Ice Jacket Right Before A Time Trial???

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by JamesAA
Before Pinot was about to go on hi TT the cameras showed him warming up on the stationary. Looked like a fan was blowing on him. But just minutes before he started the TT, he was sitting down on a bench wearing an ice jacket. I thought riders wanted to have their bodies warm right before they go.

There's lots of studies about it, nothing necessarily particularly conclusive:

biomedcentral.com166Open ↗

Is a review, that doesn't suggest that ice garments are that great, but is very much pro the idea of cooling. It's not unsurprising really when heat is such a limitation that everyone experiences, starting off cool helps!

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by JamesAA

So I'm confused as to why Pinot wore the ice jacket. Personally I don't perform as well in the heat. I like my leg muscles "warmed up," but I do not like being hot. I feel I have much more endurance on cooler days.

I'd like some insight on this topic if anyone can share.

Thanks 🙂

When I was younger ...

At any stop for food or water, a cold water hose on the neck was useful in lowering the internal temperature.

I expect a hose would be better than an ice vest. But an ice vest is better than nothing.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by JamesAA
I like my leg muscles "warmed up," but I do not like being hot.

I believe you answered your own question. Legs (and circulatory system) warm, body cool. Apparently something like 1/5 of available energy is used to combat heat accumulation. It's the reason one can put out way more watts indoors with fans blowing... less energy is used for heat dissapation. Not sure how it works once the event is underway, then again I am not a pro rider or a pro coach.

I bought an ice vest for a few hot TTs last summer (starting temps around 80F). I wore it on the trainer while warming up and I felt much MUCH better than I had in other races that were that hot when I hit the start line.

I was also willing to push harder in the warmup (on this day, it was only a 7.7 mile TT) since I was not worried about overheating.

I'd recommend giving one a try.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by tomw1974

I'd recommend giving one a try.

Tom, which brand did you buy if you don't mind answering?

I would like to consider this for indoor training in general where I am struggling to control the room temperature and as a side result core temperature when training.

As I was researching yesterday I found a webpage that reviewed a number of vests and the Artic Heat is one that interests me, but it warned about having enough freezer space to layout the vest flat. It made sense that if it is folded and/or stuffed in the freezer it will not unfold well. I have a side by side refrigerator that has a very narrow and small compartments in the freezer that is jammed packed full of food as it is. I can maybe fold the vest into quarters to squeeze it in if it will unfold okay.

What do you have and your experience in placing the vest or cooler packs (in some versions) in the freezer. If it is a vest that just hold cooler packs that may be the type that I may have to get.

Well I got a bit too excited about this and made an order for the Kewfit PEV from Amazon

http://www.kewlfit.com/Men's%20-%20PEV.htm

I plan on using this for all indoor training in most seasons. Even during the winter I could stand to use it once I get deeper into the higher intensity intervals.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Felt_Rider
Well I got a bit too excited about this and made an order for the Kewfit PEV from Amazon

http://www.kewlfit.com/Men's%20-%20PEV.htm

I plan on using this for all indoor training in most seasons. Even during the winter I could stand to use it once I get deeper into the higher intensity intervals.

Was that the cheapest deal around? Amazon is sometimes more exxy than my local shops for some reason.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by baker3

Was that the cheapest deal around?

For this item it really came down to being a limited choice since cooling vests for sports are somewhat limited. I ended up purchasing this particular vest from Amazon because I trust them as an online seller and I know that know of my local shops would carry an item like this because it such an unusual cycling item. There are a multitude of other cooling vests that are marketed toward those who suffer with MS and for people who work in very hot temperatures. Those vests are loose fitting or will likely feel uncomfortable to wear during training. There are just a few that look like they are made to suit athletes.

There were a couple of other places that sold this and other vests slightly cheaper than Amazon, but when I tried to process the order I got an automated warning message from the internet security software concerning the website. As a test I sent messages to those sellers questions and they did not reply. There were no phone numbers on the websites either. Too many red flags to continue on with the orders to save a few dollars so I opted to go the safer approach. I received a note from Amazon last night that the vest has been shipped and it is scheduled to arrive next week. I'll give it try for a few weeks and do a blog review.

________________

On a different note...........

I must say that my expectation is just to help me get back that 1 to 2% performance loss due to heat in the room. For the most part I am hitting my prescribed structure training targets during these hot/humid months, but I see barely hitting the target compared to progressing is in fact stagnated progress. In other words I am fighting just to maintain fitness that I gained earlier in the year. There are some that would opt to embrace the hot room as if to see heat acclimation as a benefit, but I am not struggling with the outdoor hot temperatures so I do not place that much value in the heat acclimation attribute. As RDO mentioned on a different thread my goal is to get my training room to where excuses are weeded out and my focus is on hitting and sustaining those training targets so that I gain rather than fight stagnation and detraining. This cooling vest may help me or it may not. I have some other issues like heavy workload deadlines at the moment that are worse than the heat issue.......ugh.

Here are some links that I bookmarked while researching

Sports Science
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov16076740Open ↗
jap.physiology.org1867Open ↗
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov14698992Open ↗
ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMC1748408Open ↗

Sports Cooling Vests (just a few that I looked at)
icevests.comcooling vest.htmlOpen ↗ (this is probably the sleekest vest for athletes, but just a tad more cash)
http://www.kewlfit.com/Men's%20-%20PEV.htm (the one I purchased and same link as above)
hyperwear.comcooling vest.htmlOpen ↗
techniche-intl.comcooling vest review by chronicmx usa jan 2012.htmlOpen ↗

FWIW, I have ordered the Arctic Heat ice vest product. We have 3+ months here when the oat is > 90F by 9AM and my performance really suffers in heat. For indoor rides, my trainers are in a room with full hvac and I have a good fan so no problem there. But, after reading about the effects of heat on performance I decided to try to drop my room temp by 30F. That turns out to be a big deal and big bucks, so I am going to give the ice vest a try indoors as well. But, when I have the time I'm going to spec out a major remodel to my cycling room: temp control down to 45F and altitude control to 20K feet, plus the usual state-of-the-art audio/video systems.[IMG]files.cyclingforums.combig smile.pngOpen ↗[/IMG]

I had a chance to try out the Arctic Heat Ice Vest today and couldn't be more pleased. I put it in the freezer overnight and did a 2.5 hour ride in temps of 90-95F. The vest gel packs were still cold after 3 hours (the company's documentation says 2 hours). I was more comfortable in those temps than ever before. I plan to use it on my trainer as well, even though my trainer room is at room temperature and I have a good fan. But, I'd love to drop the temp anyway. This is a great product, really well made and a great fit.

Felt, I am anxious to know what you think of yours. Please post a short review when you have used it a few times.

Short update. I put my Arctic Heat Ice Vest in my freezer yesterday after my ride folded in half on each axis and with no wax paper or anything else separating the overlapping surfaces. This morning it was a bit stiff but unfolded immediately with no problem. This is a great product and I wish I had discovered it years ago. (Did I say I hate riding in the heat?)

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by BrianMacDonald
Felt, I am anxious to know what you think of yours. Please post a short review when you have used it a few times.

Will do

I've been considering RDO's reviews of the Artic Heat. I like that it is thinner and it is staying cold more than 2 hours. Plus the big issue for me is the lack of freezer space and he is able to fold to freeze and unfold it for use.

Mine is supposed to show about Wednesday so I have to make a choice to return it before using. They will not let you return it for hygiene reasons if it has been used so I will have to make a judgment based on looks and a dry test fit. I give an update as soon as I settle in on the choice.

No doubt this vest with inserted cooling gel packs has to be heavier and bulkier than the Artic Heat vest. However, I have decided to keep it and give it a try maybe this evening. Since I plan to use this vest for indoor training only I am okay with it feeling heavy. The bottom picture shows the inside with 4 pockets to insert the freezer packs. I left one pack out to see what it looks like. The instruction say it takes about 45 minutes for the packs to freeze. It also came with an insulated carry bag. I hope to give more details later. I may remove those cinch strings from the side later. The vest feels snug enough by itself. I struggled with the heat last night for indoor training so I sure look forward to giving it a try.

[IMG]cyclingforums.com1000Open ↗[/IMG]
[IMG]cyclingforums.com1000Open ↗[/IMG]