Doug, I'm not sure that the cooling vest will work very well in the high humidity of the Gulf Coast. They work fairly well out here where our humidity is 10-30%, but my memories of working in the oil field along the Gulf Coast from Morgan City, LA, to Brownsville, TX, are that not much of anything worked when it got that hot. I probably drank 3-4 gallons of water on days when I was working on drilling rigs along the Gulf Coast. Gatorade hadn't been invented yet, and I would occasionally supplement my water with salt tablets. Acclimatization was the single biggest factor in being able to work in the heat down there. Good luck!
Well, if I haven't acclimatized by age 70, I doubt if I ever will.
I've lived in Miami, coastal Georgia, Vietnam and here in deep south Texas (and sundry other places), and I never have been able to get used to humidity. The only place I lived with low humidity was Albuquerque - and I miss that place!!
I've been following the good advice found on this forum. I'm now wearing LD Comfort underwear on long trips - and tried to soak the shirt yesterday during my ride home from Houston. The last two hours were in 105 degree heat. The soaked LD idea worked okay, but just didn't last long. Yes - I wear a mesh jacket, and that reduces both the effectiveness and the duration of the cooling, but the budget isn't ready for another jacket just yet.
I also bought (at your advice) a Bags Connection tank bag, and kept two bottles of water in it: one for drinking and the other for drenching my shirt - just like Rick advised. I kept well hydrated.
Bottom line was that I didn't pee orange when I got home.
I think the soaked LD worked okay, so I'll try the Macna vest to see if it works a bit better - and longer. You are correct in that the vest won't work as well in the high humidity as it will in the desert, but the constant air blowing over the body while cruising at 75 mph should enhance the evaporation somewhat.
Once way to find out, eh?