Review: Techniche Elite Hybrid Sport Vest

[macdude357]

A couple of weeks ago, I asked if anyone had used any of the phase-change cooling vests at the track and only got a couple of responses. So I bought one and used it at Chuckwalla over Memorial Day weekend. The temps hit about 99 that day.

You can see pictures of the vest here

Off the top there are a couple of things to note. The "gel" packs have velcro tabs at the top so they stay in place. Also, the sizing on the vest is about a size smaller than you'd think. According to the charts, 38-40 inch chest is an XL. That said, I measured myself at 40 inches and bought the XL thinking that if it were a bit tight, the mesh sides would allow some room. In reality, the vest is a tad loose and I probably could have gotten a size smaller. It also comes with a soft side "cooler" bag.

The night before, I froze a few one liter water bottles and threw the gel packs in the fridge. The next morning, I threw the now solid gel packs and the water bottles into the bag and headed for the track. I ran the first couple of sessions with no cooling in order to see if the vest helped at all. I wore an Under Armor shirt under the vest, with a cotton t-shirt over the vest.

In between my 2nd and 3rd sessions, I wet the vest and used it solely in evaporation mode (no gel packs). It worked pretty well thanks to the fact that there was a decent breeze blowing. Certainly cooler than if I didn't have it at all. Had I needed to work on the car, I think it really would have helped. I then put the gel packs in prior to going out for my 3rd session.

The first session with the vest went very well. I thought that the solid packs might be uncomfortable but while I noticed them at first, once I was driving I didn't notice at all (I'm using stock 3 point seat belts). The vest was very cold the entire session.

I kept the vest on the rest of the day and just removed my t-shirt when not driving to better aid the cooling. The last session, the vest was not as cool as the first session. Next time, I think I will return the gel packs to the cooler to "recharge" them in between sessions.

Bottom line is that if you don't want to shell out for the Cool Shirt and trying to figure out how to mount the hardware and don't mind the extra bulk, I think this is a good fairly low cost solution. Since it's more portable, it can be used for other events as well. I've got a Schroth QFPro on order. I'll report back after using it with the more restrictive harness.