Good theme. I can not say anything relevant to cooling vests, since I have no experience with them. If you find one that works for longer than about 2 h let me know.
We have constant temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius here, with felt temperatures usually being in between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius (~ 100 F). Using normal motorcycle gear one gets baked in less than an hours time. Most riders do not even wear gloves, not to speak about jackets and pants. "Cool" gear is important to me all year around. I have yet to find the ultimate riding gear suitable for the tropics. Here are my current favourites against too much heat stress.
The Frey Daytona Shorty are equipped with wide panels of perforated leather. I dislike the big logo, therefore previously refused buying these boots. In the end I found they are the best hot weather boots with at least a certain amount of reasonable protection (real leather, steel insert for the soles, ankle protectors). I bought them from
Louis in Germany for Euro 125 / US$ 176. The same model is also available with Goretex XCR liner. I also like the BMW Airflow boots, I own them, too.
My favourite gloves for long years were the BMW Rallye. I will not anymore fork out S$ 150 (or US$ 80) for their current quality, see also:
Summer Gloves . Now I am using the Vanucci RVX-2. They are using quite heavy goat leather, with double layers on important spots. There is even a knuckle protector and a tough slider on the palm. Mesh material is on the upper hand and breathable fabric in between the fingers. As long as it moves heat buildup is well controlled. The BMW gloves were cooler even without air flow, but it seems the RVX-2 are a different level in terms of safety. Some summer gloves are difficult to remove when the hands are sweaty, no problem with them here. I bought them for Euro 47 / US$ 66 from Louis.
The most important part is the jacket. Among the 5 jackets I can choose from I have two hot weather favourites. These are the BMW Venting Machine, and the
First Gear Mesh-Tex jacket. Both are full mesh jackets. For most air flow the First Gear is the best I ever had. But make no mistake, the BMW is another caliber in terms of quality (dito for the price), since the mesh material is a lot more substantial. I am aware mesh is is not the safest. But it's still better than a T-shirt.
I am using 'Touring Stuff' pants from
Polo / Germany. They are made from a loosely woven nylon material, and come additionally with aeration zippers. Pockets allow inserting CE approved protectors. I got them as phased-out model for a very good Euro 39 / US$ 55. The nylon sure does not offer much more abrasion resistance than any other textile trousers. I wore them in Australia at temperatures in excess of 40 C, I can say there is nothing that came close. I fear the day they will wear out, because since I do not know of anything else that keeps my legs comfortable enough in the extreme heat.
As helmet I am using Nolan N102 and Shoei Multitech (see:
Shoei Multitec vs. Nolan N102 ). Still my scalp is sweaty most of the time (uh ... every day it is so tempting simply using an open face helmet). I could never ever survive a day with a regular full helmet, flip-ups are indispensable to me. But the helmet still is the biggest heat issue. I have yet to find one which is really cool and safe. May be the new Nolan N43 air?
I am researching the cooling vests now and will probably purchase one soon 
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(Oct 30th 2008, 2:24am)
