Competition Heating Up: Milwaukee, Bosch & Dewalt Heated Jackets

Dewalt Heated Jackets

Just announced Dewalt Heated Jackets will be coming in 4 styles: Soft shell work jacket (black) DCHJ060 $209, hooded work jacket (black) DCHJ061 $199, True Timber Camoflage jacket DCHJ062 $229 and True Timber Blaze Orange Camoflage jacket DCHJ063 $229. The Dewalt jackets will all work with both their 12V/20V platform and the battery unit itself is the first to include 2 USB outlets. However, this does mean the battery unit is a little larger. The heating zones are also a little different than what we’ve seen with heating elements in the chest, back and collar (vs chest, back & pockets on Milwaukee)

Dewalt Camo Heated Jackets

The Dewalt jackets will work much the same as the Milwaukee’s with an LED control with 3 temperature settings which are changed with a push button. The battery unit DCB090 will also be available as a standalone unit for use as a USB charger for cell phones and other devices. The black and camo have definitely been the most popular colors for Milwaukee and clearly Dewalt is well aware of their success in these products. We have no doubt Dewalt will do very well with their jackets just based on the large number of 12V & 20V batteries already in the marketplace. Expect the Dewalt Heated Jackets on shelves in a September-October time frame.

Bosch Heated Jackets

Bosch has also announced their own heated jacket although it is only available in Black. The Bosch is probably the most stylish of the 3 brands and mirrors the design of their European work wear pretty closely. We’ve been very interested in the Bosch work wear line for some time as it looks like very high quality stuff. Could this possibly be the first of many Bosch work wear items to hit the US? See video below for more info on the European work wear.

The high level of detail they put into on these garments seems like they would be very durable but we haven’t confirmed any additional details on the Bosch heated jackets. The battery unit will have a USB outlet and these units should be on sale from Ohio Power Tool (see PSJ120 $179) by late October. Price is pretty much in line with Dewalt and Milwaukee even with many of these higher end construction techniques used.

Milwaukee Heated Jackets

Of course, Milwaukee is not going to give up their dominance in the heated clothing market without a fight. Check out our recent heated hoodies post which highlights some of the new hoodies, women’s jackets and other jacket options from Milwaukee. For pre-sale purchasing of all the Milwaukee heated products check out Milwaukee Heated Gear, these items are all scheduled to ship out the first week of October.

In addition to all the new products Milwaukee has actually redesigned their camo jackets for 2013 with new RealTree Xtra camouflage patterns and a material that makes almost no noise while moving. The heated pockets provide possibly the biggest benefit for hunting as it allows for more dexterity in the fingers when it is time to make a shot. We did find a pretty good review of last year’s camo jacket from a real hunter who wore it out bow hunting in the video above.

I think it’s official now: heated jackets are here to stay and actually becoming more and more common. Our thought is that there is actually plenty of room for all these brands to have a jacket with more unique styles and other heated products. Here in Ohio we are in a very nice temperature zone for these jackets to make a lot of sense, without the power they are nice lightweight fall and spring jackets. In the winter you can turn on the heat and stay warm without wearing a big heavy jacket. Looking forward to getting our hands on all these new jackets to test them out and see which works the best! Might have to wait until it gets a little cold out of course.

UPDATED VIDEO – Bosch vs Milwaukee 11/20/2013

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