REVIEW – Brrrr! The weather is getting colder again in the Midwest and hockey season is already in full swing for us. I’m always cold and always looking for options to stay warm whether it is at the rink or walking my dogs every morning. After reviewing the iHood women’s lightweight heated vest last year, I know that there is something about heated clothing that is a great option to have in my arsenal of coats, gloves and hats, especially during these colder months. I know I love a heated vest, so I was excited to try a heated jacket. Here is what I thought of the UZE heated jacket.
What is it?
The UZE Heated Jacket is a four season waterproof jacket made with graphene heating pads heating 4 different zones, featuring 3 heat levels and a variety of ways to accessorize and wear.
What’s in the box?
The UZE heated jacket comes packaged beautifully.
- Heated Jacket
- Detachable Liner
- Detachable Snow-skirt
- Detachable Hood
- Two Detachable Faux Fur for hood- Black and Golden
- Pocket pouch
- UZE Heated Jacket Power Bank
- UTZ 150WMulti-port GaN PD Quick Charger
Specifications
- UZE Heated Jacket Power Bank
- Special DC Port
- 100W USB-C Output/Input
- 5V/2.4A; 9V/3A; 12V/3A; 15V3A; 20V/5A
- 18W USB-A Output
- 5V/3A 9V/2A 12V/1.5A
- DC Output: 7.4V3A
- Battery Capacity: 20,000mAh
- Smart Display
- Travel Friendly
- UTZ 150WMulti-port GaN PD Quick Charger
- 4 Port Design: Equipped with 2 USB-C and 2 USB-A ports
How to set-up and use
- Charge the Power Bank
Prior to your initial use, it’s essential to fully charge your power bank to 100%. This action serves to calibrate your power bank and is a critical step in ensuring its optimal performance. - Connect the Jacket
Once your power bank is fully charged, connect it to your jacket’s port (located in the top right pocket). Ensure it is properly connected.
- Check for Successful Connection
A successful connection will be indicated by a flickering light on the jacket. It will cycle through red, blue, and finally green. This shows that the jacket is ready to provide you with warmth. - Turn On the Jacket
Press the on/off button on the jacket for 3 seconds until it turns red. This indicates that the heating elements are activated. - Select Your Desired Heat Level
Now, select your preferred heat level by pressing the button to adjust to one of three heat levels. - Turn Off the Jacket
To turn off your heated jacket, simply press the on/off button for 3 seconds until the light turns off. This will conserve power when you’re not using the heat.
Design and features
The UZE heated jacket features a fully removable internal liner. Filled with synthetic down, the internal liner allows for adaptable wear based on your preferences and varying weather conditions. The outer layer is crafted from the innovative UZEShield fabric. The UZEShield fabric is developed by UZE to offer the best of water and wind proofing. The fabric’s membranes are 20,000 times smaller than a drop of water, but larger than water vapor molecules, achieving superior breathability. Even after the heaviest of downfalls, the jacket remains touch dry. UZE even ensured that every zipper and stitch is crafted to repel rain. The fabric is a hair magnet, so if you have pets, be prepared to lint roll constantly. The furry hood accessories also produce little hairs that stick to the outside of the jacket. This I can deal with, as I’m used to having a lint roller where ever I go, but the thing I can’t handle is that the fabric is so noisy and you hear every little movement. Here is a short video to give you an idea.
UZE really wants you to be able to use this jacket year round and have instant access to everything you need during the day. Do you love pockets? This UZE heated jacket has numerous pockets. The top right pocket is what stows your UZE Heated Jacket Fast-charging Power Bank. The top left pocket is a dedicated slot for your sunglasses and even comes with a handy wiper cloth. The lower left pocket, features a keychain holder, so you never misplace keys. The jacket even uses a magnetic closure feature, which allows you to fasten your jacket instantly, even without fully zipping it.
Now let’s talk heat! I mean what is the most important feature of a heated wearable after all?
Your heated jacket is only as good as your power bank. The UZE Heated Jacket Power Bank can keep you warm for up to 10 hours (on the lowest heat setting) and charges 10x faster with the included UTZ 150WMulti-port GaN PD Quick Charger. In fact, you can easily go from 0% to 100% in only 45 minutes to 1 hour! 10 hours of heat does come at a price, as the power bank is quite heavy.
The UTZ 150WMulti-port GaN PD Quick Charger is not only helpful for charging your power bank, but any powered devices quickly. The charger has a 4 port design and is equipped with 2 USB-C and 2 USB-A ports. However, it’s important to note, that this power bank has been specifically designed to provide the jacket with the necessary power required for the graphene heating pads to function optimally and maintain its lasting charge.
The UZE heated jacket uses graphene heating pads. What is graphene? Graphene is a form of carbon that consists of a single layer of atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice. Each vertex of the lattice is formed by one atom forms. It is the fundamental structural element of other allotropes, including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes. It has a unique set of properties. In relation to its thickness, it is about 100 times stronger than steel. Most importantly, graphene efficiently conducts heat and electricity while being nearly transparent.
The UZE heated jacket features 4 heated zones and 3 heat levels.
- Red- 160° F/ 70° C Intense
- Green- 140° F/ 60° C Moderate
- Blue- 120° F/ 50° C Mild
It is easy to adjust to your preferred heat level by pressing the button to toggle thru the heat options.
When I mentioned earlier that UZE really thought of the usability of this jacket, I wasn’t exaggerating. They have included various add-on items to customize your look and function. Some of the including attachable and detachable items are the inner shell jacket, snow skirt, hood and 2 faux fir hood accessories. Choose to wear them, interchange them and customize as you see fit. The UZE heated jacket also has a foldable rain hem, adjustable cuffs, fingerless gloves and underarm zipper for ventilation.
- Detachable Snow-skirt, located at the bottom of your jacket with little grippers on the material to hold your jacket snug to your body.
- Foldable rain hem, also located at the bottom of your jacket and is a flap of fabric that extends to cover up your bottom.
- Detachable hood and two detachable faux fur allows you to mix and match as you see fit. You can also remove the hood altogether.
- Adjustable cuffs and fingerless gloves
Maintaining and cleaning the UZE heated jacket is hassle-free. You can indeed machine wash the jacket, but for added caution, a gentle hand wash is recommended. Being waterproof, the jacket is inherently low maintenance. Moreover, its removable accessories, including the hood, liner, and snow skirt, can be conveniently washed separately.
When it comes to sizing, here is the provided sizing chart. The UZE heated jacket is a unisex jacket, so I opted for the medium, but wish I would have went with a large. With the fact the jacket is heated, I wanted a more fitted option, as I would typically go with less layers underneath. However, this medium is a tighter fit for me with one thinner layer of clothing. I would not be able to comfortably wear the jacket with a thick sweatshirt underneath.
Performance
Now that you know all the features of the UZE Heated Jacket, it is time to talk a little bit about the functionality and performance.
When it comes to all the bells and whistles, this jacket definitely has them! First there is the long lasting power bank and quick charging multi-port charger. This comes with a little hiccup. The UZE Heated Jacket Power Bank is extremely heavy and the location in the top right pocket is not my favorite choice. I would prefer less of a charge if it makes the battery lighter, as well as, I would prefer to stow the power bank in a lower pocket.
Next is all the accessories and ways to wear the jacket. I appreciate being able to add, remove and mix and match to fit the occasion and weather. I like the inner shell of the jacket, but I just can not get behind the exterior shell. I appreciate the UZEShield fabric. It heats as advertised and does a fantastic job keeping you dry when it is worn in wet conditions. However, biggest pitfall is how loud the jacket is. It reminds me of those new sneakers that you are embarrassed to wear because they squeak with every step. Every movement in the UZE Heated Jacket is heard. For me, this is just not something I can handle personally to wear when I’m out and about, but I’m sure it doesn’t bother every one. However when it comes to walking the dog in the morning, I will still rock my UZE Heated Jacket and just know that although I will be warm, everyone can hear us coming.
What I like
- The included 150WMulti-port GaN PD Quick Charger that can be used to charge a wide variety of powered devices
- Long lasting power bank
- Various wearing/accessorizing options
What I’d change
- Make the UZEShield fabric less noisy
- Reduce the weight of the power bank and place the plug in a lower pocket
- Add other color options for the heated jacket
Final thoughts
I like the style of this jacket, I believe it does a fine job at heating and keeping you warm, and I love all the options for versatile wearing from the detachable hood accessories to removing the hood and inner shell altogether. However for me, I’m going to stick to my heated vest for now, unless it comes to walking the dogs early morning when it is dark, cold and no one is around. I personally can not get past the sound the jacket makes every time you move and how heavy the power bank is.
Price: $599 retail with Kickstarter deals for as low as $299
Where to buy: Kickstarter
Source: The sample of this product was provided by UZE.
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Shawna, thank you for your thorough (and partly hilarious) evaluation. At times, I think about your reaction to the noisy jacket and can’t help but burst into discreet laughter (sorta weird when I ride the crowded métro).
I happen to have a Northern Face jacket that pretty much rivals your UZE noise-wise, but as a bonus, the thin inside layer dried off and is flaking off generously, making it look like I have a serious dandruff problem, although I’m sure it’s more of an inside jacket flaky snowstorm. So, AVOID NORTHERN FACE (autumn/spring) jackets at all costs.
At any rate, I’ve yet to read a UZE jacket evaluation that confirms it’s safe to charge a cell phone on the go with the included fast charger. What do you think?
Andral,
Thank you so much for saving me from purchasing another loud jacket.😂 I just can’t do it. Although, now I feel like maybe I should have kept the jacket and wore my name tag to get the attention a loud jacket brings and possible clients.
I donated the jacket. I will say that the battery pack for me was the best part of the jacket. Super long charge, rapid charging when just using it not with the jacket to charge my devises.
I can’t say whether it is safe to use to charge phone, while also having jacket on or not.