Last year, there was a good discussion here about the various ways to stay cool during the hot summer months. http://www.nt-owners.org/forums/showthread.php?7569-Cooling-Vests&highlight=Macna One of the many options that was mentioned was the Macna Dry Cooling Vest. (http://www.twistedthrottle.com/macna-dry-cooling-vest) I bought one recently and had my first chance to test and evaluate it on May 12 during a 475 mile ride to San Antonio and back.
First - sizing. Wayne had some problems with sizing when he ordered his. The Twisted Throttle web site tells you to order your t-shirt size. Wayne did so and the vest was way too small for him. I emailed Kevin, the spokesperson on the video from Twisted Throttle, gave him my t-shirt size as "large", and he advised me to get a XXL-3XL. It fit perfectly. That would be my first recommendation to TT - change the sizing advice on the site.
The conditions during the May 12 ride weren't the best to really evaluate the vest. Here in deep south Texas, it is a tropical and very humid environment and I wanted to see if the Macna would perform in that weather. When I left the house at 7am, the temp was 78 degrees with a dew point of 73. In other words, very sticky. But, most of the day was spent riding under cloud cover and the temps never got to typical south Texas levels. It was in the mid-80s in San Antonio and the highest temp I rode through was only 90. But - it was humid the entire ride. When I got home at 4:30 pm, the temp was 87 with a dew point of 75.
However, I took another ride on June 7-8 - an 800 mile round trip to Houston, and this time, the weather was more typical. When I checked into my motel room in Houston, the temperature was 95 with a dew point of 73. Both legs of the trip were high heat and humidity, with the highest being 98 in the small town of Falfurrias, Texas.
Next caveat - I wear mesh. My Motoport kevlar mesh jacket is the only riding jacket I own. In the other thread, there were a lot of posts about riding with a textile jacket and keeping only the arm vents open. That all makes sense to me, but the budget will have to wait until next year before buying another jacket.
I wore the vest over my LD Comfort base layer during both rides.
I didn't expect the vest to perform as well in high humidity as it would in the desert, but I also wanted to know if it would function at all.
Bottom line - it does work in high humidity. And - there is no sense off moisture on the skin. In other words, its not clammy.
But keep in mind, I don't mean you will be chilled, but the vest does work. Rick once made the comment that there is a difference between being comfortable and being safe. The Macna vest will not replicate being in a cage with air conditioning, but it will help keep you safe.
During the first ride, as I was going home, the vest didn't feel very cool. I stopped and took the vest off for awhile and I began to feel hotter. After another hour (or so), I stopped again, recharged the vest with more water, and immediately felt cooler. On the second trip, I didn't remove the vest, but when I stopped to refuel or drink some water, I noticed the vest was cool to the touch.
A thought for Macna:
Now that I've had a chance to test the vest under humid conditions, I assume it will work better in dryer conditions. When used in combination with LD Comfort underwear, the Macna is a keeper.
Updated June 9
First - sizing. Wayne had some problems with sizing when he ordered his. The Twisted Throttle web site tells you to order your t-shirt size. Wayne did so and the vest was way too small for him. I emailed Kevin, the spokesperson on the video from Twisted Throttle, gave him my t-shirt size as "large", and he advised me to get a XXL-3XL. It fit perfectly. That would be my first recommendation to TT - change the sizing advice on the site.
The conditions during the May 12 ride weren't the best to really evaluate the vest. Here in deep south Texas, it is a tropical and very humid environment and I wanted to see if the Macna would perform in that weather. When I left the house at 7am, the temp was 78 degrees with a dew point of 73. In other words, very sticky. But, most of the day was spent riding under cloud cover and the temps never got to typical south Texas levels. It was in the mid-80s in San Antonio and the highest temp I rode through was only 90. But - it was humid the entire ride. When I got home at 4:30 pm, the temp was 87 with a dew point of 75.
However, I took another ride on June 7-8 - an 800 mile round trip to Houston, and this time, the weather was more typical. When I checked into my motel room in Houston, the temperature was 95 with a dew point of 73. Both legs of the trip were high heat and humidity, with the highest being 98 in the small town of Falfurrias, Texas.
Next caveat - I wear mesh. My Motoport kevlar mesh jacket is the only riding jacket I own. In the other thread, there were a lot of posts about riding with a textile jacket and keeping only the arm vents open. That all makes sense to me, but the budget will have to wait until next year before buying another jacket.
I wore the vest over my LD Comfort base layer during both rides.
I didn't expect the vest to perform as well in high humidity as it would in the desert, but I also wanted to know if it would function at all.
Bottom line - it does work in high humidity. And - there is no sense off moisture on the skin. In other words, its not clammy.
But keep in mind, I don't mean you will be chilled, but the vest does work. Rick once made the comment that there is a difference between being comfortable and being safe. The Macna vest will not replicate being in a cage with air conditioning, but it will help keep you safe.
During the first ride, as I was going home, the vest didn't feel very cool. I stopped and took the vest off for awhile and I began to feel hotter. After another hour (or so), I stopped again, recharged the vest with more water, and immediately felt cooler. On the second trip, I didn't remove the vest, but when I stopped to refuel or drink some water, I noticed the vest was cool to the touch.
A thought for Macna:
- The instructions are quite specific that the wearer should not overfill the jacket - but it is very difficult to tell when the vest is empty. Perhaps some sort of "gauge" that would measure the moisture in the vest would be an objective way to indicate when it is time for another refill. Perhaps just a strip of material seen through a window. I refilled the vest once during the first ride, but I was not sure if it was indeed empty. I did not refill it during the six hour return leg of the second ride because I could still feel some liquid in the vest. I assume the evaporation process is just slower in the high humidity.
Now that I've had a chance to test the vest under humid conditions, I assume it will work better in dryer conditions. When used in combination with LD Comfort underwear, the Macna is a keeper.
Updated June 9
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