Mini Review: Techniche Evaporative Cooling Vest from MotorcycleHouse dot Com

Thank you to the friendly people from MotorcycleHouse.com I am in possession of a garment which I really needed last year when I was riding across the Country in sweltering 100°F heat.  It is not an item usually found around Vancouver as we are on the Coast where we seldom get extreme temperatures.  I recently wrote about these products  HERE  on a previous blog post.

Until the past few days we had been experiencing our usual share of rain but last week we had a slight break in the weather.  It was a bit cool on the morning commute as you noticed on my Formotion Temperature gauge which also came from MotorcyceHouse.com       I finally had a chance to mount it on my handlebar and get a feel for it's accuracy

I find that the cooler morning air is refreshing and keeps you alert whilst riding but it was forecast to be a bit warmer on the way home so I brought my Techniche Evaporative Cooling Vest to work with me

I took it out of the package and removed the tags

It didn't seem too bulky.  For a garment designed for hot weather use it was light and well made with lots of cross stitching, presumably to hold the absorbent material in its place

I generally like to wear dry clothes so this was counter intuitive to have to soak it in water and get it dripping wet.   The directions are on one of the tags.   you thoroughly soak the Techniche Evaporative Cooling Vest  TECV until it is saturated, then you wring it out so it doesn't drip, and finally you get to wear it

Now, at home I would soak it in our sink but at work I was not so sure.   Also when you are "on the road" you cannot be sure how clean the sink would be so I decided that I would just "hose it down" just like I would do at a gas station when I was touring.   Or perhaps you could find a garden hose somewhere

I turned it around and tried to get it wet from all directions

Then I decided to unzip the TECV and soak it inside out

After a while it seemed to be holding a lot of water so I decided to wring it out so that it was "wet" but not dripping wet.   Since it was not really a hot day, I used "warm" water rather than "cold" water.   Did I mention that I have never used a cooling vest before so this was a test for me too

I realize that as the water evaporates it gives a cooling effect so you don't want it to dry out too fast.   I have read that you should wear it Under a riding jacket and over technical garmets which you don't mind getting a bit wet/moist .   This is what Sash recommended on a previous comment when she said not to wear my vest on top of bare skin

It's hard to take a photo with wet hands and then handle my camera so I used the reflection from our washroom mirror.   I have on a tank top, with a polyester V neck and then on top I am wearing a waterlogged  Techniche Evaporative Cooling Vest.

On top of that I am now wearing my riding jacket.   I decided to open the vents to get some air flow so the vest could start the evaporative process and keep me cool

It is now after work and I am getting ready for my commute home   Notice that it is around 80°F as indicated by my Formotion Temperature gauge  (from Motorcyclehouse.com)  .   Not really that warm to have to use a vest but enough heat for me to give it a first test.   Remember that I only used warm water this time

My commute isn't that far as far as distance is concerned.   Only 25 kms but in heavy urban traffic with lots of signal lights and it can take over an hour with the sun beating down at every signal light.    This day it took over 45 minutes and here I am at home

I decided many years ago to always wear riding gear.  This means riding boots, long socks, riding jacket, gloves and riding pants.   Of course they are all black and absorbs heat.  On a day like this I would be sweating by the time I got home.   Wearing this Evaporative Vest helped a lot.  I was still feeling the cooling effect, all the way home and the vest was still wet, so there was more cooling left

I changed out of my dress shirt before I left work as I wanted to keep it dry

and here you can see the wetness of my tank top.  I can tell you it was refreshing to have this coolness while riding home.   I am certain that on a hotter day and using cold water it would certainly be more comfortable with this vest,  over not having one at all

I am glad to have this Vest and I believe it will make your ride more comfortable in Hot weather.   Sweat or be cool,  your choice and you too can have your own   (you can buy one here)      MotorcycleHouse.com   great people and fast shipping.    Check them out when you have time.    They may have what you are looking for.