Could you use a neck air conditioner or other personal cooling device to keep you cool this summer? Nothing drains me of energy faster than having the heat of the summer sun beating down on me. Even walking the dog turns out to be a big chore even though I normally enjoy taking my canine best friend out for a stroll around the park. It got so bad that I’d think of jumping right into the water fountain whenever I’d pass it just so I could cool off.
Of course, I never did that because I didn’t want to risk getting arrested. So what can you do to cool off? Aside from taking huge swigs out of the water bottle, there’s a new player in town that promises to keep you cool and feeling mighty fine: the CoolWare Personal Cooling System.
It’s small, it’s handy, and it’s meant to be worn around your neck. Talk about personal cooling.
The CoolWare Personal Cooling System works just like any conventional air conditioner, except that it can actually do a whole lot more. The entire thing is made of anodized aluminum construction and is equipped with a motorized fan and a 2 oz. water bottle as well to keep you hydrated, making it your perfect partner while you’re out running, hiking, biking, and doing any other outdoor physical activity.
At one pound, it’s also light too, so you won’t feel much of a strain while you’re wearing it around your neck. You can pick up your own at Sharper Image.
Editor’s Update:
The Coolware Sytem is no longer available at Sharper Image and we could not find another source for this personal air condition cooling system or ones that are substantially identical. For a personal and portable cooling system that you can wear or carry with you that works, here are few other options:
1. Cool Collar –
The Cool Collar
is not one of those towels you soak in water to help keep you cool.
This is a 2 layered collar where the outside layer keeps you cry and
compfortable while the detachable inner layer cooling pack keeps you
cool. You just pop the cooling pack in the freezer before use and put it
in the collar when you need some extra cooling. According to reviews, it seems to work great and works better than many other options when it is humid outside. It only lasts an hour ot two per cool pack so you will need to keep rotaing in cold ones if you need to keep cool for several hours.
Cool Collar
2. Portable Fan Cool on the Go.
It’s a powerful little fan that you can carry around or use almost anywhere. It is small and portable at about 6×4 inches and weighs around 7 ounces. It runs on batteries or can be powered by USB. It comes with an lanyard or armband so you can wear it around your neck, on your arm or clip it to something close to you. You can read reviews and buy it from Amazon.
3. MistyMate Personal Deluxe Mister
The MistyMate Personal Mister is a hand held portable mister that is
easy to use. It is convenient and portable so you can use it with your favorite outdoor activity. The MistyMate creates an ultrafine
mist when pressure is applied to the bottle using the easy hand
held pump. The carrying case is practically designed with two convenient
storage pockets. The MistyMate comes is both a standard and deluxe size.
4. Evaporative Cooling Vest – Ergodyne Chilling Vest
The idea of adding on another layer of clothing to stay cools seems nonsensical, but the Ergodyne Chilling Vest is an evaporative cooling vest that gets rave reviews for keeping folks cool. You simply soak the vest in water and it keeps you cool and for the most part dry for several hours.
Evaporative Cooling Vest
Originally published April 2011 and updated May 2015.
