Heated Jackets: A Short Introduction
If you live in a cold climate, a good-quality heated jacket is a game-changing piece of gear. Whether you’re commuting, working outdoors, or even hiking, these clever jackets allow you to control your temperature much more effectively than wearing layer after layer. Too hot? Simply turn it down – much easier than having to strip down while outdoors!
There are lots of different options when it comes to heated jackets. Some folks prefer vests rather than full jackets, while others prefer hoodies. In this review, we’ll take a look at the best options in each category as well as those for both men and women.
Further down this page, we’ll discuss some of the common features you’ll find in heated jackets – from phone chargers to torches. We’ll go through each in detail, and then wrap up by looking at some of the most common questions we see from buyers.
Top 10 Heated Jackets in 2021
Best Men’s Heated Jacket
1. ORORO Men’s Soft Shell Heated Jacket
Key Features
⤍ Battery lasts up to 10 hours
⤍ 3 temperature settings
⤍ Wide range of sizes and great fit
Our Rating
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Our Take
ORORO truly leads the way when it comes to heated garments, occupying many of our top picks. Despite our best efforts to dig out formidable opposition, the combination of functionality, sizing, style, and the price was hard to beat.
Their Softshell Heated Jacket is their most versatile heated jacket, with a wind and waterproof exterior and a fleece interior. Softshell fabrics are also a much more flexible material than a traditional hard-shell, so you’ll find greater mobility in this jacket too.
3 carbon fiber heating elements are incorporated into this design: one on either side of the chest and one across the back. These are powered by a 7.4v removable battery pack, which also incorporates a USB charger for your phone. You can set the heat to one of three levels, and the battery will last up to 10 hours.
The styling is neutral and sophisticated – perfectly at home whether you are walking to work or doing yardwork. Unlike many other heated jacket manufacturers, Ororo offers a wide selection of sizes so you can find exactly the right fit. These jackets are nicely tailored and don’t have the boxy feel of other designs.
All in all, this midwestern direct-to-consumer company has taken the heated apparel market by storm. If you a looking for a versatile heated jacket – then you can’t go wrong with the Ororo softshell heated jacket.
Best Women’s Heated Jacket
2. ORORO Women’s Soft Shell Heated Jacket
Key Features
⤍ Stylish and versatile jacket
⤍ 3 heating settings
⤍ Removal hood and battery pack.
Our Rating
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Our Take
For women looking for an unbeatable heated jacket, again ORORO’s soft shell version has your back. This stylish and versatile design will keep you warm and ready for whatever the weather might through at you.
Starting with the basics, this high-performance soft-shell fabric features a weather proof exterior and a warm fleece interior. It’s also nice and windproof, to keep out those artic air currents!
Like the men’s version, this jacket features 3 carbon fiber heating element spread across the front and back of the jacket. You can set the temperature to one of three settings, and remove the battery pack entirely for fall and spring. The hood is also detachable, which adds even more versatility to adapt your style to any weather or season.
So many heated jackets come in a limited number of sizes or are simply unisex. Ororo’s dedication to good tailoring and sizing options really do make all the difference – and leave you with a jacket you can feel comfortable wearing for any occasion.
Like their Men’s Soft Shell, Ororo’s Women’s heated soft shell jacket is a great all-round heated jacket. With a removable battery, can take it throughout the seasons, and even wash it too.
Best Men’s Heated Vest
3. Venture Heat Men’s Heated Puffer Vest
Key Features
⤍ Warm down puffer-style vest
⤍ 3 heating settings & phone charger
⤍ Washable material
Our Rating
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Our Take
Founded in 2003 in a bungalow in Venice Beach, CA, Venture Heat produce a range of electrically-powered apparel. From heating to cooling, and recreation to work wear, they have it all covered. 17 years in the game also means a lot of experience – and it’s fair to say they are one of the established leaders in the category.
Taking a look at their heated puffer vest, it’s a little different to some of the other contenders in this review. First off, it’s a down vest, which offers greater warmth than the softshell jackets we’ve discussed already. This greater warmth comes at the expense of weather proof performance – so this vest is definitely designed to be a layer under one of your existing winter jackets. That’s fine with us though – as obviously a vest doesn’t provide as much coverage as a full jacket anyway.
Like the ORORO jackets, this vest features 3 carbon fiber heating panels: one on each side of the chest and one of across the back. The heating system offers three heat settings, and a phone charger integrated into the jacket too.
In terms of run time – you’re looking at 12 hours on the low setting, 7 on the medium, and 3.3 on the hottest setting. The vest is washable, and comes in three sizes. With thousands of reviews online, feedback seems to be highly positive, only noting that perhaps it does run a little on the small side.
When it comes to a great men’s heated vest, Venture Heat’s Heated Puffer Vest is a great option. If you’re looking for a solid layering heated vest – you can’t go wrong with it.
Best Women’s Heated Vest
4. ORORO Women’s Lightweight Heated Vest
Key Features
⤍ Flattering tailored fit
⤍ 3 heating settings & phone charger
⤍ International adapter included
Our Rating
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Our Take
Yet another great performer from ORORO, this lightweight heated jacket offers a number of standout features making it a firm favorite with us. Based in the Midwest, ORORO have huge expertise in heated apparel and lead the market in several categories. So, what makes this our pick for the best heated women’s vest? Well, it really comes down to attention to detail.
First, let’s take a look at the placement of the 4 heated carbon fiber pads. On the front, two are located right by the hand pockets, so they help to warm your hands as well. On the rear, one is located on the mid-back, and another on the collar to keep your neck warm. A nice little detail which you don’t see on other products.
Like most good quality heated vests, there are 3 temperature levels to choose from, and a USB charging port for charging your phone and other small devices. Battery life is in line with other offerings, with 10 hours on low mode and 3 hours on the highest.
The fit is tailored and flattering, and with the batteries removed this vest looks sleek in simple black. 5 size options are offered, so there’s a nice spread to fit everyone. The material on this vest is a water-resistant down, which is also washable, so care is a breeze too.
Wrapping up, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this for buyers looking for a women’s heated vest. It does the basics excellently and adds in several thoughtful features too.
5. ORORO Men’s Lightweight Heated Vest
Key Features
⤍ Top-performing heated down vest
⤍ 3 heating settings & phone charger
⤍ Wide range of sizes available
Our Rating
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Our Take
Coming in a close second behind the Venture Heat Men’s heated vest, ORORO’s lightweight heated vest is still a great product. As we’ve discussed before, these two companies are really leaders in the space, and their products are a step above the competition.
Breaking it down (no pun intended!), there are really two main differences between the ORORO heated vest and Venture Heat’s version. Firstly, OROROs offering features a shade shorter battery life, which is obviously an essential feature for any heated jacket. The second is more of a preference thing – in that this vest features heat pads in the same position to the women’s version. That means you’ll find two on the front at pocket height, one mid back, and one on the neck area at the back. Whether you prefer this or not is really a question of preference – so we’ll leave that one to you.
Beyond the placement of the heat pads, this vest is a solid in all the key areas. It’s manufactured from a good quality down material, which offers a small degree of waterproofing (although we never recommend down as weather proof). As you’d expect, a USB charger is included, and the battery can be removed for wearing out of season.
Really, it’s a very close battle between this ORORO vest and the version offered by Venture Heat. Both are great, but this features some subtle differences to the placement of the heat pads and slightly reduced battery life.
6. PTAHDUS Women’s Heated Soft Shell Jacket
Key Features
⤍ Control handwarmers and jacket separately
⤍ Softshell with fixed hood
⤍ Slightly shorter battery life
Our Rating
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Our Take
PTAHDUS are a newer entry into the heated jacket industry, having only been founded in 2016. Their designs are fairly similar to ORORO and Venture Heat, but come with a few subtle differences.
This particular jacket is another soft-shell version, featuring a full-length sleeve and a non-detachable hood. One of the best features of this particular jacket is the placement of the heat pads. You have two hand warmer pads on the front of the jacket, two chest warmers, and a single back warmer.
Like most systems, there are three heat settings, but on this jacket, you can adjust the handwarmer heat separately from the rest of the jacket. This is a nice little feature, and is great for situations where you just need to warm your hands quickly rather than the whole jacket.
With 8 hours of running time on the low setting, this jacket doesn’t quite have the battery life of others in the review. A few buyers have expressed unhappiness at this – which we feel keeps it from competing at the top end. Nonetheless, it’s still a great heated jacket with comparable features and a nice addition with the separate handwarmer.
7. Venture Heat Heated Hoodie
Key Features
⤍ Heated hoodie system
⤍ Reasonable price-point
⤍ 12 hour battery with 3 heating modes
Our Rating
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Our Take
When it comes to heated hoodies, again it’s the Venture Heat option that stands out from the crowd. While other tool manufacturers have produced these garments before (as we’ll discuss below), Venture Heat’s continued improvement on this product has refined it over time.
Heated hoodies are better suited as layering garments when compared to soft shell jackets, and work well under a work jacket or other weatherproof outer layer. Venture Heat have placed heat pads across the chest and back in this design, but recently revised it to increase the size of the pads by 20%. With 12 hours of run time, there’s plenty of power on tap from their new 2019 battery upgrade, which extended life and power available.
Venture Heat also added the popular external heat button which is common heated hoodies, allowing you to turn it on and off with ease. As you would expect from a product like this, the fabric is machine washable, and has been tested to perform after 50 cycles.
With thick, comfortable material, long battery life, and reliable performance, the Venture Heat is a top pick for heated hoodies. If you’re looking for a great heated hoodie for job sites or just wearing outside, then this is a solid choice.
8. Milwaukee M12 Heated Hoodie
Key Features
⤍ Workwear heated hoodie
⤍ Bulky battery system
⤍ Short battery life & reliability issues
Our Rating
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Our Take
Milwaukee tools are one of the most well-known power tool makers out there – with a strong following amongst industry pros and hobbyists alike. Their product range spreads all the way into work wear, and this heated hoodie runs off the same M12 power system you’ll find in a number of their tools.
As a fabric hoodie, this garment doesn’t quite have the same weatherproof characteristics of a soft-shell or hardshell jacket. While it is windproof, you might want to think of it more as a layering garment than an outer layer.
Heat zones are found on the chest and on the back area, and feature three heat settings – low, medium and high. Run time is a little low at 6 hours on low setting, which is behind some of the other options.
The material is rugged and features a comfortable waffle thermal lining that helps to keep heat in. It is also cut to work well with a hard hat, and is fully machine washable and dryable.
Some buyers have reported they feel that the M12 battery system is a little bulky to have in a jacket or hoodie. Furthermore, the positioning of the battery annoys others, who find it gets in the way when driving a car or truck. Finally, across both the Milwaukee website and others, several have noted performance issues and the electricals breaking.
While we often recommend Milwaukee tools, it seems their heated hoodie needs a rethink. If you’re particularly loyal to the brand you can give it a go, but there are better options out there at the moment.
9. DEWALT DCHJ067B
Key Features
⤍ Workwear heated hoodie
⤍ Can move the battery front to back
⤍ Large zippered phone pocket
Our Rating
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Our Take
Another offering from a power tool behemoth, this time in the form of DEWALT’s DCHJ067B. Like Milwaukee, DEWALT frequently score well in our power tool reviews, and have a full spread of workwear and boots to complement their tools.
Similar to Milwaukee’s hoodie, the DCHJ067B isn’t particularly weatherproof, and is really designed to be worn under a work jacket. Heat pads are located on either side of the chest and back, and are controlled via 3 heat settings on the remote. A large zipped phone pocket is included for your devices, so you can keep them nearby but safely protected on the work site.
Again, battery position appears to be a weak point on this hoodie, with some buyers unhappy that it digs into the ribs in certain positions. Unlike the Milwaukee however, you can reposition the battery between the front and the back of the hoody, which makes it more comfortable when sitting in a vehicle. Generally, buyers do note the bulkiness of the battery system, which isn’t perfectly suited this application when compared with specialist heating systems.
Other buyers have been disappointed with the price point, which is slightly high given that a battery isn’t included as standard. While it’s convenient if you’re using DEWALT 20V tools already, if you don’t have this battery system then it can be frustrating. Remember that 12V batteries won’t power this hoodie.
All in all, this hoodie is popular with loyal DEWALT fans, but we do feel that there are better options available. The rugged durability is good, and it performs better than the Milwaukee, but we would go with a more specialist manufacturer.
10. PROSmart Men’s Heated Jacket
Key Features
⤍ Weatherproof heated jacket
⤍ Affordably priced
⤍ Some find the pockets too small
Our Rating
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Our Take
Coming in a little cheaper than some of the other options in this review, the PROSmart range offers a great way to get a heated weatherproof jacket without breaking the bank.
In terms of heating panels, this jacket features the usual three panel setup, with two on the front and one located on the rear. The material is a weatherproof soft shell fabric, which offers warmth and a reasonable degree of waterproofing too. The hood is not detachable on this particular product, which some might find slightly frustrating. The controls are easily accessible via a button on the chest of the jacket, allowing you to quickly switch between one of three heating modes.
According to the specifications, the battery is claimed to last an astounding 16 hours, however we have been unable to locate enough reviews to confirm that is the case. It does however include a USB charger for easy charging on the go.
Some buyers have reported that the pockets are a little on the small side, but generally seemed pleased with their purchase. If you’re shopping for a bargain, the PROSmart heated jacket is a good option coming in slightly cheaper than the more recognizable names in this review.
What To Consider When Buying A Heated Jacket
With so many heated jacket options on the market, it can get a little overwhelming! How do you know which features are most important? In this section, we’ll take a look at each in turn so you can figure out how they affect your buying decision.
Material
Heated jackets come in a wide variety of different materials. They are each designed for a slightly different use case. For external jackets, softshell materials are the most common. This is mostly because they offer the “best of both worlds” in terms of performance. The material is fairly weatherproof, and the fleece interior helps you keep warm. You can also layer them. However, this can mean they are a little stiff to wear sometimes.
Next up you have down or “puffer” material, which is a common choice for heated vests. Down jackets are filled with insulating feathers, making them extremely good at trapping warmth. They also feature a lightweight skin material, which is thin and flexible to give good mobility. The downside is they aren’t as waterproof and work well under a weatherproof jacket as a layer.
Finally, we have heated hoodies, which are typically made from a cotton blend. These are easy to wash, and the soft material makes them very comfortable to wear. The drawback is they aren’t particularly weatherproof. So, you’ll need to wear them under another jacket on a wet or snowy day as a layering piece.
Jacket, Hoodie, or Vest?
In this review, we’ve covered jackets, hoodies, and some vests too because people choose each to suit their individual preferences. Hoodies and jackets offer the most coverage, and therefore the most warming ability. Vests work great when layered with another jacket to add additional heat.
The downside with the vest or hoodie is they aren’t as weatherproof, either due to their cut or material. Really, it comes down to whichever you prefer.
Heating Pad Location
While there isn’t a huge variety in the location of the heating pads in heated jackets, every now and then you do see interesting innovations. The basic front-back setup works well, but some brands have decided to push the boat out further.
One innovation you’ll see is the placement of pads near front pockets, in order to provide additional warming for your hands. This can be a really nice little feature and makes a big difference if you have to use bare hands out in the cold.
Another option some people enjoy is the heated neck. This is available on some models and gives you a nice heat element right on the back of your neck. Some people find it annoying, while others love it. Really, it’s up to you!
Phone Charging
Almost all heated jackets these days come with a USB outlet to charge your phone, but it’s worth mentioning briefly. In the age where your phone is indispensable, it really is a huge help to be able to charge it on the go – so we can’t recommend this enough. If your top choice doesn’t have it – plenty of others do!
Battery Life
Battery life varies, but generally, we consider 8 hours and upon a low setting to be a good battery life for a heated jacket. This is more important to some buyers than others, but it’s an important thing to consider. We would say it’s especially important if your jacket uses a proprietary battery system – as it might not be as easy to get replacements. Some jackets, such as Milwaukee and DEWALT’s products, runoff power tool batteries which are easier to come by and replace.
Fit & Styling
Finally, fit and styling really are important to consider when purchasing a heated jacket. Some manufacturers try to keep their costs down by manufacturing fewer sizes, while others offer unisex garments.
The best manufacturers will offer specific products aimed at men and women, and a range of different sizes for each. While it might be tempting to go for something that’s cheaper, make sure you can find something that fits right. There’s nothing worse than spending money on a jacket you don’t want to wear!
Heated Jacket FAQs
Are heated jackets worth it?
In short – we definitely think they are – but only for certain situations! If you live in a very cold climate, like the Midwest, then a heated jacket will be your new best friend in the winter. You won’t have to put on so many layers you can barely move. Plus, you can turn it on and off depending on the season.
If you live elsewhere in the country that isn’t quite so cold, then you might want to think twice before buying. They are slightly costlier than a traditional jacket, and some people find the battery to be annoying.
Are heated jackets bad for you?
Generally, heated jackets are safe to use. Reputable manufacturers use UL/CE-certified batteries, which meet European and Underwriters Laboratories standards. These are both rigorous safety standards for batteries. They are used to determine any underlying issues that could cause fire or another type of harm.
Can you fly with a heated jacket?
Yes, you can fly in heated jackets. You should carry the batteries with you, as lithium-ion batteries are not allowed in checked baggage. Be sure to check the latest information from your airline, but as of the time of publication, this wasn’t a problem.
What is the best heated jacket?
In all honesty, it’s difficult to say which is the best heated jacket, because it really depends on your preferences. We do recommend Venture Heat and ORORO products as the best overall. However, and they have a number of different offerings ranging from vests to hoodies and full jackets.
Both of these companies have been producing heated jackets for quite some time and have a lot of experience. We would generally suggest you avoid manufacturers who do not have an established reputation in the category.
How long do heated jackets last?
It varies on the battery system used in the jacket, but most last between 6-11 hours when used on a low setting. As a rule of thumb, battery power halves when you put them to medium heat. It then halves again when you put them on high heat.
The better manufacturers will enable you to purchase spare batteries for your jacket. Power tool manufacturers like DEWALT and Milwaukee use battery systems that match their other products, making it easier to switch batteries.
1 comment
This is a great list. As someone who loves the heated jackets, I can confirm that Dewalt and Venture Heat are the best heated jackets.