Actual, quality, tech heated fleece midlayer?

[skizix]

So I was recently at a volunteer event, where I basically had to stand in one place for 4.5 hours (I mean I was doing stuff obviously, but just standing there), in 35 degree weather. Not super brutal, but I was underdressed and eventually chilled to the bone.

Fellow volunteer walks up, we discuss the chill, and he shows me his Ororo heated fleece. Which looked like the shit - I immediately wanted one - for resort skiing: turn it on for the freezing/windy lift ride up on a storm day, turn it off when heating up skiing trees or whatnot (less or no layering adjustments...sweet!). Seemed like a slam dunk.

But turns out the Ororo is 35% cotton, so...total non-starter. All the other options I see online that look promising but don't even say what the hell they're made of.

Is there an actual, tech/functional heated fleece jacket out there, worth a damn? Anybody?

[gaijin]

I don't know if it's worth a damn, but I'd count on these guys to lead the charge. Workman serves the labor force in Japan and has quickly become my go-to for fleece and base layers. And for technology, every construction worker in this country is wearing an A/C fan jacket during summer to keep them cool.

Years ago, and for decades, cheap fleece sucked. Walmart versus Patagonia was noticeable. But that's just not true anymore for Japan's Walmart-- Workman. No idea how you're going to get it to you, though. Somewhere in the middle of the catalogue is heated fleeces.

https://www.workman.co.jp/最新カタログ

I don't predict any major outdoor brand is going to put heaters in their active outdoor wear. The people that need heaters are stationary, as you mentioned... laborers.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Look at hunting gear. I’ve seen heated fleece for long mornings spent in a tree stand after hiking in to your spot. No actual personal experience though.


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[kootenayskier]

My ski buddy has a Milwaukee heated vest he uses at work for lift maintenance, and busts out for skiing on the coldest days. Not the most technical garment, but widely available, uses standard M12 batteries, reasonably priced, and will keep you toasty warm.


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[ey_allen]

I'd second looking at hunting or work gear.

Dick's (ha) has a few that are nylon/polyester (https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p...Hn8Wfjb0vKadyQ).

I have no experience with these and run hot as hell pretty much 100% of the time, so buyer beware I guess.

[SoVT Joey]

I’m wearing a milwaukee heated sweatshirt right now. They work decent. Battery life is very short and there is nothing technical about the material. If I was standing coaching I could see wearing it. I wouldn’t ski in it though and I would be very concerned about falling and landing on the battery pack, it goes in a pocket on the left side behind your elbow. It would break ribs very quickly and in a very shitty spot.

[MotoBeak]

Also check out thewarmingstore.com. Lots of options on all kinds of heated gear. I bought socks from them a while back and price and service were solid.
I'm run cold in general, so a heated mid layer is certainly on my radar.

[skizix]

Also check out thewarmingstore.com. Lots of options on all kinds of heated gear. I bought socks from them a while back and price and service were solid.
I'm run cold in general, so a heated mid layer is certainly on my radar.

thewarmingstore's stuff seems well-liked and all, but it still doesn't say what they're made of, and no mention of use in athletic pursuits.

Has anyone actually tried a heated layer (vest or jacket) for skiing? Most all of these seem geared towards sitting around (in a hunting blind, on a motorcycle, etc.).

I'm not married to the idea of heated layer, by any means. But it does have my mind thinking: it could be awesome for e.g. a resort storm day (or just a wicked, below zero pow day, for that heinous traverse out to the goods).

[SoVT Joey]

Lenz has a heated jacket and vest they offer. Their socks kick ass. So I would imagine the jacket and vest are of the same stand up quality. But the prices are steep.

From experience, it takes 15-20 minutes to feel decent heat in my boots if i had shut off my socks earlier in the day. I don’t know if you will get heat fast enough on a lift ride if you are just turning them on. The Bluetooth features are great

[skizix]

Lenz has a heated jacket and vest they offer. Their socks kick ass. So I would imagine the jacket and vest are of the same stand up quality. But the prices are steep.

From experience, it takes 15-20 minutes to feel decent heat in my boots if i had shut off my socks earlier in the day. I don’t know if you will get heat fast enough on a lift ride if you are just turning them on. The Bluetooth features are great

Ha! That's a good point: perceived heat on/off lag. Could have the exact opposite effect I'm imagining.

[SoVT Joey]

Ha! That's a good point: perceived heat on/off lag. Could have the exact opposite effect I'm imagining.

I do spend a lot of days with my batteries set on the 1 setting in the app though, and that seems to make it so that when I turn them up it’s more noticeable faster. The app for lenz heat has 10 heat settings I think where as just adjusting from the battery gives 3 settings. So it could work for the brutally cold days and being layered correctly. I could see keeping it very low on settings until I reached that cold level, and then turning it up before a lift ride and then taking a cruise on a groomer, but warming up is probably faster just skiing something hard.

the best part about the heated socks is the drive home from the mountain with them cranked up, I usually find myself still in them hours after I get home.