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My quest
to stay warm while outdoors has come to this: What if I
electrified myself? Not electrocute, electrify. With
battery-operated clothing.
You can
now buy battery-heated jackets, vests, gloves and shoe
insoles. Most are rechargeable; some of the gloves use
AA batteries. Theoretically, you could go from your
electric blanket to your electric clothes and spend the
entire winter wired for heat. And imagine the attention
when you show up at the airport with your wire-stuffed
jacket!
How well
do they work? Read on.
———
Mountain
Hardwear men's Refugium and women's Radiance jacket
$240
; power system
$145
; optional tech connector kit,
$50
. Available at Erehwon Mountain Outfitters in
Chicago
and several suburbs, and in limited sizes and colors at
mountaingear.com and backcountry.com.
I loved
this jacket so much that my heart broke at the total
price tag. The women's version is a beauty, especially
in winter white — a soft layer of snow-white nylon
with persimmon-red lining, cut stylishly slim. There is
no separate battery to bump into you as you hike or ski;
the batteries are inside a flat, flexible pack zipped
into the jacket's back.
The black
rubber control button on the chest looks like a
"Star Trek" communicator and is much easier to
reach than a battery in a pocket. The glowing red LED
heat level lights on the control button are so cool that
they brought the busy morning shift at my local coffee
stop to a halt as the awed baristas took a gander. And I
didn't even show them the tech connector that lets the
jacket battery charge your cell phone, BlackBerry or MP3
player.
It can be
worn alone on a cool day or as an insulating layer on a
frigid one. I tested it both ways, including the
toughest test of all: zero degrees, 20 below wind chill,
i.e. the
Dec. 10
morning commute in
Chicago
.
I wore it
under a thin shearling coat that would never keep me
warm at zero on its own. The result: Oh, was it cold
out? I hardly noticed.
OK, I
noticed the wind. But the warmth, more widely spread out
than the other jackets and pouring easily through the
silky fabric, kept me happy as I walked to the
"L" and waited on the platform. And I stayed
happy — right up until the battery died, less than an
hour after I had turned it on.
The
batteries are supposed to last 1.6 hours on high (8.6
hours on low). Mine, set on high, hadn't made it even to
that under-two-hour mark. A company spokeswoman thought
the battery might have been defective. But if I owned
the jacket, I would periodically force myself to lower
the heat to make it last longer. The incident, however,
pointed out a danger in heated clothing: If you dress on
the assumption that you are going to rely on battery
heat, you may be in trouble if the battery quits.
I still
loved it.
———
Brookstone
softshell heated jacket
(
Bill Hogan
,
Chicago Tribune
/
November 24, 2009
)
$199.95
, brookstone.com
Described
as windproof, water-resistant and able to provide up to
five hours of heat in three zones (the battery, about
the size of a chunky BlackBerry, is stored in a pocket)
— this jacket sounded perfect. Alas, it wasn't. The
heat zone in the back was too high and small, aiming its
heat at a patch of upper back that didn't seem to really
need it. For women, the front heat zones would be better
placed lower, on the torso instead of over the breasts.
The windproof and water-resistant qualities would seem
to make it an outermost layer, but it is not nearly
heavy enough to solo in seriously cold weather. And
putting a lot of layers under a heated jacket defeats
the purpose.
———
Blazewear
heated body warmer and jacket
(
Bill Hogan
,
Chicago Tribune
/
December 2, 2009
)
$194.95
; and heated body warmer,
$169.95
; blazewearusa.com
I tested
the jacket, a heavy-duty winter jacket with a waterproof
exterior, flannel lining and one of the best-fitting
hoods I've ever worn. It was pretty good-looking, too,
though I found the women's jacket too tight across the
hips. The heat, controlled by a battery in an inner
pocket, was decent in the back, but the wire casing had
a rubbery feel to it that induced clamminess. As with
Brookstone's model, the front wires would have been more
useful for a woman if they were lower.
———
Blazewear
2010 heated sports gloves
(
Bill Hogan
,
Chicago Tribune
/
December 2, 2009
)
$79.95
, blazewearusa.com
These
windproof gloves feature a compartment for 3 AA
batteries attached to the wrist of each glove, or you
can use a rechargeable lithium polymer battery,
available for an additional
$76.95
.
When I
first put them on, they felt quite delightful. But after
10 minutes outside, the heat was just about gone every
place but my palms. After another 10 minutes, I hardly
felt heat at all. A warmer-handed soul might manage, but
I'm sticking with a chemical hand warmer clutched inside
a mitten.
———
Brookstone
battery-powered heated glove liners
(
Bill Hogan
,
Chicago Tribune
/
November 24, 2009
)
$39.99
, brookstone.com
I am a
tough case for gloves, and these liners, which are made
to be worn beneath gloves or mittens, didn't make the
grade. I barely felt a thing.
———
Brookstone
heated insoles
(
Bill Hogan
,
Chicago Tribune
/
November 24, 2009
)
$99.95
, brookstone.com
Pricey
but nice. These thin but comfortable insoles have flat
batteries built in. The little pinholes at the front
emit a constant 98.6 degrees right where you want the
heat. The temperature took the edge off very pleasantly.
The rechargeable batteries are said to last up to eight
hours on a charge, though mine lasted about half that.
Even so, I liked them so much that they were the only
item I tested that I bought for myself.
Note: For
major foot heat, try Grabber's new chemical foot
warmers. These heat the entire foot and work so well in
the airless quarters of a shoe or boot that — and I
can't believe I am saying this — they are actually too
hot at times. But considering that they cost about
$2.40
apiece (they can be used only once), I will probably be
willing to suffer.
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