What Saved Me Working In Extreme Heat Conditions - Cooling Towel

As a photographer, videographer and filmmaker we are often required to work in extreme conditions. I recently completed a tour around Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, Arizona and Texas. I was traveling around the country filming content. Many of those states had severe heat conditions which made it very complicating to work in. After learning the hard way on my first  heat location, I had to make drastic changes on how I approached up coming locations. In addition to hydrating days before an event, I made sure I had tools that helped me stay cool. 

 

I ended up using this cooling towel, which helped me stay cool. There are some pros and cons with using the towels. Often many users of the towels claim it really doesn't do much for them. Other suggested - might as well just use a regular towel and soak in cold water. 

These towels are thin and dries up quickly. So frequent soaking is needed to have that cooling effect. I had a water spray on me to help keep the towel wet at all times. Now compared to a regular towel, it does get heavily soaked, but the moist towel ends up getting hot in time, under the sun. So you end up putting a hot and wet towel around your head or neck.

What I like about these cooling towels are; 1) they are lightweight. You can easily soak them up, and won't feel heavy around your neck and head. You can use multiple cooling towels to cover your head and neck, as well as your shoulders. I personally liked wearing a wet cooling town on my head, and it was easy to tie in the back. Compared to a regular towel, it too think to have a nice tie. 

Under the Texas heat, you can see me at Choctow Stadium staying cool in between. I was shooting football content all day, and when it came to lunch time - the heat started to make it difficult. 

Using the cooling towel, it allowed me to keep working. My head and shoulders were cooled down enough. My biggest hurdle at this time was the ground heating up too much, which I felt under my feet. 

I'm a fan of these cooling towels. They go with me anywhere there is heat. I recommend them if you plan on purchasing some.