I remember last year when it was a little on the warm side. My group chugged down plenty of water bottles. but I was still painfully warm in my costume.
I was just wondering how you guys stay cool? The weather here is starting to get warm again for summer D:
I always wind up getting too warm -- the legacy of multi-layered, fabric-heavy costumes -- but here's what I usually wind up doing to mitigate that.
- staying out of the sun (or at least the direct sun), and ducking back indoors into the nice A/C where possible
- keeping hydrated (don't forget that sugary drinks and caffeine won't really help with that)
- carrying a fan (I use a fold-out hand fan, but know folks who carry little battery-powered portable ones) at all times
- making my cosplays out of breathable materials, and natural fibre wherever possible
- failing all else, putting a cold water bottle or cup of ice on pulse points -- wrists, ankles, neck -- helps if it comes to that
- don't shock your system; if you get too warm, cool off gradually -- you'll feel better for having done so rather than just diving right in front of the A/C at full blast
What you wear does, in my experience, make a tremendous difference; I've worked Renaissance Faires on the Central Coast for years now, and putting my stuff on while it's still cooler and making it out of cottons/linens/silks has allowed me to stay relatively comfortable even in four skirts, chemise, pants, and fully lined bodice. XD
Kind of hard to follow up such awesome advice, but you might also consider downing something like a smoothie or frappucino from the con as well. Those things are usually blended with ice, so they're a lot colder than just a bottle of water, and it'll reduce your core temperature quite a bit, at least for a while. (Think of how cold you get drinking something like that in cool weather... same principal applies.)
For some of my cosplays that have many layers (aka, are not skin tight), I'm sometimes able to incorporate ice packs into them. I also design them so that I can easily take them off if I start to overheat. During the day I try to stick inside, and at night I make trips outside to cool off.
And, as was said before, STAY HYDRATED! Don't forget to drink a lot of water! Not only will it help keep you cool, it'll also help you feel less sore the next day (water helps to dispose of lactic acid).
I am quite resistant to high tempatures for the most part, but if need be I can keep quite cool with water. It is also a reasonable plan to carry around some Tylenol for those who get headaches easy.
If you need to, don't be afraid to go back to your room and rest for a bit, or even take a dip in the hotel pool.
Stay hydrated, as well, You don't want to pass out from heat stroke. Try to avoid things that are too physical, especially if you are outside and/or in a really hot costume. I'd avoid things like coffee and soda, which will only make it worse. Plain ol' water is best, unless you are losing a -lot- of sweat, in which case you need a sports drink to replenish all those lost electolytes (but not really needed if you are just walking around and sweating a little).
If you tend to get hot easily, plan your cosplays accordingly. Wear your skimpiest costumes and costumes made out of breathable fabric during the hottest parts of the day, and save that full fursuit or vinyl coat for night.
Also, not about keeping cool but still relates to beating the heat: WEAR DEODORANT. SHOWER. USE SOAP. Con funk is bad enough if it's -not- hot out, but even worse when everyone's sweating like crazy.
I think everything else has been pretty well covered. :D
find a nice patch of shady grass and lay down, perhaps in the park across the street. or go swimming in the hotel pools. as for staying in the convention, sit on some cold linoleum.
Whenever you get a overheated, I suggest going into a viewing room and relax a little bit, they always have the rooms air conditioned. Oh and drink water throughout out the day, although I don't really follow my advice that much.
i wear incredibly scanty costumes.
no seriously. xD
Quote from: ichigocorcor on April 28, 2010, 12:38:24 PMi wear incredibly scanty costumes.
Which makes surprisingly little difference depending on your material choices. :D I've had friends in about a yard of PVC total who were warmer than me in my ten-plus yards of cottons and silks. But if you keep some of the major heatsink areas free in the process (wrists, ankles, back of neck, head), it definitely puts you a step up!
Quote from: Charis on April 28, 2010, 02:45:09 PM
Quote from: ichigocorcor on April 28, 2010, 12:38:24 PMi wear incredibly scanty costumes.
Which makes surprisingly little difference depending on your material choices. :D I've had friends in about a yard of PVC total who were warmer than me in my ten-plus yards of cottons and silks. But if you keep some of the major heatsink areas free in the process (wrists, ankles, back of neck, head), it definitely puts you a step up!
i hear ya there- but i really, really dislike fabrics that aren't cotton for pretty much that exact reason haha.
I'm curious, does the Convention supply Fanime with water coolers? (Or the equivalent of them) Or are they just pitchers in the individual rooms with ice water and drinking fountains?
Quote from: Wild Dog on May 01, 2010, 10:53:45 PM
I'm curious, does the Convention supply Fanime with water coolers? (Or the equivalent of them) Or are they just pitchers in the individual rooms with ice water and drinking fountains?
They did in '08, not sure about '09 but I believe they did that year as well.
Quote from: Wild Dog on May 01, 2010, 10:53:45 PM
I'm curious, does the Convention supply Fanime with water coolers? (Or the equivalent of them) Or are they just pitchers in the individual rooms with ice water and drinking fountains?
the hotels usually do, i know the hilton had one down by the dojo/18+ dance.
There is limited water cooler service in the convention center.
There are water fountains all over the place, though - usually next to the bathrooms.
It's the same water (except the coolers are not free) so... ^^;
my friends' solution seems pretty agreeable... gather in a hotel room, blast the ac, and have a lingerie party.
we had a lingerie party at comic con... but it was at night. i don't think i'd ever hang out in the hotel during the day D: heresy. sounds fun though :D
Beat the heat?
How about stay in the highly air conditioned convention center? It was nice and cool all weekend last year (perhaps a bit too cold around midnight).
Quote from: michiko nakano on May 05, 2010, 10:55:19 AM
my friends' solution seems pretty agreeable... gather in a hotel room, blast the ac, and have a lingerie party.
I invited, yes?
Drink Water that's cold and stay in the shadow.And Gatorade may help. I myself was actually cold liek half of the time.:D
But yeah, Water and gatorade should help.And bring mini fans i guess.
yes, thank you for summarizing lolz
Just thought I'd put this out here:
This year has been an El nino year, which means an extended period of cooler, wet weather. It actually rained yesterday and to be honest it felt a lot more like February than May. ><
So while it's perfectly possible that things will warm up at the end of the month, it might be a good idea to prepare for the possibility of the weather not being so toasty.
I guess we'll all just have to keep our eyes on the forecast. XD
If it's too hot, go to the hotel room and take off some clothes.
It it's too cold, go to the hotel room with some friends and take off some clothes and
Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.
This year, the weather looks really nice. ^^
High 70s on Friday and Saturday. Low 80s on Sunday and Monday.
Ew, that's about ten degrees too much for me. D: But the weather's been seriously ADD lately -- cold one day, warm the next, cooling down rather drastically some nights. Not sure how San Jose's been precisely, but bear in mind that nights might still get chilly even if the days are warm.
(Seriously, non-toasty weather would make me the happiest clam around. Wet weather? Not so much.)
Yeah, the weather's been really nice lately! \(^ ^)/
I'm secretly hoping it'll stay like this till Fanime, but I know people usually prefer sunny weather. Sunny means hot! T__T
To stay cool, I:
_avoid the sun
_fan myself (I got a free Prinny fan at Fanime '08 and '09, hoping to see a new design this year)
_enjoy the outside at nighttime
_try to dress in light clothes, but its not always an option
_drink plenty of fluids
_stop walking around and plop down somewhere to go through the stuff I've bought
_sneak into the fridge room at Ben & Jerry's (I work there :p)
It looks like it's going to rain on Memorial Day weekend. :( *crosses fingers* lets hope the forecast changes!
omg, i know so many people that would love for it to rain. what's better then rain-lovers hanging out with newly met friends from con playing ninja in the park? bliissssss
Rain would kill most cosplayers. Don't want to get an outfit that took hours of your life and tons of money to put together wet. Here's hoping for dry weather.
watching the news. the next 7 days, 4 days will be "wet". All bay. (I'm thinking mostly North Bay). It's cold for May!
Weather Underground's page for the Con Centre zip code (http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=95110) says a chance of rain W/Th of next week (that's as far as their forecast goes), but 40% and 30% respectively. As everyone knows, weather forecasting's a fuzzy thing, though.
Here's to hoping that if there is rain, it's minimal and not prolonged -- I'd be fine with a little in the morning or late at night, just to keep things cool but not to leave lingering damp. As a cosplayer ... yep, no thank you; half of my stuff isn't going anywhere outside if it's raining, between colour (white), materials (silk), and length (potentially draggy hems). I love rain normally, but not a big fan of it in cosplay.
Keeping fingers crossed for cooler, slightly overcast, but mostly DRY.
I agree, cosplays must be protected at all costs. Perhaps if it rained during the wee hours of the morning it would be nice though, so it would be nice and cool when everyone woke up.
The cool weather is welcomed but not the rain... still looks like rain might hit though next week
(All the outside gathering are gonna bum-rush the lobby to hold their gatherings...oh poor BSaphire...she's gonna go crazy trying to deal with the gatherings)
Typically it's over 100 degrees during Fanime where I live so I like it
if it continues to be like this, this would be my very first Fanime where I HAVE to bring a JACKET!
If memory serves me correctly, it'll (possibly) be the first time since Fanime 2k that it rained (or will rain) on a con day. No real need to worry about heat, then.
Nuuuu.... I fell bad now for secretly wishing for cold weather... ._.
I never thought about the cosplayers! ; ;
I think it changed!
Weather.com now says that the 29th and 30th will be sunny at the very least, and with high temperatures of 69-70. Nearly no chance of rain (sorry, rain-lovers, I like cloudy myself.).
Let's cross our fingers and hope it doesn't change! (But bring a jacket in case? the end of the con day might get cold.)
I hope it stays sunny; as someone who went to Sakura-Con in Seattle this year, had a hotel room that was 15 minutes away, and walked to and from the con center in cosplay, I know that rainy weather during a con blows. (And it will blow even moreso if it happens at Fanime due to a higher proportion of outdoor events.)
Looking like only rain on day zero ^^ and nice and cool! 73 will be the hottest it gets
I really don't think you'll have any problem with the heat this year.
It might be raining you think? :/ I know a couple years ago it rained for like 5 mins. But I usually just stay inside most fo the time so it doesn't bother me much. Unless, I'm waiting outside for a concert I usually just edure the suffering for my favorite bands. >.<
It will be a sunny weekend in San Jose. Pretty sure I'll be wearing shorts, sandals, and tshirt. Hopefully it isn't so cold inside the con.