I first came across ice vests in industry, where I wore them under sandblasting protective suits, inside hot oil tanks, and in certain hot areas of the plant. I’ve used them at home working in the attic in the summer, where coveralls are worn to keep the fiberglass out, but also trap the heat in.
At the boat yard, more and more, we recognize the need to keep toxic boat yard chemicals off our skin (see “Boat Yard Chemical Wisdom,” Practical Sailor July 2017) by wearing protective clothing. A few years ago I spent hours inside a tent grinding fiberglass, part of the process of extending my boat two feet and modifying the keels. It was horrible, wearing a full-face respirator and coveralls, with temperatures near 120F in the tent. So I think cooling vests have mid-summer applications for sailors as well.
The concept is simple; a simple vest holds 8-12 ice packs against your core, preventing serious overheating when coveralls or Tyvek suits must be worn. You wear a tee shirt or two under the vest to insulate your skin from local cold spots.
Before you even get suited up, the ice packs will begin dripping and you will find yourself drenched, but it won’t be sweat and you won’t overheat. A set of ice packs lasts 40-80 minutes, depending on temperature and the level of exertion, and they are easily swapped with the fresh set you brought in a cooler (you did remember that, right?).
There are also evaporative cooling vests, which use evaporation from a wetted fabric to keep you cool. Obviously, these don’t work very well inside a Tyvek suit, and not well at all in most humid boating locations. We’re not talking about these and have not found them very useful.
Pleasant? Not really. But they absolutely can protect you from heat exhaustion while wearing personal protection equipment in summer temperatures. Definitely recommended if you feel a compulsion to strip paint or grind fiberglass in the mid-summer’s heat.
You can find the vests online from companies like Grainger Industrial that supply equipment to industrial workers. They cost around $30. There are also evaporative cooling vests, which use evaporation from a wetted fabric and cost about $80 to $150. Obviously, these will not work at all inside a Tyvek suit.
Drew Frye is Technical Editor for Practical Sailor and author of Rigging Modern Anchors . He also blogs at his website www.blogspot.sail-delmarva.com.
