Dewalt has officially announced that they will be coming out with a new line of heated jackets starting in the Fall.
Price Check: All styles and sizes, via Amazon
Basics
Dewalt’s line of heated jackets can be powered by their 12V Max or 20V Max lithium-ion battery packs. This allows for hours of core body warmth and continuous heat.
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There will be 4 different jacket styles:
- Soft shell work jacket
- Hooded work jacket
- True Timber camouflage jacket
- True Timber blaze orange camouflage jacket
Features
Each jacket has a water and wind-resistant outer shell, 3 temperature settings plus pre-heat mode, and 3 core body heating zones. The soft shell work jacket and camo jackets also have a fourth heating zone in the collar.
- Heating zones: left and right chest, back, collar (certain styles only)
- Heating settings: low, med, high, pre-heat
- LED controller
- Consistent heating output throughout entire runtime
The heating elements are powered by Dewalt’s new USB power source that can also charge up to two USB-compatible devices.
In Amazon’s product descriptions, runtime is said to be “up to 7.5 hours” with a compact 20V Max battery.
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Dewalt responded to my inquiry with a heating runtime estimate of up to 7-9 hours when using a 1.5Ah 20V battery, and 20+ hours with a 4.0Ah 20V battery. Runtime will vary depending on users’ preferred power settings, the size of the battery pack used, and it also depends on the jacket style as well, since one style has 3 heating zones and the others have 4 heating zones.
Soft shell work jacket (DCHJ060): 4 heating zones, 5 pockets, water-resistant polyester outer shell, adjustable cuffs and waist. MSRP $159, Kit $209.
Hooded work jacket (DCHJ061): 3 heating zones, 4 pockets, water-resistant twill outer shell, hood with drawstring. MSRP $149, Kit $199.
True Timber camo jacket (DCHJ062): 4 heating zones, 7 pockets, soft noise-limiting camouflage outer shell, removable hook with neck and face guard. (In other words, it’s a hunting jacket.) MSRP $179, Kit $229.
True Timber Blaze Orange camo jacket (DCHJ063): 4 heating zones, 7 pockets, soft noise-limiting camouflage outer shell, removable hood with neck and face guard. MSRP $179, Kit $229.
Heated jacket kits come with the jacket, a 12V/20V USB power source, DCB201 20V Max 1.5Ah Li-ion battery pack, and DCB101 20V Max charger.
Sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL. 2XL and 3XL sizes will cost $10 more.
Availability: September 2013
The USB power source is said to have 1.5A of power available between the 2 output ports for charging mobile devices.
Competitor Roundup
Bosch recently announced a new 12V heated jacket, and Milwaukee released a number of similar products these past few years including a 2nd generation heated jacket, a RealTree camo heated jacket, a high-visibility heated jacket, and as mentioned in our 2013 new product preview, they’re coming out with a women’s heated jacket, heated hooded sweatshirt, and hand warmer.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
First Impression
My first take is that this is a me-too type of product, but as mentioned above I can’t trust that my feelings aren’t at least partly due to the strife sparked from my early discussion of the product. Forcing myself to look past Dewalt and SBD’s retaliatory attitude and the threats of lawyers, backlash, and unfavorable advertising consideration that preceded the recent situation, I do feel the product deserves a deeper objective look.
Battery Size Discussion
Milwaukee and Bosch’s heated jackets are powered by 12V battery packs, but Dewalt’s can be powered by 12V or 20V Li-ion batteries. This means you can potentially squeeze out a LOT of heating time with these jackets if you tote around a compact or high capacity 20V Max battery pack.
Milwaukee and Bosch both have 12V 2.0Ah and 4.0Ah batteries that can be used to power their heated jackets and products, but Dewalt has not (yet?) released a 12V 2.0Ah battery pack.
With only a 1.5Ah battery in their 12V arsenal, it should not be a surprise that Dewalt made these jackets 12V and 20V Max compatible. Plus, since their 12V and 20V Max battery packs share a compatible interface, it made even more sense for there to be a single 12V/20V Max USB power source.
Let’s crunch some numbers here. The kits come with 20V Max (18V nominal) 1.5Ah battery packs. This means you get 27 Watt-hours of power. Consider a Milwaukee or Bosch jacket powered by a 12V 2.0Ah battery. In those cases, you would have about 21.6 Watt-hours of power (10.8 x 2). 12V 4.0Ah battery packs can deliver 43.2 Watt-hours of power.
Dewalt also offers 2.0Ah and 4.0Ah 20V Max battery packs, and based on rough calculations using nominal voltages, these packs could provide 36 Whr and 72 Whr of power, respectively.
Looking at the DCB090 USB power source, which is also available separately, I cannot see the benefit of using a 12V battery pack with the jacket. Doing so would deliver minimal runtime without much weight or size savings. It doesn’t seem like a practical choice, unless Dewalt releases 2.0Ah or 4.0Ah 12V Max batteries.
The USB power source initially looked bulky to me, as I envisioned it being the size of a 20V Max battery pack, but then I focused on the USB ports to give a sense of scale. It now seems to me that the power source is sized more closely to Dewalt’s 12V batteries and might only cap the leads of a 20V battery.
It would seem to me that these jackets are best paired with 20V Max 2.0Ah batteries, which are the same size and approximately same weight as the 1.5Ah batteries included in the kits. I suppose the bundling choice was made to keep kit prices low.
It seems to me that it would more comfortable to work and move around with a competing brand’s 12V-powered jacket and spare battery than this one with its larger USB power source and 20V battery pack. Hopefully Dewalt’s designers were thoughtful about pocket placement.
Update: Dewalt has said that the battery sits at the left hip area.
Styling
In terms of looks, I very much prefer Milwaukee and Bosch’s styles. Dewalt’s plain black jacket looks too utilitarian to me, but some users prefer that kind of look. I really would like to see a dab more yellow in there, but perhaps not as much as in Dewalt’s recent headlamp.
In addition to the jacket’s plainness, I’m not a fan of its flappy front chest pockets. I am also hesitant about how comfortable it would be to walk around with a wide USB power source and 20V Max battery stashed inside an inner pocket, but that’s something that cannot be judged just looking at a computer screen.
Pricing
Price-wise, the kits look to be a good value, although I find myself wishing they came with 2.0Ah batteries instead of the older 1.5Ah models. On the other hand, 2.0Ah bundles would surely break the $200 price barrier for all jacket styles.
Pre-Heat Mode
One feature I find especially interesting and potentially appealing is the pre-heat mode Dewalt built into these jackets. I originally thought this to work sort of like an ultra-low-power heating mode that you can toggle indoors or when driving to allow for quicker temperature-ramping once you step outdoors. You know, like how it’s quicker to heat something that’s at room temperature vs. something that’s in the fridge.
Dewalt provided a few words about how this mode works. When Pre-Heat mode is toggled, the heating coils run at full power for 5 minutes to get the jacket nice and toasty. After that, the jacket switches the power setting to medium. Users can also skip the pre-heat mode and set the jacket at their desired power setting.
Conclusion
It will definitely be interesting to see how Dewalt’s new heated jackets match up against competitors’ offerings. Despite my inclination to bash this product due to the behind-the-scenes headaches its coveraged contributed to, the design looks strong and with great market-share-grabbing potential. Although I have a couple of strong hesitations about these jackets, I definitely think that their multi-platform battery options and pre-heat modes distinguish them from the competition.
jeff_williams
The pre-heat mode is interesting. Milwaukee went that route on their first jacket but called it warm-up mode. It was super heated though. They dropped it on the next versions I wonder if that’s what DW means by preheat.
John S
is this a straight jacket?
mnoswad1
again, late to the party.
Stu, have to disagree again…….more yellow would be a disaster. We’ve all had enough of the dewalt yellow logo. In fact if I bought the milwaukee jacket or the dewalt jacket……first thing todo is break out a sharpie and black out all the logos.
Stuart
I suppose that is true. Maybe no yellow is better than too much,
Richard
Some yellow contrast stitching would have really helped make this look more like a carefully-engineered product as opposed to some OEM piece of junk that DeWalt sewed a logo to.
And to you DeWalt marketing chumps reading this, as you surely will: shame on you for blacklisting Stuart. It’s actions like these against a regular Joe doing a better job than the majority of “reporting” and reviews out there that prove you just don’t “get it”.
Thanks for making my decision to purchase my tools from someone else that much easier.
Shame.
Richard
Oh and by the way, that goes equal for any future purchases of Stanley, Proto, Crap & Decker, Blackhawk, etc.
I should send in a picture of how much Stanley/Proto/Blackhawk I own… not to mention Stanley’s OEM stuff like Craftsman and MC Max.
mnoswad1
agreed, I would never hear about tools like this if it weren’t for sites like this one. The jacket nor the multi tool are even on the dewalt website. Nor are they in any “dewalt news” emails that I subscribe to.
I like getting the scoop on a silly coffee maker or portable radio or what ever……gets me excited about the brand. But it takes dewalt so long to get new/any products to market anyways, the competition getting information shouldn’t be a concern for dewalt, they’ve been the market follower for a long time now despite making solid products. Li-on, slide batteries, multi tool, storage systems, led lights, hand tools, etc…….all dewalt being late to market. Thats their fault not blogs like this one.
-avid dewalt user and fan.
Stuart
I like writing about such products as well. I definitely find value in press releases, but I very thoroughly enjoy writing about new or pending products as I find out about them.
Brands don’t want products discussed before they release official announcements, and I don’t blame them, but I tend to find information via public sources.
I was told that I “alert the competition” about new products, multiple times, even when my source was a public SBD website page or YouTube video.
And then came threats, scolding, implied threats, and accusations, as if I somehow had “algorithms” that exploited “development pages” and “assets.” I normally come across unreleased product information through normal browsing and social media habits. At most, I use Google, but that’s after I already know about a product.
Anyways, Dewalt has been a market follower – as you phrased it – for some time. But they have also led with a few innovations of their own. Few companies can lead all the time, and there is nothing wrong with following and responding to the market. If power tool brands didn’t follow each other there wouldn’t be much competition or advancements.
Stuart
The situation is complex, and I really can’t discuss it briefly. Although I am frustrated by how the powers-that-be at SBD keep trying to control/manipulate me/ToolGuyd through retaliation, threats, backlash, and whatnot, they’re doing what they think is best for them.
Honestly, I’m not going to condemn a brand or all of a company’s brands just because I disagree with how their marketing team is treating me. To do so would be unfair to all of the other great people at the company, as well as readers who still care for the brands’ products.
Handy Al's Workshop
I can understand that you feel jilted by SBD & DeWalt, our little face book page (Handy Al’s Workshop) up here in Canada has had the scoop on a few products, before their official release.
Since we are not sanctioned tool reviewers or a tool blog, our policy is, if we can find a hint of it on the net, then its fair game. Sorry they got huffy & puffy with you, I find that DeWalt, does a poor job at building hype about new products. it’s like poof and it’s out there, then rely on bloggers to promote the product, shame on them!
Keep up the good work.
PS; we just leaked a photo of the new compact job site radio, DCR018
Stuart
That was my policy as well, but I have since tempered my posting habits a little. Not out of fear of further backlash, but because I realized it causes headaches for all of the PR and marketing folks I am in friendly communication with. I don’t like being the cause of stressful days or late nights for anyone.
Javier
What a boring looking jacket. I think they could have excelled here with a nice design. I really like the look of the xr drills. They should fire the guys that designed the look of this jacket and used the guys behind the stylish design of the xr drills.
Chris
A lot of companies do not like people telling people about new products, all the car companies are the same with embargo’s and cannot release information till a certain date, I’d say most tool companies are also the same… they have a product line to protect and don’t want the other tool companies getting a look at stuff before it hits market… Business is business
Stuart
I am always happy to sign an NDA or honor a formal or informal embargo. But sometimes there is no NDA, no embargo, and early information via public sources.
I understand that brands want to keep their developments secret from competitors for as long as they can before official announcements and releases. But if information is already public or being spread by sales associates or dealers, competitors will already know about a product before they read about it here.
RKA
That may be true, however, if they really wanted to keep things quiet, maybe they should spend more time cleaning their own house rather than threatening “small fish” to get their way. I’m very disgusted with Dewalt/SBD for treating Stuart this way. Even if he did something wrong there is a better way to deal with it. Furthermore, he is not their employee, which is precisely why people like me read his website. Stuart and his website serve a valuable purpose for end users and for tool manufacturers if they wish. If not, I hear QVC might want to start distribution of some power tools. 🙂
It further pisses me off that they think Goliath has the last word. As a customer why should i believe their attitude with me would be any different? I could rattle off half a dozen other competitors that would be thankful to have my business. SBD should consider that the next time the make a phone call to their legal department.
Carl
FYI, I run my Milwaukee jacket of my 18V adaptor to give me extended run time. This was not provided with the jacket but purchased seperately. So get hours with the 4.0amp battery.
matt
Yep.. Milwaukee has the 18v option for their jackets.
I hope they (Milwaukee) keeps expanding their line of jackets. Personally I would like something a little more along the carhart style of jacket. All of the jackets just fell kinda of light materiel wise to me..
Stuart
That’s a good point about the 18V power source. I haven’t tried the pairing yet, but it’s good to know that you can. It’s definitely great for charging mobile devices, as Hurricane Sandy helped me prove (MVP product discussion).
LORDDiESEL (GJ Forum)
I don’t think it looks bad. But the piss off is, i only use 18v li-ion. Not 12 or 20. This platform change has really pissed me off.
Might have to make the jump to Red brand and craigslist my yellow.
Stuart
They *could* design an 18V USB power pack that works with the jacket, but projected sales are likely too low to go forward with production. Not a lot of users are going to walk around with a Dewalt 18V stem-format battery pack in their pockets.
I expect that 18V tools will dwindle in the next year or two. What Dewalt really should have done was create an upgrade or trade-in program to ease the platform change.
You wouldn’t be the first person I heard from that is considering upgrading to Milwaukee M18 rather than Dewalt’s 20V Max system. A couple of readers emailed in asking about the shift from Dewalt 20V Max to Milwaukee M18 on the grounds of Milwaukee’s growing brushless tool offerings.
Frank
It was only a matter of time. All of the major manufacturers seem to play follow the leader whenever one releases a hot product. Either way I trust that DeWalt will make a solid product.
Jim
“I trust that Dewalt will make a solid product.” That makes one of us.
Ross
I’m assuming the jackets are powered by a USB cable, so I have a potentially stupid question. Is it possible to use a Dewalt power source to power a Milwaukee/Bosch jacket?
Stuart
I can’t say about Bosch or Dewalt options, but Milwaukee’s is powered by a barrel plug. I don’t think the Dewalt power source will be compatible with the other brands’ jackets.
liquidbeef
I was thinking similarly- I like the look of the Dewalt jacket more, but I imagine the Bosch 12v battery pack + adapter will be far less cumbersome. It would be nice to power the dewalt jacket off the Bosch power source, since the Bosch adapter is available separately. Exciting stuff all around, regardless. Looking forward to being comfortable this winter.
Jerry
I would think that a high visibility shell would be included in the line for use on sites where this is required. It would eliminate the need to wear a high visibility vest over the jacket.
Stuart
Maybe a high-visibility option will be available down the road. It could be that such an option would require greater safety testing or certification, which would push the launch date back by quite a bit. Or maybe Dewalt doesn’t think this is something USA customers would be interested in.
James Brown
I don’t believe this is a good idea in the very least. What’s wrong with the regular old jacket? I can find plenty that keep me good and warm without the electric. This jacket creates the issue of now having to manage batteries and the possibility and task of dealing an active system with the risk of failure or need for repair. Just my take a design engineer — often times the best design is the simple design (KISS).
Ben Reynolds
Have you checked out the My Core Control – Heated Coat ? The first coat that not only keeps you warm but makes you warm. There are 2 points in the body where if you apply heat, the heat will transfer all thru your body. ( the inner wrist and the inner ankle) Your body is like a car, the heart is the pump, the blood is the coolant and the circulatory system is the radiator.
My Core Control – Wearable Personal Thermal Control Products
Let me know if you need any information.
Thanks
Ben
Nathan Joseph
I really think that you need to keep seperate your personal matters with the reviews on this website. I do not work for dewalt or anything but everyone would be better off with an honest review and not one that is so vindictive. Maybe you should take the jacket off and cool off a bit 😉
Stuart
I believe in absolute transparency, but the post is in need of an update. Things have changed in the past 14 months since this preview went up.
Also, keep in mind that product details have changed significantly. Dewalt has made a number of changes and improvements to their jackets for 2014: https://toolguyd.com/dewalt-heated-hoodies-jackets-2014/.
bruce
Im wondering if there are any jackets that would have an adapter cord to hook to your boat battery when your pocket battery went dead? Comments please.
Stuart
Not that I know of, but some brands offer power adapters that can connect to a standard 12V auto supply port.
bruce
that would work could u tell me what brands these are
Stuart
Off the topic of my head – Milwaukee. Possibly others as well.
bruce
Thanks have a great day
Oscar Amador
Does somebody know if my european 18 volt ( nominal ) last model DW batteries will work with the 20 volts ( max ) heated gear from USA ? I’d like to buy a hivis model but i can’t choose in Europe.
Stuart
I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t work together, unless the adapter plug style is different.