As winter approaches, the temperature is getting colder and colder. Heating clothing is playing an increasingly important role. Cold or Cool, heated vest works best whether it is a brisk Sunday afternoon, or up in the mountains on a thrilling hike with your friends and family, it is important to keep yourself warm. You can always count on ptahdusgear.com to have the right product for any situation. Having one or the other on hand for difficult weather can be the difference of a miserable experience or an enjoyable one.
Now let's have a comprehensive understanding of the heated vest.
Most heated vest is designed for cold-weather sports and activities, such as motorcycle riding, downhill skiing, diving, winter biking, and snowmobiling, trekking and for outdoor workers such as construction workers and carpenters. Since the London Olympics, heated clothing has also been used by athletes to keep their muscles warm between the warm-up and the race.
Normal insulation works by trapping body heat, so if it gets wet from sweat or rain, or if a person stops exercising, the insulation may not keep them warm. With heated garments, a person can keep warm even if they are resting and not producing heat, or if their coat is damp from sweat.
The most widely available types of heated clothing are products for the extremities; the hands and feet. These parts are the most likely to suffer frostbite or frostnip in severe cold. As such, many manufacturers make heated gloves, mittens, socks, and boot liners, which can be purchased at workers' supply stores (serving construction workers) and motor sports stores. Heated torso coverings like vests, jackets, or leggings are available from specialty retailers that cater to motorcyclists and downhill skiers.
Related products are heated seat covers, throws, and seating pads. Heated seat covers for snowmobiles, motorcycles, and cars and heated throw blankets typically use electrical 12-volt heating elements. Heated seating pads for hunting, canoeing, and stadium use either have rechargeable batteries or use reheatable gel packs.
Technology
Electrical
Heated clothing has tiny wires sewn into a layer of the fabric. These tiny wires are typically made of carbon fiber or a metal composite, like nickel-chromium, that performs well under repeated heating and cooling cycles. These wires are known as the heating element. Heated clothing designed for use on vehicles such as motorbikes or snowmobiling typically use a 12-volt electric current, the standard voltage on motorsport and powersport batteries. While a single heated garment, such as heated gloves, will not usually adversely affect the charge on the battery, riders have to be careful about attaching several heated garments because the battery may not be able to handle the load. The heated garments are usually attached directly onto the battery of the bike. Some heated garments have cigarette lighter plugs. While the least expensive models can only be turned on or off, more expensive models sometimes provide a heating level control.
For downhill skiing or winter biking, rechargeable nickel metal or lithium batteries are generally used. The most reliable systems have technologies that have redundancy in case of a heating element breakage. The controller and battery in some models can be detached so that the garment can be worn as a regular garment.
Stored heat
Garments that use gel have cloth pouches or pockets where plastic packages of the gel can be inserted in the garment. Prior to going outdoors, the gel is heated in a microwave. Once outdoors, the gel pack retains its heat for 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the size of the gel pack, the thickness of the insulation protecting the gel pack from the outdoor temperatures, and wind conditions.
Chemical
Chemical reaction-based garments have cloth pouches or pockets, where single-use packages of chemical hand warmers can be inserted. The warmers are about the size of a package of cards, and they contain chemicals which produce heat. One traditional hand warmer is a small metal box containing charcoal which, when lit, burns very slowly and produces a mild heat. Disposable heat packs typically contain cellulose, iron, water, activated carbon, vermiculite, and salt. When these packs are exposed to air, an exothermic chemical reaction occurs, which provides several hours of heat. Another chemical heating pad uses a gel that can be activated by twisting the package, thus triggering a chemical reaction. The pack can be put in a pot of boiling water to convert the chemical reaction back and allow it to be reused. While these products are commonly called "hand warmers", they can be placed in boots or, with special garments such as vests, in cloth pockets on the inside of the garment. The warmth produced by these tends to be lowest among the above heating methods.
Why are heated vests important?
- Improved Overall Performance
Improved dexterity, flexibility and range of motion are just a few of the improved performance benefits that come along with wearing heated apparel. When your body becomes cold it can be extremely difficult to focus on anything else, decreasing performance you would otherwise have in warmer climates. Heated apparel like heated beanies can fend off cold winds and help maintain focus while managing to keep your body temperature from dropping so low that you experience shivering, stiffness or goosebumps.
- Easily Adjust Body Temperature To Changing Temperatures
Heated clothing offers an advantage regular clothing does not: variable heat settings to maintain a healthy body temperature. In climates with ever-changing daily temperatures, heated apparel is a no brainer. Heated apparel lets you adjust your own temperature on the go so you’re always in the perfect layer to keep you from overheating or getting too cold.
- Less Prone To Injury
Heat not only improves blood flow to your muscles, but also prevents injury by loosening your joints. It goes without saying then, that heated apparel helps keep your muscles and joints working properly, becoming less prone to injury. A heated jacket, for example, works to keep your entire upper body warm and increases blood flow to the muscles.
- Fend Off Aches & Pains
Anyone who lives with arthritis or an aging body knows how the cold can quickly turn a good day into a bad one. For this reason, heated socks, heated gloves, and even a battery heated vest are great options for anyone looking to fend off aches and pains instigated by the cold. Heated socks and gloves work to keep your digits warm and fully mobile. A heated vest will kick the cold to the curb whether you’re outside raking the leaves or inside on a cold dreary day.
- Enjoy More Fresh Air
A little fresh air goes a long way for our mental and physical health. Heated clothing gives you the insulated warmth you need to fend off the cold, which means you can go out and stay out longer, decreasing the amount of time you spend indoors where it’s easy to pick up unwanted germs or illnesses.
Is the heated vest safe?
Heated vests are battery-heated apparel. It depends on the heated technology to keep the body warm while the traditional vests stress the importance of insulation. On the other hand, the electricity makes the heated vest different, but it is always in doubt. Most buyers are afraid the heated vest would harm their bodies.
Well, don’t worry. Because heated vests are safe to wear.
Heated vests come a long way since last century. It has stood the test of time. That also tells us it has already been accepted by a great number of people owing to its safety and functionality. So, it is worth using a heated vest. If you still have any concerns, please follow us to finish the remaining content.
Now we will shift the focus to the heated vest itself.
Heated vests are easy to power heat. It is designed with a battery pocket to connect to the inside heating elements to generate heat. The heating elements are so thin that you cannot notice them and feel any discomfort when wearing a heated vest. Warmth covered by heating elements can inject vitality across the whole body without any overheating.
Also, most heated vests adopt adjustable heating settings to meet different needs. If you stay indoors, low or medium level provides 30-45 to isolate you from the cold weather. And high level gives you more confidence to challenge the freezing outdoors. Besides that, some heated vests are crafted with overheating protection, which can automatically lower the temperature or even turn off if it senses the risk of overheating.
Catching fire is what we always are worried about because a heated vest is powered by a battery. Well, the possibility is slim or even negligible. After all, it is hard to hear that someone is injured by a fired heated vest. Also, most manufacturers are more likely to use reliable materials to avoid safety accidents.
Carbon fiber and graphene are mostly used in heating elements. Both feature stable thermal conductivity to distribute heat evenly across the body areas, which guarantees comfortable warmth to you. Also, the flash point for both materials is so high that fire accidents are impossible to occur.
Although you may have concerns about the safety of heated jackets due to their electrical composition, there's nothing to worry about.
Contrary to popular belief, there's no electrocution risk with heated jackets since they mostly use batteries of less than 10V.
Plus, the batteries are always less than 12V DC with a frequency of 0Hz, which means you don't have to worry about high-frequency EMF radiation.
Other than that, the panels used on heated jackets won't catch fire or absorb moisture since they have a waterproof membrane protecting the wires.
So the heated vest is safe enough for us.
Is heated vest worth it?
Heated Jackets are totally worth it if you work outdoors or in a workshop without heating. They are also awesome for camping, fishing, and hunting where you might be sitting still for hours on end.
No, they aren’t the most stylish and the batteries are quite bulky but there is no easier way to warm up than switching on the heat. When you press the button and start to feel the heat on your back and arms, you can be absolutely sure it was worth the money.
All of the best-heated jackets are fairly pricey, especially when you have to purchase separate batteries. You can be looking at anywhere from $150 to $350 all in. This seems like a lot but when it is freezing cold and you are outside all day, it is a small price to pay.
