# Beating the heat on a desert river trip.



## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

11. Lower your core temp with a "tits deep beer." Wade into river to tits deep. Open beer. Drink beer at leisurely pace. Wade out of river feeling cool.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

12. Ranger at put-in to Deso mentioned that he saw a battery powered misting system built into a Bimini. That would be kool(cool).
13. Wet bandana around neck. My SO and I have cooling bead scarfs.
Amazon.com: JellyBeadZ Brand - Hydrating Water Bead Neck Bandana -Cooling Sports Scarf - Orange Bandana Pattern …: Toys & Games
14. I used an old three quarter length by 1 inch thermorest pad to box in around my legs which I'd wet periodically and also prevented my legs from sunburning. Also prevent deer fly's from biting since if they don't see they flesh they don't go for the flesh. (BTW, the bastard deer fly's on Deso can bite through a shirt.)


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## codycleve (Mar 26, 2012)

15. Hand pump mister, i bought one of these and clip the misters to the river wing.. I do not think it would work on silty rivers at all... Amazon.com: Mister Coolz Outdoor Mister 2 Gallon, Hand Pump with Carry Bag. 1/4" Outdoor Mist Cooling, Water Spray Mist Cooling, Outdoor Cooling System for Pets, Gardens, Patios, Parks, Backyard Cooling: Garden & Outdoor
16. use water cannon to spray the underside of your bimini. it slowly drips down and cools down fast.


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## Conundrum (Aug 23, 2004)

Cheap cotton Wrangler western snap long sleeve shirt. Dip in the river every once in awhile. Those shirts hold water better than anything I've tried.


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## Riverwild (Jun 19, 2015)

Get a dark colored bimini for your boat - does wonders on the boat and for your coolers at camp.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

Riverwild said:


> Get a dark colored bimini for your boat - does wonders on the boat and for your coolers at camp.


I don't understand. Seems like a highly reflection, even aluminized(space blanket), bimini would work best. Did I miss something?


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## wack (Jul 7, 2015)

I used and decanted river water for our pump sprayer mister a few years ago. Worked wonders for us. Next time I'm bringing a CO2 tank and regulator to keep the misting going without pumping.


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## Riverwild (Jun 19, 2015)

GeoRon said:


> I don't understand. Seems like a highly reflection, even aluminized(space blanket), bimini would work best. Did I miss something?


Dark colors work best hands down. Counter intuitive but if u want cool go dark.....just ask the tarp makers.


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## UtahBrian (Mar 16, 2019)

GeoRon said:


> 12. Ranger at put-in to Deso mentioned that he saw a battery powered misting system built into a Bimini. That would be kool(cool).



You can get a nice misting system for $100 at Costco, but you'll need spare batteries for every few hours (buy the high capacity batteries) which will add up to a lot more than $100. Solar would require a very big panel to recharge these and I don't know where you'd get an interface (they're not USB).

Also, the water in Deso is too thick to feed through the misters, so you'll need to settle out about four gallons an hour with alum every day to recharge the water supply. You'd be fine on the Salmon, but it's not hot up there anyway. The Rogue would be a good place to try out misters.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

I agree with Riverwild, if you look at my two pictures, in the posting on aluminum oar shafts, you will see me with one black shirt and the other one with a dark green shirt. 80% of the time I ware dark shirts, they seam to cool my body a little better, than light colored shirts, plus I'm a slob when I eat.


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## tanderson (Mar 26, 2010)

I’ve found thicker shirts to be cooler. I also have a bandana that I dunk and wrap around my neck. It helps cool the blood. Add a big hat that can be dunked into the water, and I manage. I once came off a trip and there was a dude shirtless and cooked while de rigging. He asked me if I was hot. I was very comfortable at the moment and surprised him with my answer. He looked like a Naugahyde couch. I think at that moment he realized that covering up rather than exposing oneself is the way. Hide from that sun.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

Riverwild said:


> Dark colors work best hands down. Counter intuitive but if u want cool go dark.....just ask the tarp makers.





raymo said:


> I agree with Riverwild, if you look at my two pictures, in the posting on aluminum oar shafts, you will see me with one black shirt and the other one with a dark green shirt. 80% of the time I ware dark shirts, they seam to cool my body a little better, than light colored shirts, plus I'm a slob when I eat.


Thank you Riverwild and raymo for the enlightenment.

This of course had to be researched to better understand why. The below link rendered the below italics.

The Physics that Explain Why You Should Wear Black This Summer

_The best color to keep cool in the heat, it turns out, is to wear black. Black absorbs everything coming in from the sun, sure. But black also absorbs energy from the body instead of reflecting it back. Now, the helpfulness of black clothes depends on finding black clothes that are the same thickness and looseness as those summery white clothes. Black clothing also needs a little help from atmospheric conditions. Once it has absorbed heat, it has to have some way to radiate it away. If there's even a little wind, black clothing is the better choice for those who want to keep cool, like goths who understandably don't like sweating through their make-up. So find something black to wear this summer._

I can't find validation for dark tarp/binimi color except that dark will prevent transmission of UV by absorption confirmed in the following link. It is definitely true that you can feel the sun through most river tarps/umbrellas. I think a reflective space blanket type tarp would do the same as dark colors if not better. That is why space blankets are used as I understand it in field medicine/emergencies to retain body core temperature. It is also why they encase space craft in reflective surfaces. Some company mentioned here on MB has a reflective river tarp.

True or False: Wearing light-colored clothes in hot weather is better than wearing darker clothing?


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## stribtw (Mar 19, 2009)

Learned this from a friend on the San Juan. At camp, clip a wet sarong to the side of the bimini where the sun is coming in. Keeps the boat shaded and the air under cool.


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## portermoab (Sep 20, 2017)

Bring a sarong to wet in the river and wear over your legs while rowing. Keeps the sun burns down, too.

Lots of cold beer.


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## 2tomcat2 (May 27, 2012)

raymo said:


> I agree with Riverwild, if you look at my two pictures, in the posting on aluminum oar shafts, you will see me with one black shirt and the other one with a dark green shirt. 80% of the time I ware dark shirts, they seam to cool my body a little better, than light colored shirts, plus I'm a slob when I eat.


Wow, this is totally new info! From personal experience (desert backpacking, river trips and almost every weekend spent in the local deserts of So Cal area) made me a true believer in not wearing darker colors. Just skimped the above articles, did not see much if any reference given to WHAT kind of materials for dark colors? Would be interested in seeing more info....


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

2tomcat2, good morning, I ware black or dark colored clothing because I feel a little cooler, for some reason. I don't know the physics behind it. I do use some of the other techniques suggested in this posting to stay cool also. Black or dark colored clothing does not make the person any hotter than lighter colored clothing in my experience. Head covering is important also. It's all a personal choice. These pictures are off the internet, camels don't like me, i got bitten by one at the Renaissance Festival. Tell Tom hi.


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## angdunn (Jan 26, 2010)

My favorite way to keep cool is to wear paddling gloves and long sleeves. I dip my arms in the water regularly to wet myself up to my shoulders. I prefer to keep my shorts dry since this can lead to boat-person's butt, chafing, and other discomforts "down there". Cooling the wrists works better for me than a wet bandana around the neck (this option has led to more fly bites--which I try to avoid because I'm highly allergic). They don't make the gloves that were my faves anymore so I don't have specific glove recommendations, but I absofreakinglutely LOVE the Voormi River Run Hoodie. Other than outerwear, it is literally the most expensive piece of clothing I own, but it is worth it. For evaporative cooling purposes, it seems to have a great balance between breathability and retaining moisture. I have also wet the top of my hat on occasion (but usually avoid getting the band wet because @%$*@ flies bite my head). The hoodie works really great for cooling the head too. When hiking I dip the shirt in the water then put it on and head out. It's great while it's still moist. I also have a big orange crepe fabric hooded mumu that I bought at the Goodwill in Flagstaff before a Grand trip. That thing is like my own personal air conditioning unit but not so comfortable under a pfd or when rowing or paddling. I wish I had a picture handy! 😜


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## zbaird (Oct 11, 2003)

No doubt darker biminis are cooler. I bought white thinking the opposite due to reflection. At Deer Creek last year after bringing the pod down for the up and over hikers I sat under my white, a grey and a darker blue one. Sure as shit, I spent most of my time there on someone else boat under the dark blue one. It was a big enough difference I may get a black cover for mine to replace the white.


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

One year on the SJ I built a mister line with a 2 gallon pump sprayer for pressure. I hung the tube around the outside of the umbrella. The river water clogged the little nozzles pretty quick so I collected everybody's cooler drain water and used that instead. Havent used it since then but wished I had on a couple of trips. It was a little fiddly to keep it working but worth it.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

zbaird said:


> No doubt darker biminis are cooler. I bought white thinking the opposite due to reflection. At Deer Creek last year after bringing the pod down for the up and over hikers I sat under my white, a grey and a darker blue one. Sure as shit, I spent most of my time there on someone else boat under the dark blue one. It was a big enough difference I may get a black cover for mine to replace the white.


It seems that the science is that black absorbs more wavelengths and is generally more opaque to most of the wavelengths we feel as heat. 

White, while it is not absorbent, it is more transparent to the wavelengths we feel as heat. 

Unfortunately that black surface above absorbs hot wavelengths and that heat make it very hot and overhead. 

Granted, that furnace in the sky is relatively hotter so ideally, just reflect all wavelengths from that fusion furnace completely. 

Zach, Please try the experiment of draping a space blanket over the top of the Bimini. The science is best explained in this link below. If an aluminized space blanket surface is good enough for NASA to keep the sun from overheating Apollo Skylab it will probably work best to keep us cool on the river. When you look at a picture of what NASA constructed for Skylab when it lost its heat shield it was not much different than a giant Bimini; and note that they didn't use dark canvas like a dark blue Binimi.









How Space Blankets Work


They look like aluminum foil and they're quite thin. But you'd be surprised how much this blanket will help you out when you're in a very cold or very hot situation.




adventure.howstuffworks.com





Now where can I get an aluminized reflective T-shirt that is also breathable and feels like cotton?


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## jbolson (Apr 6, 2005)

When light from the sun hits a solid object like a bimini top, one of three things happen. It can be reflected, absorbed or transmitted. If its not reflected or absorbed, it is transmitted. To keep cool you want to minimize transmission by maximizing absorbtion or reflection. Either dark colors or reflective can reduce transmission. This gets a little more complicated when you consider the spectrum and the fact that the light properties change with light frequency. Also the temperature of the bimini itself depends alot on these properties. a dark colored bimini is a hot bimini, but who cares if your bimini is hot.

To summarize, if you can see the sun through your shade, it is not as cool as one that you cannot see the sun through.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

jbolson said:


> a dark colored bimini is a hot bimini, but who cares if your bimini is hot.


But then, however, there is thermal radiation from the hot Bimini. Best not to have that surface overhead be hot. It will radiate heat in the infrared.

I think a good experiment would be for Zach to sit beneath a blue Bimini for an hour and then we put a space blanket reflective side up over the blue Bimini. I think the blue Bimini material will quickly cool and so will Zach. But of course when it is 113 degrees in the shade like it can be in the Grand Canyon, can any place be considered cool.


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## almortal (Jun 22, 2014)

A buddy of mine got this battery powered Ryobi mister that attaches to the top of a 5 gallon bucket.









RYOBI ONE+ 18V Portable Bucket Top Misting Fan (Tool Only) PMF01B - The Home Depot


The RYOBI Misting tools and accessories transform any space into a customized misting experience. The 18V ONE+ Portable Bucket Top Misting Fan Kit sets up in minutes. This fan fits on top of most 5 Gal.



www.homedepot.com


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