Ravean Arctic-Tropical Ultralight Heated Jackets and Heated Gloves

Until battery tech significantly improves, concepts like these will be rather inefficient and unnecessarily heavy. For the weight of a 12 v. jacket plus battery, one can bring several layers that can do a similar job of handling a wide temp range, without relying on a battery and it's very limited life or issues during very cold temps. For example, i have a very lightweight nylon/spandex fishnet shirt i can use for a baselayer, a very lightweight polypropylene, hollow fiber ls shirt, a Patagonia Capilene 4 hoody, a decent quality down vest, good quality down jacket w/ hood, lightweight wind shirt, a MYOG 2 oz & some change front only Apex insulated vest. The combo of all the above can get me down to some fairly cold temps while static, but are also great for exertion in a wide range of temps, and can handle moisture MUCH better than a system that relies primarily on down for warmth. For example during exertion, i could wear the nylon fishnet with the P.P. ls top, and windshirt for mildy cold temps, throw in the Cap 4 hoody for some more serious cold, and then for very serious cold throw on the front only Apex insulated vest and put the windjacket over that. The coldest temps i've ever hiked at, was about 5 F* not including windchill. But i didn't have all the above on. It would have to be pretty cold for me to wear all the above non Down stuff while active. I don't ever wear Down while exerting for any length of time. Down for me, is only for rest, and sometimes for a first few minutes of hiking first thing in the morning. I have used the under 3 oz, no back and only front, Apex insulated vest while actually hiking in some fairly cold temps, because where i hike most often, there is not a lot of elevation gain and loss, so i'm not exerting as much as folks in other, more mountainous areas. Lot's of relatively flat and long down and gradual uphill. For rest in more extremely cold temps, use an oversized windjacket, and put the vest on over the other layers, put the hooded Down jacket over that, and then put the over sized windjacket over that. Depending on the vest and jacket combo, this can do you good in a pretty wide range of cold temps as long as you're not compressing the down. With all the layers mentioned above, during rest, i can probably go down to about -10 F* using my Stoic Hadron down jacket, with a down vest, windshirt over these and the other layers mentioned. More efficient is cut out the Down vest, and just bring along a much warmer jacket like the New Balance Fugu (which i own as well) if you know the temps are going to be consistently very cold. In other words–an amazingly flexible, very reliable, and fairly lightweight system that doesn't rely on a battery system at all. I wouldn't use the P.P. ls shirt on a longer hike, because it get's too funky. I might exchange it with a lightweight nylon shirt on a longer hike (actually, the 55% merino and 45% nylon shirt i have might be ideal for that–to go over the nylon fishnet and under or over the Cap 4 hoody).

Gimmicky Who thinks Columbia gear is a benchmark should aim higher Oh BTW read the new rules for gear deals

For camp, rest and sleeping, i might also throw in a very lightweight silnylon, polycryo, or EVA top as a vapor barrier for very cold and dry conditions. Preserves the Down and boosts warmth factor a bit.

I doubt I'd buy this as I agree it's gimmicky but I do like the concept… — Battery vs Layering — I think there's more versatility with layering but then again, all those layers won't pack down to the size of the battery and there's a lot to be said for that. — Battery life — I agree that battery tech is a big issue here…though someone who's good with circuits/electronics could upgrade the battery to something with latest tech in the future. — Ideal use — For me, this would be really interesting for commuting to work by bicycle; Temps can differ greatly between early morning and the afternoon. Plus, Midwest weather can change up to 30F in under 4 hours so it'd eliminate a lot of tedious planning for weather/etc. …I could get a waterproof shell and I'd be set for year-round use.