Military Cooling Vests

Arctic heat cooling vests keeping troops in Iraq cool this summer.

Summertime in Iraq is scorching hot, regular day time temperatures reach in excess of 120ºF. It is difficult to imagine living in temperatures so extreme. Thousands of troops stationed in Iraq not only have to deal with these extreme conditions; they have to do it wearing a military uniform, body armor and other equipment. These troops are at high risk of suffering from related heat illnesses, such as mild heat stress or a fatal heat stroke.

Dehydration is a major health issue, the body sweats in an attempt to keep the body's core temperature stable, but in very high temperatures the body will sweat at a rate higher than fluid can be replaced, creating a dangerous situation. Heat stress has five major symptoms: weakness, confusion, vomiting/diarrhea, headache/visual disturbance and poor co-ordination. Working in Iraq is dangerous enough without having to suffer from the symptoms of heat stress.

One way to stay cool during the searing Iraqi heat is to use a cooling vest. Thousands of troops in Iraq from the Australian and US Military have started using special desert colored Arctic Heat Cooling Vests. The lightweight cooling vest is used to keep troops cool while on their patrol rounds, when working around their bases, to pre-cool them before their rounds and to quickly cool themselves when they return to camp. The cooling vests will not only help to prevent heat stress, but keeping cool will also help to improve the soldiers concentration and mental alertness in the stifling summer heat.

Arctic Heat is now the preferred supplier of "Cooling Products" to the Australia Army and their troops are now being issued with the cool vest during training exercises for deployment in the Middle East region.

"We have been selling large numbers of cooling vests to the parents of US soldiers stationed in Iraq who have been sending over the cool vests to family stationed in Iraq, or otherwise we receive email orders and ship directly to the soldiers." says Dr John Surie, President of Arctic Heat USA.

The Arctic Heat Cooling Vests were used by US Olympic teams at the Athens Olympics, and are now used by leading sports teams worldwide to improve performance.

The lightweight Arctic Heat Cooling vest uses a two stage cooling process. The vests contain a gel-like substance that can be frozen or chilled. The cooling vests are manufactured using Woolmark's Sportwool, a special body cooling fabric which incorporates Vapor Management Technology helping to wick moisture away from the skin, allowing the wearer to keep dry.