I thought now would be a good time to ask about this...
 

Has anyone here ever tried a cooling vest, or any of the other vest-like or shirt-like things that some MSers use to keep cool in the summer time??

What's a good brand to buy?

What's a good AND CHEAP brand to buy?

What's a good and cheap AND NOT UGLY brand to buy?

I wonder if I can MacGyver something together to use as a cooling vest, that's not going to be ugly. I dont know how to make clothing (yet. Gonna take sewing classes) otherwise I'd attempt to make something that at least wont be as ugly as the cooling vests I've been Googling some today.

Since it's not summer yet, and it's not all that warm where I live right now, I figured I'd start asking about cooling vests now instead of later this spring.

Erin
The MSAA has a catalogue that you might want to look at. It can be found at http://www.msassociation.org/PDFs/co...log%202008.pdf

a lot of their stuff is either free of low cost. They have a lending program that you might want to check into.

I've tried one once, Erin. I am your basic bowl of Jell-O in any real heat with humidity. It wasn't a good choice for me, I found that the weight interfered with what's left of my very poor balance.

I've learned to manage my core cooling using my hands and feet and just plain old ice, or a couple gel ice packs when I'm not able to get ice easily.

I didnt have that much of a problem last summer with the heat, but it was only super hot for a few weeks last year. I do remember feeling like I couldnt walk very far when my boyfriend wanted to go for a walk downtown at the riverfront last year. He was a bit clueless and didnt realize why I stopped by a fountain and didnt walk any further. (the fountain was in the shade, and there was some spray coming off the fountain that felt GREAT!

I'm just wondering if I should be a bit worried about the heat this year, since I've had another optic neuritis (this time in the "good eye") and I have a bit more numbness in my feet and toes now.

I never did like summertime...altho I did enjoy the heat I felt when I was in a desert area of Texas several years back. That heat was comfortable...but the heat up here in "armpit of Nebraska" is so oppressively hot...now I kind of understand why when I used to work in places that had no air conditioning to speak of, I was constantly getting heatstroke.

I work in the heat, Erin, and it really bothers me. I carry an ice chest around in my car with bandanas in it that I wrap around my neck. That works pretty good. Shared Solutions sent me some that I can freeze and they work pretty well. As long as I keep my hands and feet cool, and keep myself hydrated I do pretty good.

I have a cooling scarf and vest from arctic heat. It's bright blue, LOL. Definitely see me coming.

It's not as heavy as some of the others, but it's good for about an hour in the heat. Good for going to festivals for short periods of time. Usually tired from walking around anyways by that point. The biggest problem is that once it stops cooling - it makes one very hot quickly.

The scarf seems to be more helpful than the vest at cooling me down, tho I think it's because I have it right on my skin. Either that, or the back of the neck helps a lot temp wise.

But this is my own experience with it.

I don't like to wear anything tight or fitted. (Ironically, I finally put on enough weight to endow me a bit and I can't wear anything tight.:p)

So I have to improvise. I take the ice packs that come with Copaxone with me in the car where ever I go. I also have a fishing vest with lots of pockets and I put the ice packs in them if I am going to be outside for longer than a minute. Hey, I live in the SW - 1 minute outside in the summer will fry you. That 50 - 100 ft walk to my car exhausts me.

I also wear loose, lightweight, light colored clothes. This helps keep me cool as well.

I simply, don't go outside on hot humid days, just as in the winter, I don't go out on cold, icy, snowy days.

I'm a hot house plant..:D

Last summer, my wardrobe consisted of skorts (shorts that look like a skirt) and plain t-shirts. (the kind you get for about $5 at in the men's department at WalMart)

My shoes all year round, unless it's raining are Crocs. (I'll wear them in snow if it isnt too deep)

Last year when I went to the Zoo with my friends, I carried frozen bottles of water. Drank the water as it melted, and used the bottles to cool myself down by putting them on my neck, or just holding them in my hands.

I'm looking for another way to protect myself from really bad heat tho. Not sure if my boyfriend will "approve", but I might try to rent an electric scooter from the Zoo the next time I go there with him. Maybe I wouldnt get too overheated if I ride instead of walk.

But, our Zoo is fairly well accessible. There's lots of areas around with air conditioning. Water fountains all over the place. Misters (big spraying sprinklers) and the coolest (temperature-wise) place is in the Aquarium...at the Penguin display.

The Omaha Zoo (The Henry Doorly Zoo) is probably one of the best in the world.

I stay in my basement a lot in the summer. It's usually a constant 65 degrees down here. And in the summertime, it's occasionally colder because our upstairs is so warm in the summertime, makes the a/c run pretty hard.

Not sure what it'll be like this summer. Our air conditioner crapped out on us last August, and we replaced it with a heat pump. Not sure how well the heat pump is going to cool the basement now.