It's summer. Someone turned up the heat. That doesn't have to stop Boy Scouts from enjoying the great outdoors. Scouts do, however, need to be prepared for the heat and protect against heat related illness and injury.
Short & sweet, the science of sweat
It gets hot, then we sweat; it evaporates and we cool down. When evaporation is compromised, our body temperature rises. This can cause the onset of heat related illness. Enter Ergodyne. The Chill-Its Cooling Bandana is put to the test.
Ergodyne calls its product line 'Tenacious Work Gear'. The company sells a cooling bandana designed to use the principle of evaporative cooling to help users keep their head or neck cool. On their website Ergodyne challenges customers to 'turn to Chill-Its to bring a frosty layer of comfort when nature turns up the heat'. Can the Chill-Its bandana keep its cool under scrutiny?
Sizing, fit and feel
We tested the one-size-fits-all bandana on a young adult with a hat size of 7 1/2. When worn on the head there is just enough material left at the back to make a knot. On the neck, there is more than enough room. It is lightweight and comfortable, even when saturated. The material is an 80/20 Cotton/Acrylic Polymer blend. The test subject expected the cooling media to be bulky and bumpy but was pleasantly surprised with the smooth feel on the forehead. The first time it was activated in cold water, there was an annoying slippery feel left on the fingers that almost immediately dissipated. After a few more dunks underwater, it was no longer slippery.
Is it cool?
Remember the claim, 'turn to Chill-Its to bring a frosty layer of comfort'. Per the package instructions, we submerged the bandana in cold water for 10 minutes. We tested it outdoors on a modest walk in 90-degree California weather. While it could not be characterized as 'frosty', it was comfortable and remained cool on the forehead for the first hour. The material that didn't contain the cooling media dried rapidly in the heat yet the portion with the media performed well. After about an hour we found a stream to dip the bandana in and left it submerged for just a few minutes; not the 10-15 minutes outlined in the instructions. It continued to cool the subject's forehead, yet he subjectively noted it wasn't as cool as the first hour. Unscientifically, it appears that the bandana's efficiency may be related to the length of time it is dipped in cool water.
Is it Tenacious?
The Chill-Its bandana is not machine washable. It is necessary to wash it by hand with a mild detergent and air dry. As tested, the stars-and-stripes pattern was unfazed for the first 10 hand washings, but began to fade after that. This was attributed to sun bleaching while air drying. Construction and stitching held up well.
The bandana is available in 11 different patterns direct from Ergodyne. Limited style selections can be found online at Amazon.com, Hantover.com, Shopdirectbrands.com, Toughweld.com and ranges in price from $2- $3.50 each.
More Information
Ergodyne Products
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Comments
Thanks for the review. I wondered about these and whether they worked or not.
I use these all the time. Bought some for my boys. They mostly wear them around their neck. Ironic how quickly they'll put these on, but I have to kick and scratch to get them to wear their Scout neckerchief. LOL. They work good. I am also in California.
For that price, it is certainly worth the investment for those hot summer days.
Something that didn't make it in the review but is pretty amazing is: The darn thing stays cool and damp overnight after using it all day, and takes its sweet time drying out.
Looks like it's worth trying out.
The "slippery" feel you describe in your review has to do with the quality and grade of the water absorbing polymers used. There is a big difference in these and you should be careful to get only high quality cooling neck wraps. Lesser quality polymers will absorb impurities and waste products from sweat, like what is used in DIAPERS. These break down quickly and cause the neck wrap to get "oozy" and smelly. One company makes a good one, called a Kerchiller. These are larger for more cooling and use a high grade polymer that is designed to absorb water, only. It's worth it to me to pay a little more and get something that will hold up over years and be safe for my scout.
Thanks for the feedback and the alternative product suggestion. will try and get Kerchiller to send a product to our troop, and we'll give it a try.
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