Do "cooling towels" work in humidity.

[DVCkidsMOM]

Generally, we avoid parks between lunch and supper to avoid the heat if we're there during the summer months. If we are in the parks for the heat of the day, I use a strong personal fan and UPF umbrella. It's not a regular umbrella - it's reflective and has a numbered UPF rating. It made the difference between uncomfortable and misery when we spent a few full days in the parks with lots of waiting in lines and for parades/shows. I already sweat profusely, so have not had luck with towels or cooling ties or mister fans. A powerful fan is helpful, but mist just adds to the swampy feeling for me. The umbrella folds small and seemed easier to carry and store than the clunky mister fan that my daughter wanted. We also get frozen lemonade or fruit pops regularly and drink plenty of water. Hope you find something that works well for you.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

For us, the best strategy is to use nothing at all. Misting fans just make us feel worse, and we don't like having anything on our neck.

The best thing for us, was to minimize what we carry, except water. Drinking lots of water makes us feel best of all. and probably avoid the very worst of the heat (about 2:30pm - 4:30pm)

Your other best bet, is to acclimate yourself to summer heat as much as possible before you arrive. Air conditioning is your enemy. You need two weeks to acclimate to heat. (pores open, fresh layer of skin)

Good luck!

 

[JJZMgailey]

I will be in Florida in late July mainly to attend a professional soccer match in Orlando. I do plan to spend a little time in the parks as well. I have never been to Florida in the summer and I do not tolerate heat very well.

I am thinking of purchasing a cooling towel but have read that they really are not very effective in humidity. Has anyone found them to be useful in Florida? I did purchase a Frogg Togg last year but I hate how it is "crunchy" when it's dry. Could anyone share their experiences both positive and negative with any particular brand... thank you.

Central Florida in July is definitely a HOT place to be! Thanks for starting this thread; it was chosen as the featured thread for today's DIS Daily Fix!!

 

[minniebeth]

I agree. We got some free towels after the Jingle Jungle 5K last year that were lighter than Frogg Toggs (I'm not sure the brand, but Enduracool sounds familiar) and the lighter ones were much nicer than the heavy Frogg Togg.

Dr. Cool is one of the sponsors listed on the back of the JJ t-shirts, so I'm thinking that was the brand? We got a bunch of them between the races last November and in January. They are a really nice size, but don't really stay wet/cool too long is what we found.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

i have a frogg togg and I too felt the weight of it was uncomfortable.

Mission Enduracool towels are our favorite because when they dry, they are super lightweight and easy to carry anywhere. The Mission brand ones need to be re wet more frequently, but I prefer that. They also don't make your clothes wet.

I just bought one of these this week and can't wait to try it out at the parks!

 

[muushupork]

I sweat a lot. I've tried a lot of things. Now I just bring regular soft white hand towels. That's more because I like to stay dry. Sometimes from the hotel Im staying at if they're soft enough. If you need to actually cool off and not just stay dry, you will have no problem getting ice water.

 

[Lyn-CA]

Generally, we avoid parks between lunch and supper to avoid the heat if we're there during the summer months. If we are in the parks for the heat of the day, I use a strong personal fan and UPF umbrella. It's not a regular umbrella - it's reflective and has a numbered UPF rating. It made the difference between uncomfortable and misery when we spent a few full days in the parks with lots of waiting in lines and for parades/shows. I already sweat profusely, so have not had luck with towels or cooling ties or mister fans. A powerful fan is helpful, but mist just adds to the swampy feeling for me. The umbrella folds small and seemed easier to carry and store than the clunky mister fan that my daughter wanted. We also get frozen lemonade or fruit pops regularly and drink plenty of water. Hope you find something that works well for you.

Do you mind sharing the brand of the umbrella and where you bought it? Thanks

 

[aretha30]

We bought the mission brand Enduracool towels, we felt as if they didn't work that well. The did work, just not that long and had to be re-wet frequently. I believe that they don't work like the other towels because they are the only brand we could find that was chemical free. Having the fabric be chemical free was important because we all have sensitive skin. We are down in August every year, they might work differently during less humid times of the year.

 

[Tomh]

I've never had much in the way of results from them, but then again, I sweat like you wouldn't believe. What I have been known to do is take a small wash cloth (like the "magic" ones that are scrunched up into a square or start or something, which you can get at the dollar store) wet it, and drape it over my head, which helps to keep the heat from the sun off my head, and cools at least a little bit until the water warms up.

 

[BrokeMack]

Dr. Cool is one of the sponsors listed on the back of the JJ t-shirts, so I'm thinking that was the brand? We got a bunch of them between the races last November and in January. They are a really nice size, but don't really stay wet/cool too long is what we found.

Must have been. We got a bunch of purple ones. They worked well in early November, while I used the Frogg Togg in September. They worked about the same, accounting for the temperature difference between the Sept and Nov, but I like that it was lighter and thinner. I didn't mind it drying out, since it's easy enough to re-wet, but it didn't leave my shirt feeling quite so wet.

 

[mshanson3121]

We loved the Frogg Toggs on our June/July trip.

 

[tlmadden73]

My wife bought cooling towels for our August trip last year.
We mainly used them for the 3 year old in the stroller.

For me personally over the years, I find just taking a bandana and soaking it in water and tieing it around my neck works fine. It keeps the sun off your neck and feels cool as the water just drips down your neck and back. I sometimes even put them around my wrists which feels good too. I just have to keep getting it wet.

Nothing will be a lifesaver in the heat and humidity except simply avoiding the sun as much as possible.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

If you already sweat a lot, cooling towels will not do much more for you. Going during a high humidity time of year will significantly reduce any towel's effectiveness.

Cooling towels attempt to do the same thing that your body already does via sweating. I sweat a lot, so damp towels around my neck do nothing for me. Also keep in mind, any towel or piece of fabric will do exactly the same thing as a cooling towel that costs $20 or more. Consumer Reports did a study showing an ordinary kitchen towel performed exactly the same as cooling towels that cost a lot more. Efficacy of any towel (or your body's natural process of sweating) will be reduced as the humidity in the air increases.

I just stick with loose fitting, quick drying clothing and I stay as cool as I possibly can in Florida heat and humidity.

I really wonder about that consumer reports thing though. They did this by measuring the towel hanging on a rack with an infrared temperature sensor. However we all understand the difference between actual temperature and "feels like" temperature which involves how it interacts with the body (like wind chill factors can make air feel cooler, but the air is actually not any cooler).

I will admit I am not a scientist. However, I find it interesting that most of the tests that are performed and my own experience as well as the ratings on sites like Amazon show that these towels in general make people feel less hot.

When I compare the evidence of what people say (and my own experience) against consumer reports, and they don't add up, it makes me wonder if there is a factor that they are missing. And maybe it's not scientific - maybe it's psychological. However, that's valid too. If a towel convinces you that you are cooler and you feel more comfortable, is that not still a valid reason for using it?

All this is a long drawn out way to say that I personally find them to be effective (and generally more comfortable than dish towels) and love mine.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

For me personally over the years, I find just taking a bandana and soaking it in water and tieing it around my neck works fine. It keeps the sun off your neck and feels cool as the water just drips down your neck and back. I sometimes even put them around my wrists which feels good too. I just have to keep getting it wet.

I originally misread that as "just taking a banana and soaking it in water" and my mind was going "what would you accomplish by soaking a banana in water? Where is he going with this?" before I realized I misread it. It made for a very amusing couple of seconds.

 

[Minnesota!]

Did not care for them. What works better for us is a cool napkin to the face and a small hand fan from Walmart. The

 

[AshleyLovesDisney]

I just stick with loose fitting, quick drying clothing and I stay as cool as I possibly can in Florida heat and humidity

My husband swears by those quick-dry golf/polo shirts. He always packs them for our trips and does great!

 

[BrokeMack]

I found a swimsuit at Target that looks like regular shorts, belt loops and all. Those plus compression shorts and a cotton t-shirt are admit the best I've found. The towels do help a little and I use them occasionally.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We used to visit WDW in October but last year made the switch to August because DD started college. I knew it was going to be super hot so I bought Frogg Togg cooling towels and O2Cool carabiner misting fans before we left on our trip. DH also bought some moisture wicking tanks/shirts.

We found that the Frogg Toggs were too heavy and the material was uncomfortable. My DH ended up buying a CoolCore towel at WDW and the fabric was lighter and more comfortable. He did have to re-wet it a lot to keep it cool. It wasn't perfect but he said it was better than nothing.

We did use and like the O2Cool misting fans. It was nice that we didn't have to carry them since they clipped onto belt loops, backpacks, etc.

The things that kept us the most cool (relatively speaking!) --- drinking LOTS of ice water and taking breaks in the AC! Also, we hit the parks early and headed back to the resort mid-day.

 

[RedOne3781]

Frogg Toggs/cooling towels did absolutley nothing for me. I feel like the odd one out for admitting that, but the added weight of the towel actually made me feel hotter. Just my personal experience though.

Best advice I can give those who go in the summer is: get to the parks early, take a mid day break, drink lots of water and stay in the A/C as much as possible.

 

[Murron]

Another person for Frogg Togg. Love it. For some reason I recently developed a high sun sensitivity on my neck and this did the trick. I didn't think it weighed me down and it was very cooling. I did refresh it when I could. Again, it's not for everyone, but boy it worked for me