Mobile Warming Classic Softshell Jacket
4.6
5
7
7
Wish battery lasted longer.
Overall a great product. l wish the battery lasted a bit longer. But, I can't really complain because it's one of the few choices that offers battery operation.
March 18, 2013
Great Jacket
I bought this jacket for winter riding. I choose this one for a few reasons. The first is I didn't want to have to wire a different things to my bike for heated gear. (though I know it would have been easy to do.) Secondly it's mobile I can go anywhere and bring the heat with me, and it looks good enough to wear just as a regular jacket when I'm not riding but want something a little more warmer.
They jacket to me fits exactly like the sizing chart. I'm 6'1 235lbs and I ordered the XL and it fit just like an XL should. I thought about getting the tall version but I'm glad I didn't. It's a comfortable jacket. I've worn it on the bike several times and just a normal jacket even more.
At first when I got the jacket it didn't seem to get too hot on the highest setting. I was a little disappointed because I thought it would get hotter than it did. Though I was still happy with my purchase. Then after having it for a few days wearing it multiple times it seems to have broken in and the highest setting feels a lot hotter.
The first time I took it out on the bike it was roughly 5am before the sun came up and it was 38 degrees outside. I wore it under one of my textile jackets. I put it on the highest setting and after the jacket and bike were warmed up I got on and rode. It felt really nice when I first started going, but I knew the real test was going to be when I got on the freeway. When I got on the freeway I was doing roughly 65-70mph. While on the freeway I was never "hot" cause of the jacket. I was actually pleasantly surprised on how I felt. I was expecting to be still someone cold because I wasn't wearing a leather jacket with it and wearing a textile one. I never got cold. I was actually comfortable the entire ride. The only part of me that was cold was my arms because there is no heat pads there and I was wearing a t-shirt underneath. My arms never got uncomfortable though.
The jacket is really nice when you get in a car and wait for it to warm up the jacket is already nice and warm so you're not cold while you wait for your car to warm up or any other out door activities. I've had lots of compliments on how nice the jacket looks and even surprise some people when I tell them it's heated to. I would definitely recommend this jacket to anyone.
I didn't give the jacket a high rating on airflow because it's a winter jacket. You don't want a lot of airflow, though it gives you enough so you don't over heat.
January 29, 2013
Good warm jacket liner
Bought this as a winter liner for my leather jacket. 6'1", 180 lbs, ordered medium and it fits great. At full power its pretty warm, too warm to wear directly on your skin. Zip it up and it works great as a winter liner under a regular jacket. Battery holds charge for about 3 hours at maximum heat. Only complaint is that the heating elements are actually a pretty small part of the jacket, just two on your chest about the size of your hand, and one on your back. That being said it heats your core very well and I've found it keeps the rest of my upper body warm because the warm blood circulates around. Also it's pretty expensive, only reason i gave it 4/5. But the quality is very nice.
January 28, 2013
A great alternative to traditional heated clothing for commuting.
I've been shying away from heated gear as my primary commuter bike is known for not liking electrical loads - ever. So when these hit the market, I was more than curious.
My work attire is business casual, and I'm admittedly too lazy to change once I get to work. In the winter I would usually commute by bike on "casual Fridays" so I could wear a long sleeve T with long johns underneath.
My goal is to be able to commute ~35 minutes in 30Fdeg mornings w/o the need for long underwear in the torso area. I usually wear a golf polo and khakis at work.
My winter outfit in the 30's is as follows:
- AlpineStar WebTex boots with Smart-Wool Socks
- Fieldsheer Mercury Pants with Quilted Liner
- Olympia MotoX Jacket with rain liner and quilted liner
- Upper base layer of long underwear and a cotton long sleeve T-shirt
- AlpineStar Winter Gloves w/liner (forget the name)
- Bike: 2005 Triumph Tiger, Touring windscreen
- Body Type: Beer advocate
Test parameters - 34 degrees, overcast, very damp (rained the night before) interstate speeds (~70mph) for 25 minutes. Normally in this temperature with the above mentioned outfit I'm comfortable when leaving, and marginally comfortable once I get to work when dry.
Changes to above outfit with jacket:
Olympia Moto-X Jacket with rain liner ONLY.
MobileWarming Jacket set to 100%
Base layer - Adidas Golf Polo (designed for max airflow)
Regular cotton socks (forgot to do laundry).
While I wasn't sweating to the oldies, I am *impressed* with how comfortable I was with this jacket. You can definitely feel the transition between the heated and non-heated area, but duh. The quilted liner in the Olympia is quite warm, and I was really testing this jacket by removing it. I did notice my arms were slightly chilled, but considering I was wearing a short-sleeve polo I cannot complain one iota.
People reference the sizing of this as running small. I find the sizing to be consistent with other Patagonia or North Face soft shell jackets, so I'm not too surprised by its fit.
Word of caution - I ordered a "tall" version of this jacket as I wanted to prevent plumber-drafts while riding. The catch is that the battery pack and last 6(?)" is not protected by the rain layer of my jacket. There is conflicting nomenclature with the jacket - some parts say "DO NOT EXPOSE TO WATER - RISK OF SHOCK AND FIRE" yet other sections goes on to say "Batteries are water resistant". Blah.
Only other gripe is the male pinout on the charger - it is considerably longer than the female port on the battery pack. So it looks like it's not fully plugged in when indeed its bottomed out. The male pinout on the jacket is an appropriate length for the battery pack and will fully seat.
I too plan on buying the gloves after my experience with the jacket.
Note: I rated AirFlow as poor - which is a *GREAT* thing in a cold-weather jacket in my opinion.
November 13, 2012
Great product, works great, runs a little small
This is a great ptoduct and works as advertised. It runs a little small. I am a fairly big guy: 6.3 and 225lbs with 36 in arm length. I ordered an XL. It was pretty snug in the chest and about 2 in short in arm length. Returned and got an XXL. The XXL fits fine in the chest and arms. Going to order the gloves for Christmas.
October 22, 2012
much better than others I've tried
Excellent product for cold morning rides. Works best wearing only long sleeved tshirt underneath. Very comfortable and not bulky. Gonna get gloves next.
May 21, 2012
Very Happy with the performance and style of this product.
Very Happy with the performance and style of this product
April 11, 2012