Air-conditioned vests gain popularity in China

After personal computers and personal jet packs, here's another personalized piece of tech that may prove popular in hot places: an air-conditioned vest.

One such vest invented in China has indeed gained popularity, getting sold out amid a heat wave there, China Daily reported.

"(W)hen the temperature is 40 degrees Celsius, someone wearing the vest will feel as if it were 20 degrees Celsius," it quoted trader Wang Yan, 40, who invented the device.

The vest uses fabric that can lock in cool air, he said. He added small tubes distribute the cool air inside the vest.

He said this may be especially useful in work places, where temperatures could reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius in the summer.

"Normally, manufacturing workshops are not equipped with air conditioning because the area is too spacious and cannot be tightly closed, so I think it's best to wear a personal air conditioner," he said.

Wang, a former electric welder who hails from Jiangsu province, claims to have sold some 4,000 vests in the last three months. Each vest fetches a price of $33.

He has even set up a factory to manufacture his invention, the report said.

However, the vest needs compressed air from an air compressor pump to produce the cooling effect.

One pump can sustain several vests, and many factories do have compressed-air pipelines that make using the vest more convenient, he said.

Wang said the vest does not use flammable gas, so it is safe to wear.

Popular with workers

The China Daily report quoted Li Tianbao, a seller of labor protection appliances in Nantong, as saying the vest is popular among workers in shipyards, container producers and other manufacturing companies.

Li said the vests were often sold out in his shop because of a current heat wave.

"I sold about 400 vests this summer, 50 percent more than last year. I want to order more from Wang's factory, but he can't supply them," Li said. — VC, GMA News