Spent $400 on a high-vis vest with a built-in cooling pack last summer, and it was the best money I ever burned on a hot jobsite.

3 comments

3 Comments

Yeah, I read an article about those phase change materials in the good vests. It's not just about being wet, it's about holding a steady temperature. A soaked vest swings from cold to hot real fast once the water warms up or dries. The fancy ones are designed to keep you at a safe temp for a long shift, which is the whole point. That's why the price is so different from a regular vest.

grayw323mo ago

Man, that's a steep price. I just soaked a regular vest in cold water and got the same effect for free.

the_hugo3mo ago

The cooling vests I've seen use special crystals that hold water and stay cold for hours. A soaked cotton vest might feel cool at first, but it dries out and gets warm in maybe twenty minutes. The real difference is the length of time you get that cooling effect.