Jett Battery Powered Vest

[steelhead]

As the title states, has anyone bought and used one of these? I like the idea of not being plugged in and being able to wear it on the cold winter mornings while steelhead fishing also. I see that there is only heat on the back of the vest and it is quite pricey at about $240 U.S., but I still may give it a try. Any feedback is appreciated.

https://www.jett.us.com/heat_vest_complete.htm

 

[HaulinAshe]

I've not tried/bought any yet, but I have been doing extensive research and asking a lot of questions.

The battery powered vests all appear to use the same technology of carbon fiber heating pads. The same technology is now being used in automobile heated seats and appears to be the now, defacto standard. Here's some of my "thoughts" about the CF vests and technology:

* A 9"x18" CF heating element is typically listed as drawing about 50 watts power at 12VDC. That's a bit over 4 amps. At that rate, it would require a huge capacity LiPoly (Lithium-Polymer) battery to sustain a high setting for four(4) hours, which is what many of the battery vests claim. So either they are using much smaller/less powerful CF elements, or their battery claims are unrealistic.

* The "wired" element vest/liners such as Gerbing, Widder, WarmNsafe, typically include heating wires around the neck/collar area. This is frequently mentioned by owners of heated gear as a huge plus/benefit. I have yet to find a CF vest that provides heat pads anywhere other than the lower back, upper shoulder blades and lower abdomen. This may be a cause for concern and almost certainly requires a neck fleece to still be used.

* While the convenience of having the power source attached/carried along with the vest is very appealing (especially to me, "Mr. I wanna be wireless!"), there is substantiated history of just how dangerous a LiPoly battery pack can be when subjected to severe impacts. Ask any RC helicopter pilot who flies electrics what the last heli crash fire looked like. Battery pack explosions have resulted from charger malfunctions, vehicle fires and other such catastrophic events have occurred from misuse or physical impacts on LiPoly packs. They contain a lot of energy and can be extremely dangerous.

So the thought of having one tucked inside my ride jacket, next to my body WHEN I go down on the bike, does not exactly appeal to me personally. At the very least I would want the battery pack outside of my ride gear. Preferably the battery pack would be attached to the bike somewhere so that there is a good chance it would leave the scene of the crash in a very different space and direction from my body. But that would mean wiring and hence totally eliminate the key benefit of the battery powered vest.

All in all, I think I've decided that battery powered heated clothing is a good idea for hikers, bicyclists, sportsmen/hunters and the like. But for someone on a motorcycle who always stands a good chance of subjecting the battery pack to a severe impact, I'm thinking wired is still the way to go.

Just my $.02

 

[steelhead]

They claim on their site that their battery is a "soft" outer and will "not explode". You make some good points Jeff. I am still on the fence on this one.

Quote from their site:

"The Slim battery pack is made up of 4 x 3.7volt lithium-polymer batteries wired up in series, giving a total output of 14.8 volts (30 Watts) They are the latest technology in batteries, outstanding for their compact size and performance. They are made from flexible soft poly materials & do not explode, even when soaked directly underwater.

The batteries are fitted with overcharge protection circuits which protect them from excessive and overcharging, making them last longer and protect them from damage and overheating.

They are available in 2.8 Amps - 3.3 Amps & take about 3-4 hours to recharge."

 

[HaulinAshe]

"The Slim battery pack is made up of 4 x 3.7volt lithium-polymer batteries wired up in series, giving a total output of 14.8 volts (30 Watts) They are the latest technology in batteries, outstanding for their compact size and performance. They are made from flexible soft poly materials & do not explode, even when soaked directly underwater.

Steelhead, thanks for the reminder about that. I remember reading that too.

They had me for a moment. But all the LiPoly packs we use in the RC world are also considered "soft". They are a bit flexible/not rigid like a NiCad or NiMh cells. I can certainly appreciate their going to the trouble of placing protective fuses etc. on the packs. But even the most perfect of wiring and construction cannot guarantee that a severe physical impact will not induce a shorted and potentially fire hazardous battery pack. It's just reality and not anyone's fault.

The wattage math is the other issue. They claim, and I do believe them, that their battery pack has the potential of 30 watt/hours. Gerbing/Widder etc. vests are typically around 55 watts rated on high. So even if you could run the Jett vest wide open at a 30 watt setting, the battery would only last one hour per charge, AND, it would only produce 30 watts of heat versus 55 watts from the wired competitors. So here's how I see the skinny...

Jett battery vest, WFO (30 watt setting), lasts one hour per charge. That's probably equal to a medium-setting (33 of 55) on a wired vest. I think I need more capacity and probably need more heat than that.

 

[steelhead]

I found this review on WBW. Check out the comments section on the bottom of the page from Jett concerning battery life. The review says it is the best of the battery powered that they have tested and on the warmest setting it is almost too warm. I certainly don't want to be a ball of flames if I have a get off, but I have not as of yet heard of any such case (thank goodness). I may have to give it a try as I can use it for my other cold weather activities also.

https://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/heated-vest...ry-heated-vest/

 

[HaulinAshe]

I saw the WBW reviews. They have several on heated hear and a couple on battery vests. Very nice articles. I do wish they had done a complete battery life test at high setting to either verify or dispute the manufacturer's claim of 4 hours life.

I know I'm not looking forward to mounting a bunch more connections for heated gear. I would love to use battery powered vests, especially since I don't live in a cold climate and only need them for the weekend mornings ventured into the mountains.

If you do buy one and try it, please post up. I would love to hear how it works for you.

 

[steelhead]

I recieved my Jett vest this week and have to say I am quite happy with it. I ordered a size small per their chart, even though I was a little skeptical about it fitting my 6"2" 180lb frame. Much to my delight, it fits just right. The battery back is nice and small and fits inside the lower right hand inner pocket and the controller sticks out from there.

The heating is only coming from the back side but seems to be more than enough for the mid 40 degree weather I tested it in. I only used the low setting and I was quite comfortible during my 30 minute ride. The real test will come this weekend when I am doing about 500 miles round trip and fishing all day in some forcasted chilly, damp weather.

I really like the idea of being able use this vest for multiple activities away from the bike. So far I give it a 9 out of 10, but the real tests are yet to come. I will keep you posted.

 

[HaulinAshe]

KEWL!!!

Thanks for posting and keep it coming!

 

[Fencer]

The heating is only coming from the back side

No elements in the front?

or is it faulty?

What did it run you shipped and currency conversion?

 

[steelhead]

The heating is only coming from the back side

No elements in the front?

or is it faulty?

What did it run you shipped and currency conversion?

It was not faulty, just their design. They claim it may not be good for the heart to have the heat right there. It does keep the area around your kidneys nice and toasty though

It was $179.20 usd per my cc statement shipped to my door.