Summer Cooling Vest with 20 PCS Reusable Ice packs for Mascot,Teens,Men,Women, Fishing,Cycling,Running,Gardening

The one-size-fits-all is a little awkwardly proportioned and may not fit much larger torsos without adding a (not-included) strap to extend the sides but there is a good amount of adjustability with the side snap buckle straps and the velcro shoulders. The velcro in the shoulders are pretty small though, they feel just a bit on the short side to be worth including, but at least they are there and can be extended with velcro strips from the hardware store. The shoulder velcro could be useful for taking the vest on/off without removing headgear. The zipper pull is left-handed but slides easily, the zipper is plastic though so care should be taken to not damage them. As for the ice pack function, the pockets seem well made with good seams using sturdy looking thicker thread, and finished folded hems in each of the 6 pockets. The fabrics used also seem reassuringly rugged. The included ice packs (20 pieces when I bought this) obviously fit, but I found that I can also use Igloo brand Maxcold ice blocks, small (not included), which are rigid even melted but feel more rugged/leak resistant. The pockets have velcro, and the Igloo blocks still allow the pockets to be closed. I also confirmed that the ice pockets can fit 16 ounce reusable soft plastic flasks (not included), as long as I fill them to about 8-12 ounces, but those flasks are too tall to close the ice pockets. My preferred way of using this ice vest is 4x Maxcold packs in the back of the vest and 2x soft flasks filled with gel in the front vest pockets. The vest will feel pretty cold and then slowly warm up until it is probably too warm after 90-180 minutes in 90-100F weather, but that depends on the wearer and how much other fabric is worn between the wearer and the vest, and between the vest and outside weather. It also depends on the quality and size of the ice packs used and if they were frozen enough. If local weather is on the dry side and below 95F, and if there is at least a little breeze or a fan available, I suggest a PVA vest instead, it just needs to be rewetted every 60 minutes or so and can be done with a spray bottle. For more humid conditions this ice pack vest should work a lot better. Regardless, if you go with ice pack vest you want to bring a change of ice packs, enough to switch every 120 minutes until you have a better idea of how many changes and how often you need. You can reload the back pockets without fully removing the vest, but it involves unbuckling the side straps and rotating the vest so you can reach the back pockets, without accidentally unfastening the shoulders. Fully loaded, the vest does weigh about 6-8 pounds but the weight is distributed/balanced so it isn't too awkward. I liked the vest enough to also look for something similar for my head, but the only results were small flexible ice packs that could be worn under helmets or hats. This is a good addition to a heat-stress prevention kit for >95F temperatures or wetter/more humid conditions.

For the price I would recommend this and would give it as a gift. A few notes freezer bags that it comes with contain a powder that when you add water turns into a gel. Getting the water into the pack is a little tricky because there is a hole that you need to put the water through. I happened to have hard plastic straws that worked perfect for this task. I put the straws in a funnel then inserted the straws into the pack. Then I filled the funnel slowly with water. It is very important to slowly add the water and to overfill. If you overfill the water will come out and that is not good. I am not sure if the gel is toxic or not but the best thing is to just look at the recommended amount of water and put that amount or less into the pack. The cool thing about the pack is that once you pull out the straw itself seals so there is no Ziploc type attachment. They also provide you with many of these bags more than you need so you could potentially have a few times if you kept them in the cooler to refresh your vest. One thing to note is the more packs you add the heavier your vest will become. Never found the need to put multiple packs in the front and back because just a few packs in the front was more than enough to keep me cool. If I was going to an attic in the middle of the summer, I might consider using multiple packs in the front and the back, but knowing that I would be carrying extra weight and it might impede slightly on crawling through attic space. But if you are working in high heat situation, this vest might truly enable you to work for much longer before you might need to take a break. Last note is that when you're working and sweating in hot weather, you don't want to overcool because it can often make your muscles tighten up and cause muscle pain or back pain. I recommend using the smallest amount to enable you to feel comfortable without overdoing having it get 2 cool. Also, I thought it was a great value for the money. As a contractor, I wish I had had something like this going back many years on some of the high heat jobs that I have been involved with.

The vest is adjustable enough to fit me, a rather large man, and the included pouches are fairly user friendly. It's just not quite right for my intended use. The included ice packs provide fairly aggressive cooling, but it only lasts a few hours before they fade out and need swapped out. They would be great for yardwork, less so for 8-9 hours on a factory floor.

Amazing product and definitely works for those needing some relief on long days. The packs sometimes leak and with any freezer pack, but they give you enough where it doesn't matter.

The price is fantastic. It's easy to wear and the pouches work well. I have it 3 stars because there are much to be improved upon. It's a great value, but I didn't buy it because it's cheap. I wanted a product that will make me more comfortable in the heat and it ultimately didn't quite work. The more critical area of chest, arm pit doesn't have any coverage. Those are important for heat exchange. This best covers torso and back so you really don't feel "cooling". You feel numb. From a safety standpoint it probably is effective in keeping core temperature down, but it doesn't score points in actually feeling cooler. The whole time I'm wearing it, I was really wishing for a cooling towel around my neck. My head still sweats and I still feel hot. My torso and back are numb but I don't feel cooler. I'm now looking for a vest that has better coverage on the chest, armpit,or neck area.