Soft Parts Mitigating perspiration

Status
Not open for further replies.

Fearless Son

Active Member
Hey everyone,

As I think we all know, wearing any kind of full body costume tends to insulate the body pretty well, and thus the tempeture inside the suit tends to rise, making the person inside very warm. This is something that we all accept when we don the mantle of a character, and I certainly do not find the heat to be uncomfortable. However, the heat does produce a secondary effect of causing a great deal of perspiration as the body attempts to cool itself.

The issue with this perspiration is that it can soak into the undersuit, and as a result the undersuit tends to get a musky oder after being worn for a few hours. As these undersuits often involve somewhat more exotic materials than most clothing such as rubber or leather, they tend to need professional dry cleaning services frequently. I for one would rather not go about a convention hall smelling over-ripe after a day or two.

So I wanted to know if anyone has found any good techniques on mitigating perspiration in an undersuit. I know that fans inside helmets are always a good idea, and they do cool the whole body somewhat by pulling heat up through the head and away by convection, but I was wondering if that is enough to cut down on the sweating. For example, could vent be cut into the undersuit to allow more air flow and keep the moisture from accumulating? Or maybe a battery-powered water-block cooling system, with coolent tubes wrapped around the body under the armor?

Anyone had any success here or have other methods to recommend?
 
Well, theoretically, if you're goin' MJOLNIR, you'll have enough room in the back portion for a small pump and battery setup. From there, you could put tubing under the core of the undersuit, put water in the lines, and make a radiator coil on the back of the torso, to vent heat as best as you can.
 
Well, if you want, you could make the backpack and put your stuff in there. Me, I'm just gonna swelter through it, wearing some good athletic underwear for my suit.
 
They sell cooling vests, which are fairly popular with people who wear Darth Vader costumes if I recall. Shouldn't be too hard to integrate one into your suit. I forget what exactly they're called though. The ones I'm thinking of have some liquid in tubes in them and when you leave it in the fridge it'll stay cool for some time afterwards...I think.

I just stick with underarmour. Comfortable, wicks away the moisture, washable, and affordable enough that you can buy a few to cycle through.
 
Yeah. Main problem for me, as far as expendilility goes, is I'm gonna be adding appliques, based on Sean Bradley's patterns. So, that kinda dampens the whole expendible thing.

It's true, though, that underarmor is very good at wicking away moisture.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top