Last year at the Milwaukee New Product Symposium (#NPS13) media event we saw an overhaul to the heated jacket line with the addition of the safety and black heated jackets. When Milwaukee sold out of the season’s allotment of black heated jackets before Christmas it was clear they had a winner on their hands. We thought they might continue to expand but hadn’t imagined the following year we would be back to learn about this many new heated products.
In addition to the men’s style of heated jackets Milwaukee is launching a something specific to the ladies, a form fitted jacket in their most popular color, black with some pink accents. Milwaukee has already been a sponsor of the National Breast Cancer Foundation and part of the $199 price tag will go to support this cause, hence the pink ribbon accents. We have no doubt this jacket will do well and great to see it helping support a good cause.
Heated hoodies were not something we expect to see but these are the perfect layer to heat. When you wear the jackets you lose some of the heat outside the jacket because it’s the top layer. With the heated hoodies it would make much more sense to wear this as an under layer with a shell over top. This way all the heat would be trapped inside the outer layer and take full advantage of the heating elements. This way if you can also change the top layer to suit the occasion safety jacket, camouflage, your favorite football team of whatever and still use the same hoodie. The cost on these units is also much lower at only $99 without the battery/charger kit. The hoodies are available in various colors including Milwaukee red, tan, grey and a class 2 safety version for a small premium. The camoflage hoodie is also one of the first apparel items to feature the new pattern of Realtree as well as an improved fabric designed to make less noise when moving. The hoodies are washer and dryer safe, have the battery pocket on the inside, and the hood is big enough to accommodate a hard hat.
The last item we had a chance to see was the new heated hand warmer which will retail for $59 without a battery/charger kit. We can’t see this being a big item on the jobsites but for hunting, football games or other recreational actives this could be very nice. That is if you are manly enough to wear a fanny pack to keep your hands warm. Batteries go in the front pocket and last up to 6 hours.
All these new products will be available soon for pre-sale on the Milwaukee M12 page of OhioPowerTool.com. For more detailed information now checkout the Milwaukee Press Release below.
