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Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion #13272553 09/06/19 08:21 PM
Joined: Jan 2012
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HOGON Offline OP
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The last couple weeks for me have been very educational and eye opening. I know this is the Crappie Fishing Forum.

Learning what I have and the hard way...I wanted to try to educate those who also may have been misinformed like I was evidently about Heat Exhaustion.

Did you know you can be fully hydrated and still get Heat Exhaustion? I sure did not know that.

What is Heat Exhaustion? It is when your corp body temperature overheats. Your corp body is where all your organs are at.

Drink water and plenty of it to stay properly hydrated out in the Texas Heat and humidity.

Be careful on the intake of Electrolytes (Gatorade, G2, Pedialyte, Sports Drinks) you want a balance of those and water (25% Electrolyte to 75% water). Watermelon, Pickle Juice, Tonic Water, etc. all things that work for others.

Symptoms of Heat Exhaustion which I hope none of you ever experience first hand: Light Headed, Dizziness, Muscle Cramps, Vision Issues, Nausea, Mentally off your game so to speak.
It is imperative you change your environment and quickly.

Ways to do that: Cooling Towels, Running the boat to get a breeze going on your body, Jumping in the Water as some suggested (not for me), Ice Packs under your arm pits and Ice Packs between your legs in the groin area. Ice Cold Water Bottles under your shirt, water on your head and face, and so on. Find some Shade get out of the direct sun quickly. Minutes count and this is nothing to be taken lightly.

If left untreated Heat Stroke is next.

Heat Stroke is where your organs start to fail and if not reversed in 10 minutes you die. Only way I know to reverse a Heat Stroke is an ICE BATH.

I now know Heat Exhaustion is prevalent in Football Players which I had no idea until my Heat Exhaustion incident happened and I started doing research.
In fact Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel just recently aired an episode called overheated. It was all about Heat Exhaustion, Heat Stroke, and Ice Baths and the deaths of several High School Football Players due to the heat.
They are trying to educate the schools and get Ice Baths mandated at High Schools Nation wide. It was really eye opening to me.

I am thankful my Father was with me when I had my Heat Exhaustion episode because if I had been fishing alone the outcome could have been very bad for me.

Through all of my research I learned about cooling vests. Have you ever heard of cooling vests? I knew nothing about them until 2 weeks ago.

I did a lot of research on them once learning about them. My research took me to www.Stacoolvest.com
They have been in business 24 years. They are the "Original" and all others are knock offs. They are not cheap and they are an investment in your life in my humble opinion.

What do they do? They keep your Corp Body Temp the area where all your organs are at in a cool normal range in this extreme Texas heat and humidity.

Dad and I ordered the Premium Industrial Cooling Vest the Black One which is also their newest vest. $265 for the vest which also comes with two sets of cooling packs.
The vest is one size fits all because it is totally customizable for every type of height and body frame. This is the one you want.
The Vest weighs 3 pounds empty and 6 pounds with the thermo packs in it. The weight is evenly distributed around your body. Life Jacket went on fine over the vest.
When putting it on for the first time you feel like you are putting on a bullet proof vest. After 5 minutes you will not even know you are wearing it. They Feel So Good!!!
A Thermo Pack consists of 12 Cubes that are like individual cells and the vest holds 3 packs up front and 3 packs in the back. 36 Cubes up front and 36 in the backs.

You get a good solid 3.5 hours out of the packs in this extreme heat like Wednesday where it was 95 degrees with high humidity and no wind.
After 3.5 hours we took the vest off. Took a 5 minute break and grabbed the frozen spares from the cooler, loaded the vest with the fresh frozen packs, and we had another solid 3.5 hours on the water.

We ordered two additional sets under accessories for the Industrial vests. We have not received them yet.
That will give us 12 additional packs total for each of us. Two Additional Full Vest changes for each of us.
That gives us 14 hours on the water of pure cooling comfort.
A set comes with 6 and the set is $45.
You can also heat the Thermo packs up in a microwave for 3 minutes and they put off heat which would be great in the winter.

You keep the Thermo pack spares in a cooler with Frozen Freezer Packs you do not use ice. Ice works against the packs.
I used a new freezer pack called Cooler Shocks. https://coolershock.com/product-category/hard-packs-new/
The Hard Packs are new they just came out in June and they worked like a champ.

I totally understand that you do not need a vest to go out and enjoy the outdoors and there are plenty of ways to try to protect yourself from heat exhaustion here in Texas.
Do whatever works for you as an individual.
I just wanted others to be aware of the dangers of Heat Exhaustion and understand the seriousness of it.

The Cooling Vest is nothing more than a new tool in your arsenal for fishing much like jigs and rods or even Livescope.

Dad and I got to utilize our New Cooling Vest for the very first time Wednesday at Fork. Dad is 72 and I am about to be 48.
Our Honest Feedback: GAME CHANGERS!!!!

Wear One in the heat and it will make a believer out of you too.
Two weeks ago we had never even heard of them.
After using it on Wednesday we honestly do not know how we ever hit the lake in Texas without it.

They are an investment and they have so many uses besides fishing.
Out mowing your pasture if you have a ranch.
Working outside in the heat.
Wear it to your job at work if you work outside.
Hunting
Going to a Sporting Event to watch your kids or Grand Kids play while your in the stands baking.
Anyone in the oil fields working in the heat.
Welders.
The list goes on.

We wear a Life Jacket to possibly save our life out on the water.
We wear sunscreen to keep from getting sun burned and hopefully protect against skin cancer.
We wear Sun Shirts, Neck Gaiters, Hats with big round brims, and Sunglasses all with the intended goal of protecting us from the sun.
The Cooling Vest is a tool to protect you and keep your corp body temperature where it needs to be. Thus preventing Heat Exhaustion.

A roofer bought Cooling Vests for his entire crew and their productivity went up 30%.

I think every Fishing Guide in Texas should be wearing one of these Cooling Vests.

If the Guide can get some for their clients to use then that is an added bonus for their clients.

I can assure all the Texas Fishing Guides that I know (ex. Laner, Mark Standridge from Three Nails, Jerry Hancock, Camoriver Guide, Jacky Wiggins, Benny Dabney, Cody Tucker, etc.)

(ALL TEXAS FISHING GUIDES) all of you will have an entire new outlook for hitting the water in this Texas heat with your clients if you are wearing one of these cooling vests. GAME CHANGERS!!

Doubles in the heart of the summer will no longer phase you a bit. You will be good to go for the entire day!

You got a fishing tournament in the heat? With these vests you will run circles on the water around anyone who does not have them.

Here are some pictures:

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]

The first picture is of what your vest comes with. The vest and 12 thermo packs not hydrated yet.
The second is the vest itself.
The third as you can see the vest is made right here in the USA.
The fourth is what your packs will look like once you hydrate them. (A one time process very easy to do).
The fifth is of Dad on Fork the other day wearing his Cooling Vest and his Life Jacket.

There is no way that we personally could have fished as long as we did in the Heat on Lake Fork without the cooling vests on Wednesday.
I am sure the tolerances are different for each individual.

I am simply passing along what I have learned. These vests may not be an investment everyone wants to make.

For others who had never heard of them like myself take the information and do what you wish with it.

If I help educate even one person that was just as misinformed as I was about Heat Exhaustion and the seriousness of it then writing this post was worth my time and effort.

I truly feel that for anyone out in the extreme heat daily here in Texas (Like a Fishing Guide) this Cooling Vest will become an invaluable piece of required equipment for you.

Any questions I will be happy to answer.

Stay Safe and Tight Lines to all. fish

Re: Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion [Re: HOGON] #13272555 09/06/19 08:24 PM
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SK. Offline
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I'll bet y'all enjoyed that.....

On these hot days there's no limit on money to protect yourself and still be able to get out and enjoy some fishing....

Thanks for all the info.......

Last edited by SK.; 09/06/19 08:25 PM.

Crappie Guide on Houston TX area lakes. Email to schedule a trip: skscrappiecatchingadventures@gmail.com or call my message line 281-301-9316

REGARDLESS OF HOW MANLY YOU THINK YOU ARE WEARING A PFD CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.....Onxy A/M 24 PFD's

Check Out SK's CRAPPIE Catching Adventures on YouTube....
https://www.youtube.com/user/fishingorhunting
Re: Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion [Re: HOGON] #13272601 09/06/19 09:19 PM
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Texas Grown Offline
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Man! I wish these were around back when I was training and racing Tri-athlons! During some races, I would put ice in my hat and jerseys. But it's not very effective when your brain starts to freeze laugh. I've had heat exhaustion a number of times. And have been near stroke level a couple of times. I can no longer handle the Texas summer heat. And am heat sensitive. It has limited my summer fishing to nothing now. So I've been winterizing my boat come June 1st each year, till the fall weather hits. And it cools back down. I might just have to give one of these a try!

And as a former health fitness professional, thank you HOGON, for bringing this to everyone's attention. Most do not know the signs or symptoms of heat exhaustion, or stroke. And it doesn't have to be in the 90s or up to experience heat related illnesses. It can happen in the 80s as well with the wrong humidity and no or little wind to help the sweat evaporate from the body. I'm 62 now. And just got back on the bike since I can no longer run due to some back and RA issues. And have been neglecting my evening rides due the heat when I get off work. Not much else I can do to get my heart rate up and work out for an hour or more any more. These cooling vest just might help!


G3 river Jon - "The Wild Thing"

"The fish are biting, and there's hogs to be kilt. Gotta go!"
Re: Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion [Re: HOGON] #13272664 09/06/19 10:29 PM
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SeaPro21 Online Content
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Great info Hogan. Heck I keep putting a lot of yard work off around my property (cutting dead trees, brush and everyday upkeep) and pushing it till this fall and winter because of this heat. You definitely made some real good points. This would definitely be a great investment. Gonna have to pull the trigger on one. Thank you sir for the update.

Re: Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion [Re: HOGON] #13272915 09/07/19 02:37 AM
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Super good post. Looks like I will be ordering soon for next summer! thumb


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IGFA World Record Rio Grande Cichlid. Lake Dunlap.

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Re: Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion [Re: HOGON] #13273018 09/07/19 10:16 AM
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I had never heard of these,
Just ordered me one
Thanks


Marty Thomas
LOP Crappie fishing guide
https://www.facebook.com/Lake-O-the-Pines-Crappie-Fishing-414011322706312/
lakeothepinescrappiefishing.com
Re: Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion [Re: HOGON] #13273138 09/07/19 02:41 PM
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clap

Re: Cooling Vest and Heat Exhaustion [Re: HOGON] #13274608 09/08/19 10:01 PM
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clap Thanks for the details Hogan!

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