Agriculture

Spotted at World Ag Expo: A jacket with a built-in fan. How cool is that?

A company called Zippkool came to the World Ag Expo in Tulare and showed off clothing with built-in cooling fans.
A company called Zippkool came to the World Ag Expo in Tulare and showed off clothing with built-in cooling fans. The Fresno Bee

Straight out of Japan comes a novel of idea for beating the Valley heat.

The Zippkool shirt and jacket was introduced to an eager crowd Wednesday at the World Ag Expo. The jacket has two small, battery powered fans its base. The fans blow air on your body to cool you down.

People who tried on the jacket all had the same reaction.

"This is crazy, but it works," said Silvia Scherer, a pistachio farmer from Lemoore. She bought a jacket for $209.

Scherer was done with her purchase when she noticed the company also sells cooling pants.

"You didn't tell me there were pants," she told Jiro Wayama, manager of marketing and sales for Zippkool.

Wayama said the cooling clothing is used widely in Japan by construction workers. He said he has received interest from several wine grape growers in the Napa region.

More sights from Wednesday’s session of the World Ag Expo:

Robert Rodriguez: 559-441-6327, @FresnoBeeBob

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Spotted at World Ag Expo: A jacket with a built-in fan. How cool is that?."

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