if water we less "sticky" would you be cooled more or less by its evaporation?

Answer 1

I haven't thought of water as being sticky. We are cooled because when water is evaporated, the heat to evaporate it must be supplied from the skin. The stickyness has to do with the humidity level and mass transfer considerations. There is only so much water that can be in the vapor state at a given temperature, and if that level is being approached by ambient conditions, additional water can't be added by evaporation.

Answer 2

In liquid water, the molecules are connected to their neighbors by weak "hydrogen" bonds. To evaporate, a water molecule has to break these bonds by stealing energy from its neighboring molecules. If the water is in contact with a surface that does not bond well with water molecules (hydrophobic) water molecules would have a more difficult time absorbing heat from that object. It would have to get that energy from the air or other water molecules. The evaporation process would continue, but more slowly. So if your skin is less sticky to water (e.g. if you apply oil to your skin before getting wet) the heat exchange would be less efficient and you would not be cooled as much by the evaporation.

Answer 3

More. If it was less "sticky" implying to me that it is easier to vaporize it would vaporize from your skin faster, resulting in better cooling.