Cosplay is cooler this way! Cool vest to beat the heat

[JaySee1983]

Greeting great people of the RPF!

Imagine you are at Comic-Con and you see the great, the awesome, the Invincible Iron Man...laying on the ground from heat exhaustion :cry. What a tragedy. Some person took all that time and effort to construct a Foamie/Fiberglass suit but couldn't enjoy it because they didn't take the necessary precautions to ensure that the time they had showing off their costume was an enjoyable time. Too much work goes into making our costumes and we should be able to enjoy them!

So whether you are taking on the reapers in you foam N7 armor or battling The Mandarin in your Mark VII Iron Man suit be sure to keep cool and stay hydrated. I am currently working on a homemade, inexpensive cool vest that will be worn under some custom foam armor I am making for a kids church mascot. Here are the plans for the vest:

• Two 10" x 13" softouch gel packs- One for the chest and one for the back
• A durable, cheap shirt that I will make the vest out of. The softouch packs weigh about 3 pounds each.
• Velcro for the straps on the vest
• Sew or glue some pouches on the inside of the shirt for the gel packs to go in.

Above is a simple picture of the design.

Here are some websites for resource purposes:

Amazon.com: SofTouch Hot & Cold Pack - Cervical 6" x 20": Health & Personal Care

This is the softouch gel packs I plan on using. According to user reviews they do not sweat so your clothes will not get wet and the gel is covered with fabric so no worrying about frost bite. One woman purchased these for her husband who is a police officer and he wears them under his vest. He states they stay cool for about four hours. This is for the cheaper homemade vest method. Total cost for gel packs are about $20 bucks plus shipping and whatever price you pay for the shirt you use.

Cool Sport: Advanced Technology Body Cooling & Heating Vest Products !

This is the more expensive method but to those who are serious cosplayers and would rather spend money than more time it is probably a good way to go. I personally can not vouch for their product but the idea their product promotes is sound. This company also has a video showing how their product works on the same website. This vest will cost you around $170 bucks plus shipping.

Hope this helps everyone out!!! :cool Stay cool cosplayers!!!

 

[tjs5701]

New to the group. I also have a cooling vest that you may be interested in. You can see them at coolvest.com. Feel free to contact me with any questions. Perhaps we can work out a discount for members?

 

[Onephattsi2]

This is a really good idea, the only problem with using ice packs, is that there is no way to regulate the temperature... It is freezing cold, almost dangerously cold to start, then just gets warmer as you do.......

I have researched a ton on the veskimo vests, and have contacted them about a vest to use with my iron man suit. Unfortunately, they dont have a self contained unit, as of now, that is small enough to work with my suit.......

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[Murdoch]

I've thought of the very same thing...GM

 

[Ciano930]

That would work better at the nape of the neck.

 

[JaySee1983]

True...it would be hard to regulate the temperature. I was more going off of a review I read on Amazon. A lady said that her husband, a police officer was getting too hot putting on all his gear and standing outside on patrol so she bought him the softouch gel packs and he loves them. Perhaps it is because he is always out in the sun though so he never gets too cold. If a person is indoors at a convention they may get too cold. Perhaps using smaller packs that produce a lower radius od coldness may work?

 

[Fithian]

We have coolvests in the fire service we use in hazmat suits and they are a LIFE SAVER, no pun intended.

 

[JaySee1983]

We have coolvests in the fire service we use in hazmat suits and they are a LIFE SAVER, no pun intended.

I bet they are. I imagine those suits could get very humid especially have to do physical work in them.

- - - Updated - - -

New to the group. I also have a cooling vest that you may be interested in. You can see them at coolvest.com. Feel free to contact me with any questions. Perhaps we can work out a discount for members?

Not sure how that works on this site. Perhaps you need to contact the administrative staff with your idea. I do know they usually don't want people selling things on the forum until they have been a member for at least a month and have over 40 posts.