22.0 - Suit cooling
====================
Cooling device sources - See section 99.6.
The human body cools itself by air convection, evaporation of sweat, and sometimes direct conduction of heat. A costume tends to block air motion, so it stops air convection and reduces evaporation of sweat. I think 50% of bodily heat loss is via the head and neck, so these require special attention.
If your furry costume is skin tight, you will sweat until it is soggy. This is actually good because soggy fur conducts heat out to where the sogginess is evaporating - thus cooling you.
If your furry costume has some barrier (latex, glue, plastic, air, foam, etc) that blocks heat conduction and/or sweat, then you need alternate cooling.
1. Improve airflow - Hollow head/head with microfan
2. Use icepacks or alternate means of heat removal.
For Tabbe and Fatima, we used something called "Chili Necks" under our costumes. Used for outdoors and sports-types, it's kinda like little "ice blues" inside a cloth sleeve that velcroes around your neck. Put 'em in the freezer and they're good for two hours. This has the effect of your major arteries carrying coolness throughout your body. The one time we used them at Worldcon, I don't think we had them completely frozen, 'cause we had keep them just in ice we got from the hotel cube maker, but we did seem to feel more comfortable than we had when we wore the costumes at Archon.
On keeping cool in costume: See our previous comments on the Chili- neck. There's apparently a less bulky bandanalike thing that cools as well. Nora and a friend will be test driving them at CC. We'll report back.
From: Lex Nakashima
Subject: Staying Dry
One thing to try: Take your daily shower the day -before- you are to wear the suit. As cold a shower as you can manage. With luck, you'll "dry off" by morning (you absorb a lot of water through the skin when you shower, and will throw it right off again when in the costume!). I should be more specific: take the shower the -night- before, just before bedtime. Another thing to try: cotton sweat clothes or unitards (possibly even cotton thermal underwear). You want to both be able to absorbe the moisture and let it evaporate. Dressing in layers will aid this to some extent (and is the second best thing to a costume that really breathes well). If this is your own design, try to find areas to cheat: if the critter wears clothes, sew fur only into those areas that show (so the the bulk of the costume is nice, comfortable street clothes or whatever). Cold drinks (-water-) frequently taken also help a -lot-.
I've never been a fan of cool suits, especially after the Kevin Peter Hall incident (developed pneumonia + complications from HIV). The coldness around the lungs/chest area can cause water to condense in your lungs. Bad. I also tend to think that the theories about "air conditioning" are a waste of time (with the exception of fans and circulation). It takes a lot of energy to remove heat from things fast. Current technologies aren't capable of doing this in a wearable manner. And to even -think- of using liquid nitrogen or dry ice--I run screaming from the room. Both of these things are dangerous! Remember, one of the reasons the suit gets hot is the LACK OF AIR CIRCULATION! You will asphyxiate! YOU WILL BE AN EX-FURRY! Sheesh! Rule number four: if you wear a full costume, you will be hot and uncomfortable. Period.
From: Flinthoof Sharis, on staying dry and cool in costume;
What a burst in message traffic lately! It's a rare night that I
go online to find less than 25 new Fursuit messages waiting!
Lessee...what do we have to contribute...
Cooling. NASCAR drives have had to fight the overheating problems associated with driving cars at 185 mph in 120F conditions with all the metal around them radiating heat, PLUS wearing the fire-retardant suit as well. Not exactly cool. They do use a 'cool-suit', that being a suit with many capillary tubes woven into the fabric and running water pumped through an ice chest in the car. Due to the high heat nearby, hypothermia is not a problem... but air flow is! All that air coming at you at 185+mph is HOT.
Perhaps the best way to minimize heat is to limit the area exposed as fur. Lex suggested it and I echo the idea of using street clothes with furry 'sleeves' between shirt and hand. Legs can be done the same way. You'll end up with a more slender and natural form that, well, is naturally form-fitting since it's you. :) Cooling with a good 5-12v electronics cooling fan will do wonders. Take a look at those nice CPU cooling fans coming out. Very quiet, good airflow, and low current draw. They could easily be put in the head in several locations with a belt pack for Ni-cads. Not too many either. They are very low current usage.
From: Teddy Ruxpin
Subject: Cooling, fur,...
> From: David A. Holt (GCC/TEME)
> How does one acheive proper cooling while in a furry costume in the bright
sun (body and head)?
Simplest thing is cool your head (which is where your heat sensor is.) Put a fan in the top of the head to draw cool air through. Needs only a small battery to operate.
> A cool suit designed to circulate cool water through plastic tubing around the wearer. These are used in professional racing
I tried making one of these. Problems:
1. Back-pressure from the small tubing means you need a good sized pump. I used a good windshield-washer pump. It needs quite a lot of power, so you need a good-sized battery for any prolonged use. Nascar suits used car 12V.
2. What to dump the heat into. Nascar uses a cooler full of ice in the passanger seat. Hardly practical for us. I tried one of those blue ice-pack things, wrapped in more tubes of water which it cools. Its bulky. Tended to slip out of the couls and the pack close to your skin tends to lead to local frost-bite.
3. It ends up weighing a lot. All that water in those pipes.
From: Silent Red
Subject: Re: Heat dissipation
These are just some thoughts on the subject right of the top of my head.
This'll probally seem very obvious to some but maybe it'll help some others.
(sorry if someone's already covered this - I'm backlogged with my email
reading The best points to 'ventilate' are places where your blood vessels are
close to your skin, Namely your head, wrists and hands, ankles and feet. To
a lesser extent - underarms, inner elbows (where you get shots) and the back
of the knees.
My gray kitty costume felt just slightly too warm when I didn't have my
gloves on. When I put the gloves on I felt like I was going to melt into a
puddle. Learn me to make cotton-palmed gloves! :> Also, taking the 'feet'
off back in my room was always a pleasure - Whew! :>
Using it in a head (thanks, Diadexxus!) [
9v battery, adaptor and splice] - [
inside the head, showing splice and fan]
Re: using fans to stay cool:
Flinthoof suggested the use of the tiny, quiet fans used to cool cpu's in
computers. An excellent suggestion! They can be pricey if purchased at
name-electronic stores: look for an electronics or computer surplus
store. I've gotten them for about $8-10, and I've heard of folks getting
them for even less. The ones I'm trying are about and inch square and
about a quarter inch thick. Since they are usually around twelve volts,
they run forever when hooked up with a makita battery (the 9v. batts--we
use them for just about everything as they are durable, quick to charge
and reliable as all get).
The best active method to keeping a suit cool is to try and create
air flow. since so much heat is lost through the head, concentrate here
first. Cut as many nickel-to-quarter sized holes in the top of the head
(but not through the fur!). Install a fan here if you like ( you want
the fan to blow out the top: heat wants to go up, and though blowing down
might feel OK, you'll dissippate more heat if you suck it out. Also,
this will pull air in through the mouth of the head, creating a nice
facial breeze). Here's where design can help too: give your character an
open mouth--this can be your greatest source of air, as well as a nice
bit of visibility. Cut holes in the base of the ears (another
potentially good air vent, and a possible aid to hearing...). Noses are
another good source of air holes. Depending on the neck fur and head
design, you can also cut holes around the base of the eyes and at the top
of your character's throat, and cover them with fur, mesh, whatever. The
neck hole is an especially good source of cool air for your mouth.
Something the Japanese costumers (the ones who make the Ultraman and
Power Ranger costumes) do is to use spandex where ever they can get away
with it: under the arms, insides of the legs and crotch, backs of the
legs/knees. This aids in both movement (for those wacky stunts) and
heat transfer.
>David A. Holt (GCC/TEME) writes:
>How does one acheive proper cooling while in a furry costume in the bright
I have one of these. It set me back $2500 & can be acquired from
Mine Safety Appliances in Pittsburgh, PA 1800 MSA-2222. It's called
a Core Control whole-body cooling system. It's a royal pain to lug around
& use if you're furry alot of the time. For rare/ extreme situations, it's OK.
I still sweat though I don't experience heat fatigue.
Perhaps more practical is the Kool Vest & Kool Kollar combination- They're
cheaper & easier to transport & use. They're at (405) 943-8811.
What I get the most use out of is my CamelBak. It's a soft back pack which
can be filled with ice & crinking fluid. A tube & nozzle allows hands free
sipping of the fluid as the ice cools you. I've not gotten sick doing costumed
characters in parades since I got one of these. Call (800) 767-8725
>I imagine that with a little ingenuity, one could design and use a
I tried, basing it on dry ice and an anitfreeze fluid pumped around, but the
fumes are potentially lethal.
"Born out of the need to protect soldiers from the dangerous effects of
excessive heat when increased caloric activity occurs when wearing chemical
protective clothing or life support gear in high ambient temperatures,
KoolShirt has evolved into a personal safety body cooling shirt which works
in harmony with the body and manages heat stress."
"...the light-weight, ergonomic cooling shirt requires no external power
cell to operate. KoolShirt's KoolPacks contain a proprietary Heat Transfer
Formula which is available in two safe temperature settings of 65 or 75
degrees F..."
"...when applied directly to the skin, KoolShirt heat sinks the body's
excess heat build up for hours of safe heat stress management. In just
minutes, KoolShirt can be energized by placing the KoolPacks in ice and
water..."
((snipped promo copy, ad naseum))
This kontraption looks a lot like a waterski vest, and would add some bulk
under costume. From what I can tell, its a combination of cooling packs and
heat sinks, with only the heat sinks coming in contact with the skin. There
are two models -- regular (3.5 lbs) and Magnum (6 lbs). Cost is unknown.
The manufacturer is Exothermal Technology Corp., 1720 Main St., NE, Palm
Bay, FL 32905, phone (800) 991-KOOL. I know nothing about this company other
than what's on their promo material (they bill themselves as "the folks who
know cool").
David A. Holt (GCC/TEME) wrote, on Sept 7 "How does one acieve proper
cooling while in a furry costume in the bright sun (body and head)
Well, I came across a rather novel little thing at the Canadian National
Exhibition here this last couple of weeks, called Body Coolers
Sportsbands. These are somewhat like a Drive-on rag or a sweatband, but
they are designed to hold water as the contents of the bands are in a
sort of gel when activated, by placing them in water for about 20-30
minutes.
After this, they are reactivated each day by putting them in water for
about a minute. Don't wring them out, as it takes about a week for them to
dry out. Suggest that you place one like a drive-on rag on the forehead,
and drape one over the back of the neck, under the costume. They are pretty
cheap, also, $7.00 or 2/$15.00 (Cdn) and they can be re-used many times
For more cooling, use COLD water, or put them in a refrigerator to use as
a cold pack, or in microwave for 30 seconds as heat pack for first aid.
They are said to be used by pro athletes, but no company name on the
package. Try sports stores, I imagine. Hope this helps.
1) Do something about your hair, the back of the neck is really vulnerable
to heat so the less covered it is the better, braid it or buy a skull cap
or doo-rag.
2) Make sure your icepacks aren't too heavy. Use just enough of them
ohterwise the extra weight you're tugging around wears you out more than
the heat they relieve.
3) Take a few minutes to settle into the suit. I find that the worst 10
minutes of fursuiting are the first 10 minutes (and sometimes the last
ten). Put your suit on slowly and don't struggle with it. Spend 2-3 minutes
with most of the suit on but just stand around or sit down, then put the
entire thing on and just sit around with that on for a little while. Get
aquanted with your suit, control your breathing, let any initial excitement
subside. In a little while your body will realize what's going on and won't
spend as much energy producing heat (I still don't know how to teach it to
sweat less). From what I've experienced starting slow is much better than
jumping into the suit and just going off. Starting too abruptly is like a
thermal punch in the face.
22.1 - Fans
=======================
Hard drive fan -
[front view of fan]
- [side view of fan]
From: Lex Nakashima
Subject: Staying cool/fans/cutting fur
22.2 - Vests
=============
From: Mouse
Subject: Keepin cool under the fur; SD fun fur sources
>sun (body and head)? Suggestion (although it would probably make the
>costumes *very* expensive. A cool suit designed to circulate cool water
>through plastic tubing around the wearer. These are used in professional
>racing (NASCAR, IMSA and others to protect the drivers of the race cars from
>such dangerous things as heat exhaustion and heat stroke) and other high
>temp. environments.
>"cool-suit" for him/herself. Not hard really, just make sure it don't leak.
From: Greg C., on keeping cool in costume;
I realize this thread died off a couple of months ago, but an interesting
product announcement came across my desk that just begs to be posted. I quote:
22.3 - Neckpieces
===============
From: Klesr
Subject: man bites dog, & other tidbits
22.4 - Headpieces
================
From: Damian K
Some non-modification improvements I can suggest are:
Others have offered other suggestions;
- hair in a ponytail
- minimum of clothing, like shorts and tshirt, or leotard
- bandannas
- head elastic rings
- mesh caps for hair
- hair scrunchies for long hair
- as always, ventilate places around the head
