chest to freeze it and keep it frozen until using. This system works in insuring I have a cold ice vest available at all times, one frozen on stand-by already in mesh inserts that only need to be switched out with thawed ice packs and you can have frozen as many sets as you would like. Polyurethane portion is washable in machine. This one and refills are not cheap but they do get the job done and keep you from melting. Using a portable freezer that you have with you and keep pre-frozen ice pack sets in insures you constantly have cooling. You can also find decent, cheap ice chest freezers on Amazon as well.

I bought this for mowing grass, and other yardwork, in the summer heat. I'm getting old enough to worry about strokes and heart attacks. I also overheat quickly and then have blinding headaches that last hours, after just mowing for an hour. This best fixed that problem. No headaches, no overheating. It IS a little heavy, as it's basically several pounds of ice hanging from your shoulders. That's not a problem for me, though. This vest is worth the money, if you have the freezer space to store the ice packs. Adjustable, sturdy, comfortable to wear. Probably life saving. Definitely life improving!

Not built for busty women and it smells like chemicals

I work in a factory in their warehouse where temps are in the 90s and sometimes 100s. I bought this to help me survive, but was leary of spending $99. This product helped kepp my core temp cool. Not only that, but I was able to work longer and stay focused when everyone else is on the verge of dropping. I am so sold on this product tgat I'm trying to get work to buy a few for target areas. Reason being, it improved my daily life at work and after work. Now I don't stagger home and die every day! The bungie cords on the sides can extend a lot and I'm just over 200 lbs with a lot of leftover bungie. The only issues with the velcro so far is it tends to catch on my hand and shoulder brace as well as my hair net at work when I am putting it back on. Yes there is some condensation, but I would be soaked with sweat anyways, so I'll take the condensation and being more comfortable in my work environment. I suggest buying at least one back up set of ice packs with the panels. These last 1-2 hours for me. I also but the pack of 3 ice cube sheets with 88 cubes to cut up and replace in the panels, so I have 4 refills altogether for a work day. I suggest rounding the edges to make installments easier. There is no doubt you won't win the office fashion award, and I wish these ame in yellow with safety reflectors so I could eliminate an extra piece of gear, but I am extremely satisfied and envied by all my heat suffering coworkers. If you are bigger than what the bungie cords will stretch to, call customer service and ask for longer bungies to be sent. I saw one reviewer mention this issue. **It's been 2 years since I purchased this vest and a back set of refill panels. I love this! It's durable and does its job great. Still working in a factory and can't recommend this enough. On a side note, if you get the vest, I recommend getting 1 back up set of the inserts for quick exchange. If you don't have the luxury of being able to change out the individual sections when you need too, of course more would be good if you can afford it. I highly recommend buying the 3 pack sheets of ice cubes, 88 cubes in a sheet, and cutting them up in sections just like what comes in the panels for the vest. It's like $21 for those 3 sheets vs one set of backup panels for $34.just round the corners as you cut so they slide in better.