# Electric heated clothing for hunting - does it work ???



## georgeb (Sep 17, 2008)

I deer hunt in an enclosed blind and fish in an open bow of a friends 14' boat in some very cold weather. For years I have layered clothing for the temperature outside and have been able to keep mostly warm but have extremely limited movement when many layers are needed for the wind chill. I also hate to try to dress for for sitting in 20° temps and then sweat on the walk out to the blind. With the blind setup heating it is possible, but last year the mice took over my little buddy heater and almost caused a fire in the blind.









Lately I have been looking at some electrically heated clothing especially a vest and pants so I can limit the layers to help mobility and still keep warm. O do not want to replace the heater if I can buy heated clothing that will also help me with fishing. 

Milwaukee has a line of clothing that uses battery's common to their power tools and others have USB chargeable batteries built in. The prices are not crazy ranging from $100 to $300 for what I want.

Does anyone have experiences either good or bad with this new stuff ? 

Thanks for any help.


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## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

I bought a heated vest on the recommendation of one of the members here. It's the kind that runs off of external battery packs like you would use to charge your phone. I get about 3 hours of use on the high setting and it's pretty awesome. Mostly use it for archery hunting and it's great to not have to lean on a cold tree for hours on end. If you're going to get one make sure to check where the heating elements are located - some brands have better heating coverage than others.


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## syonker (May 7, 2004)

I have the Cabela’s 7 volt battery heated fleece vest I believe was produced by Gerbing.

https://www.gerbing.com

One of the best clothing investments I every made.

It does a very nice job keeping your body core warm.


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## Sasquatch Lives (May 23, 2011)

I had some of those battery powered socks way back in the day. They ran off a D battery and your pants stuck out like a dam oompa loompa. Didn't work very good either.


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## Buddwiser (Dec 14, 2003)

I have a heated a vest from a business called Gerbings. Works very well. Too well at times.


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

Sasquatch Lives said:


> I had some of those battery powered socks way back in the day. They ran off a D battery and your pants stuck out like a dam oompa loompa. Didn't work very good either.


My dad sent me a pair of these when I was stationed in Germany. It was the first time I'd ever been around snow, let alone sleeping in it. They worked great until the first time I waded through waist deep slush and water. Then they shorted out and we're done.

IMO, chemical hand warmers placed inside of two shirt pockets keep your core temp up and as long as you wear a good warm hat and keep your feet dry you can survive most anything. I buy the hand warmers by the box at the end of the season to save money and sometimes my wife will fill my Christmas stockings with them knowing they're something I'll use.


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## Sasquatch Lives (May 23, 2011)

Used to use those Jon-E I think they were called handwarmers that had those weird silver sticks of who knows what chemical that burned and produced both heat and an odd chemical scent. They had those nice red velour covered cases too haha. Sometimes they got too hot.


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## JimP (Feb 8, 2002)

Sasquatch Lives said:


> I had some of those battery powered socks way back in the day. They ran off a D battery and your pants stuck out like a dam oompa loompa. Didn't work very good either.


One of our guys had those also at a rustic camp in the UP, no stores around.
Ran out of batteries as they kept dying from constant instead of intermittent use, so he pilfered several of our flashlights' batteries. Only had one light working in camp 3 days later.


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## loomis82 (Nov 4, 2014)

Another thumbs up for Gerbing! Worth every penny!


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## jjlrrw (May 1, 2006)

If I were looking I would look hard at the milwaukee only because I already have the batteries and charger and the last thing I want is another set of batteries that only work in one device.


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## Biggbear (Aug 14, 2001)

A guy I work with has a Milwaukee jacket, that is very light, but he wears it all winter long even on the worst days. He says he never gets cold, and he's a skinny little character too. He says it's the best money he's ever spent.


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## grapestomper (Jan 9, 2012)

I have never been able to get an extension cord long enough.


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## georgeb (Sep 17, 2008)

grapestomper said:


> I have never been able to get an extension cord long enough.


There is this new-fangled development called batteries.  

My fear is that I short out when taking waves over the bow of the boat when fishing.

Just bought my wife and myself Gerbing 7V vests for our early Christmas presents. I will report what she thinks about it as she is always cold.


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## grapestomper (Jan 9, 2012)

georgeb said:


> There is this new-fangled development called batteries.
> 
> My fear is that I short out when taking waves over the bow of the boat when fishing.
> 
> Just bought my wife and myself Gerbing 7V vests for our early Christmas presents. I will report what she thinks about it as she is always cold.


Both my wife and I have the milwaukee jackets and they work. 
I end up giving my wife my battery to keep her happy.


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

grapestomper said:


> Both my wife and I have the milwaukee jackets and they work.
> I end up giving my wife my battery to keep her happy.


Hey hey hey. This is a family site. I bet you give her your battery


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## jackbob42 (Nov 12, 2003)

Stepson bought me a vest from Menards about 5 or 6 years ago. I believe it is a " Force ".
Been with his mom since I was 18. I am 60 now.
Best Christmas present I've ever gotten !


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## DigitalGuru (Feb 25, 2019)

Sasquatch Lives said:


> Used to use those Jon-E I think they were called handwarmers that had those weird silver sticks of who knows what chemical that burned and produced both heat and an odd chemical scent. They had those nice red velour covered cases too haha. Sometimes they got too hot.


I had a zippo version back in the 90s. This is what I found now: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00069PFB4/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_F8ULFbVDGNMKV

I've bought some Mobile Warming clothes for my wife. It has an app that you can control it (except the socks, I guess) and she says it does keep her warm. Kinda pricey $200ish.


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## brdhntr (Oct 1, 2003)

I bought the vest from Ororo last fall and love it. It has a heating element on the back of the neck and that is amazing when you are getting chilled and turn it on. I run it in combination with my Heater Body Suit and can dress very lightly and still stay warm. Great for bow hunting with no bulky clothes to get in the way.


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## georgeb (Sep 17, 2008)

Both my wife and I really like the Gerbing vests. I am going give my battery to my wife, and purchase 2 of the largest batteries for mine as I hunt and fish longer than the battery that came with it runs the vest on hi and I want to be able to hunt morning and evening without needing to recharge.


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## Rasher (Oct 14, 2004)

grapestomper said:


> I have never been able to get an extension cord long enough.


You should look into one of those little harbor freight 2 stroke ginnys. I had one they ARE very quite.


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## Netminder34 (Sep 9, 2018)

I don't have any clothing to report on but I bought a pair of the thermocell boot inserts. She loves them, has an app on her phone for controlling them and the battery is in the heal so no external wiring.


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## Netminder34 (Sep 9, 2018)

Netminder34 said:


> I don't have any clothing to report on but I bought a pair of the thermocell boot inserts. She loves them, has an app on her phone for controlling them and the battery is in the heal so no external wiring.


Oops forgot to include bought them for the wife.


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## Ken (Dec 6, 2000)

I have the Milwaukee heated camo hoodie. I have 4 of the 18v batteries for my drill and driver kit anyhow, so I use the adapter to run it off of those. With the 5.0 batteries, it has plenty of run time, probably enough for all day. I use the extension cable so I don't have to stuff that big battery in a jacket pocket.


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