How DO you Keep your Cool in the suit?

ok heres my idea install small compressor hoses throughout the body suit with pin holes poked all over it with one end capped and the connection valve attached to the outside of the suit from the inside and have a portable compressor handy like a two gallon and hook it up when it gets hot or make a predator cooling station at cons if this idea blows up and is common in most suits
 
I on the other hand condition myself by sitting in my garage for hours with a bag on my body I live in las vegas it gets over 120 degrees in my garage
 
Heck, these suits are expensive enough to build, may as well spend a couple hundred more and go create a DIY LCVG Suit.

1) Attach thin polyvinyl hose throughout the inside of a lycra bodysuit.
2) Hide a couple CPU Liquid Cooling Radiators in your backpacks.
3) Convince honus how to make it all work off of rechargable R/C car batteries and on/off switch in computer gaunt.
4) Build

Just an idear...

Or just purchase a pre-fabbed Mascot Cooling Kit
 
Ice packs sound like a really good idea, but there so many other ingenious things to keep you cool as posted above! It good if you can incorporate the cooling systems into your suit, or hide them, that would work really well and not diminish the overall look. The fans sound like a good idea, but are they noisey? Or are they pretty small like those electric hand held foam ones?
 
Ice packs sound like a really good idea, but there so many other ingenious things to keep you cool as posted above! It good if you can incorporate the cooling systems into your suit, or hide them, that would work really well and not diminish the overall look. The fans sound like a good idea, but are they noisey? Or are they pretty small like those electric hand held foam ones?

The specs on the Thermaltake fans reads: 16 ~ 30 dBA which puts it pretty damn low. That's just an example, too. If noise is an issue, quieter fans could be used on the radiator with some modding. Here's an 8.7dBA fan, just as an example (Hell, I may have to order a couple of these just for my home rig, LOL)...

I have no idea on the Mascot kits, but again, you could probably mod...
 
For someone who was going the route of latexing up a Mr. Incredible suit or similar, would it be prudent to leave certain areas (under the crotch, armpits, center of the back) bare (no latex)? I mean, these areas would be covered up with the armor pieces, but you might get a bit more air movement than being all closed up in a 100% rubber suit.

Alternatively, what about building some packs into the suit in the crotch and armpit areas (and maybe a pack built into the collar) to help cool you down by taking advantage of the major arteries in your body that run in those areas?
 
These are all really great ideas mind you that the original post was something that I had thought of to place in small pockets that fit the individual muscle group, shape, both front, and back to keep you cool that way depending on your suit build you would still look like a Predator. The camelpack is one idea however I will be using my backpack for real life medical tools that were used in both P1, P2, & AVP-R movies respectfully to keep the realism in there, so the camelpack is a no go for me not bad idea though.
 
I was debating on cutting slits in the armpits and the underside of the crotch area to exhaust heat, but wasn't sure if that would lead to unwanted tearing
 
I was debating on cutting slits in the armpits and the underside of the crotch area to exhaust heat, but wasn't sure if that would lead to unwanted tearing
Depending on your range of movement and your activities in the suit it very well might, but then again even w/o them you still have the potential of tearing somewhere.
 
For someone who was going the route of latexing up a Mr. Incredible suit or similar, would it be prudent to leave certain areas (under the crotch, armpits, center of the back) bare (no latex)? I mean, these areas would be covered up with the armor pieces, but you might get a bit more air movement than being all closed up in a 100% rubber suit.

Alternatively, what about building some packs into the suit in the crotch and armpit areas (and maybe a pack built into the collar) to help cool you down by taking advantage of the major arteries in your body that run in those areas?


The heat problem is the primary reason why I did not latex my suit, but left it as plain cloth. I live in Florida, where it's in the 80's even in the dead of winter, and mid-90's in the summer, with humidity often near 100%. Down here, overheating is not simply a matter of comfort--it's literally a matter of life and death. In summer, wearing an enclosed latex suit can kill you in as little as 20 minutes.

Even with just a plain-cloth suit, it gets awfully hot wearing the suit. Since I use my suit mostly for making fan films, I only wear it for half an hour or so at a time, then take it off to cool down. If I were to wear it for a long time, for a convention or something, I'd go the ice-pack route.

If you live in a hot climate like Florida or New Mexico, this is not a problem to be trifled with. Heat stroke kills.
 
If I were to wear it for a long time, for a convention or something, I'd go the ice-pack route.
If you live in a hot climate like Florida or New Mexico, this is not a problem to be trifled with. Heat stroke kills.
Or if you live in Arizona where it gets to as high as 116 yeah you need something like a cooling system for the heat we have. I used to live in Florida, so I know where you are coming from man.
 
Or if you live in Arizona where it gets to as high as 116 yeah you need something like a cooling system for the heat we have. I used to live in Florida, so I know where you are coming from man.


The bad part is that I really like the shiny "reptilian" skin look that latex gives, but alas latexing the suit is just not an option in Florida--it could very well be lethal. I've wracked my brains trying to come up with a way to achieve the same shiny look with something else that won't trap heat, and I've considered everything from spray-on acrylic to painting the whole thing with watered-down Elmers Glue. But everything I can think of, will seal in body heat just as much as latex does. I even considered making a bodysuit out of satin or silk, to get that shiny finish, but then painting onto it just covers the shine anyway.

If anyone has any ideas for a shiny finish that still allows air and body heat to pass through, I'd sure appreciate the help.
 
I did the slit in the crotch with velcro to close if need be to act as a vent and a "pee hole". Under the armpits i used slits, i cut the inside lining of gym pants out, kind of like a mesh material, and glued it into the inside of the suit, but covering the holes. Waa Laa, arm pit vents
 
here is mine (in red). They do come in different sizes.

CamelBak.jpg



different image of someone wearing one.

camel_HydraProMini.jpg


Ok dude you have the same idea as me. ;) im just thinking if you take the toob that supplies the water be the "air supply cored" that is linked to the bio mask. with another toop thats in the bio mask that comes up to your mouth. this way it looks authentic for taking a bio mask off and seeing the face only a mother could love lol. oh but the toob to the bio can be connected and disconnected.
 
ok yah i c what your getting at with the temp in florida (i have family there), well what you could do is maybe a light layer or 1-2-3 of liquid latex. won't be as hot and still give you that shiny skin look, or do what in going to only put latex where the skin is exposed. like were you have armor don't put latex there.
 
I've worn a cooling collar and a cooling vest under my suit a couple of different times, the brand I used wasn't bulky and stayed cool for about 2 hours. I do have the crotch hole and I wear an open face undermask so I can get air through my mesh bio lens. THere's no doubt about it a latex pred suit is like wearing a full body condom, but with a mix of cooling systems and a strategically placed camel back (as picture above) you might get away with wearing the suit for awhile with out keeling over.
 
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