Do you constantly feel cold? Are you dreading the upcoming Fall and Winter season? If you try to hide from the cold, a heated vest may be all you need to be able to face it. Thankfully, Venustas sent me a review unit for an unbiased review. You can check their full range of products on the Venustas official website.
Package Contents
In the package, you get a convenient carrying case, the heated vest, a large 5,000 mAh power bank, which can also double to charge your phone, and a USB Type-C charging cable for the power bank.
Fit & Comfort
When choosing a heated vest, it’s crucial to pick the right size since you will likely wear it on top of a t-shirt or a sweater. Since I usually wear it over a shirt, I went with large, even though I typically wear medium or large clothes, and there is lots of room to wear a sweater underneath.
The interior material feels good and is made of mylar but it’s always recommended to wear a shirt or have some layer to avoid direct contact with skin. The exterior is made of Nylon.
I’m around 5’11 or 180 cm and about 180 lbs or 81 Kg for context.
Storage & Utility
There are two pockets located on the front of the vest, which is quite large. I can easily fit my Samsung S22 Ultra, which is a large phone with lots of room to spare. These two front pockets have a soft material to keep your hands warm and are also heated with coils to keep your hands warm. The two front pockets can be closed up with a zipper to secure the pocket contents.
There is also an interior zippered pocket where the power bank can be stored and connected to the power cable. I do not recommend putting anything else aside from the power bank in this pocket to prevent damage to the power cable and the power bank.
Heated Vest Set Up
Setting up the heated vest is quite simple. First, make sure the power bank is sufficiently charged. Mine had about a 72% charge out of the box. The side of the power bank also has a digital LED display to show the remaining battery life, which is handy.
Next, connect the power cable in the interior pocket to the power bank. When connected correctly, the light on the front of the vest’s logo will light up white to show it is connected. Then all you have to do is turn on the vest by pressing and holding the power button for about three seconds until it glows red, indicating it is warming or preheating.
To switch between the different heating modes and temperatures, simply press and hold the logo button for one second after it has finished heating up. You can switch between the following temperatures:
- 35 Celsius / 95 Fahrenheit
- 45 Celsius / 113 Fahrenheit
- 55 Celsius / 130 Fahrenheit
Is It Worth It?
If you like to drive your car with the heat on most of the time, then this will probably suit you well. It’s easy to us, and isn’t overly bulky, considering that it has to sit on top of a sweater. Winter hasn’t arrived where I am yet, but there are times when I’ll go out with a sweater on to clear up some snow quickly, and this vest will make things much more comfortable on those days.
Since it is sleeveless, it cannot replace a winter jacket in extremely cold temperatures, but for Fall and not-so-cold Winter days, it’ll do fine.
The heating elements are distributed in the following areas:
- left & right shoulders
- mid-back
- left & right pockets
- collar
The 5,000 mAh battery capacity also allows for repeated use without frequent charging. However, one improvement I would like to see in a future version is the ability to power the vest with any brand of power bank via a USB type C port. If that change was made, you could always use any nearby power bank in a pinch instead of ensuring the supplied power bank is sufficiently charged.
Overall it’s a solid option for a heated vest, and it would also make a great gift for someone in your life who is always complaining about feeling cold.
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