Cooling vests, misters put to the Arizona heat test

Arizona's extreme heat can take a major toll on your body, so we're putting new misters and cooling vests to the test to help keep you comfortable this summer.

Kelli Gage's Renegade Classic shop in Phoenix sells just about anything you would need to beat the heat -- neckerchiefs, misters, and cooling vests.

We had to try them out, so we enlisted the help of the Mesa Fire Department, using their thermo-imaging gun to detect how hot a body surface can get.

ABC15 Meteorologist Rich Dahlquist tried out a spray mister, but the device only cooled down his forehead, leaving his core temperature still very hot.

The misters worked OK and are good for sitting on the patio or when doing light work around the yard, but the vests far outperformed their competitors.

The vest even contains absorbent material that stays wet and can be reused for many years.

"It's kind of like a swamp cooler effect, it retains the water and once it hits the air it releases the moisture onto your body and gives it that cooling effect," Dahlquist explained.

The best part about the vest? You can keep adding water as it dries, which helps keep you cool for hours.