Who didn’t wish to have a bit extra heat while bracing the arctic cold outdoors. Not so long ago many  folks in Europe and in US got a taste of the cold force of mother nature.

Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., manufacturer and marketer of heavy-duty, portable electric power tools is not the typical brand we expect to embrace wearable technology but thinking about it more closely, tools-technology and work-wear go nicely hand in hand.

The M12™ Cordless Heated Jacket is the answer to all the cold days home improvement folks and professionals have been waiting for. The M12 is a multi layered soft shell jacket providing water and wind resistant.

Integrated are three carbon fiber heating zones, two on the front and one at the back giving extra heat when needed via three selectable heat settings.

The electrical power comes from Milwaukee’s range of portable power tools battery packs and the power tool charger. This makes the M12 a fully integrated product for the semi-professional home improver and professionals working outdoors on construction projects.

You might say working outdoors will heat you up and keep you warm anyhow but think again – there are times you need to wait or supervise others while chilly winds are blowing around you.

This surprisingly good looking work jacket comes also to an amazing low price starting at $119.- (excl. battery and charger)or $182.95 (incl. battery and charger)

Heated jackets are still in fashion as winter is not yet over in some areas. Today’s most fashionable heated jackets use carbon fiber materials making heated garments lightweight and allow slim designs unlike ‘old fashion’ heated clothing that’s bulky or contains cumbersome heating cables.

Brookstone added a chick looking heated jacket for women, a soft lightweight fleece jacket with a 3-level controller to get a bit of warmth at times it’s not as cold but beat the cold if needed with the higher setting.

Two heating areas are on the upper chest and one larger heating area on the upper back to ensure even warmth distribution.

Keep in mind that heated clothing works best if the heating garment is snugly around the body and as close as possible to the skin. Too many other layers of clothing between heating fabric and skin will dim down the warm-up effect. After all, the point of using heated clothing is to eliminate the need of many other layers of clothing.

This jacket comes with 5 layers of weather protection: Micro-fleece, a Windblocking layer, Micro-fleece, a Heating Carbon Fiber Layer and Lining so you don’t have to bundle up a lot.

Available also in a mens version which retails for $149.99 and the women’s jacket for $179.95

I like the nice style of the jackets and the idea of not needing lots of layers of clothing to survive snugly warm the transition between winter and spring time.

[via: ChipChick]

Winter is not over yet and the cold is still biting people for a while that’s why looking around for additional sources of warmth might be a good idea.

Heated clothing, a hot item this winter season where many brands launched their latest designs has been joined by Miles Fashion from Germany.

Their new ProGression® product range for wearable electronics and smart fashion  is the latest brand to expand the heated clothing collection to make our life more comfortable.

The ProGression® is exceptional stylish looking although designed for active sports the soft shell don’t just help you cut a good figure when skiing, golfing, angling, riding, hiking or cycling. They are great for anyone who spends time outdoors in low temperatures – wind, cold or rain.

The heated hybrid fabric integrated in the jacket is made up of polyester and metal mono filaments. Each conductive mono filament is individually insulated. The fabric is therefore fully washable while simultaneously ensuring optimum wearer safety.

Using a single switch control integrated into the jackets and conveniently located next to the pocket, the temperature of the heated back panel can be regulated easily.

The heated Jackets and Vests for men and women are windproof, breathable, water and dirt-repellent next to the integrated heated hybrid fabric and micro-processor temperature control.

The included power source will warm you for up to 5 hours and offers 5 different settings for optimum temperature adjustments.

Available directly by ProGression, the jacket is selling for Euro 349,00 ($452.00) a small price for staying warm in style.

Looking to the extreme low temperatures in parts of US and Europe I was looking around for jackets that keep comfy warm in the most extreme temperatures and look cool/chic.

Heated clothing comes to my mind but many of the products on offer are kind of bleak and black. Burtons LTD Heated Dream Jacket for women is already for the second season in the market but still looks ‘refreshing’, charming and warming.

The Heated Dream Jacket comes with a battery-powered internal heater. Should you forget to recharge the batteries on those frigid January days, don’t despair, the slim-fit Heated Dream also comes stuffed with insulation in form of a 10K-rated waterproof fabric, taped seams, and powder skirt protect your base layers from getting damp.

The jacket has 3 settings: low at 85 degrees for 4+ hours, Medium at 98 degrees for 3 hours and toasty high at 110 for 2 hours. The battery pack is about 5x4x0.5 inch and takes about 5 hours to fully charge.

The price has gone down from last years introduction as well costing now $ $279.96 via this online store for example.

Feeling already the cold? Winter is just around the corner so we prepared another hot tip to stay warm while outdoors.

The relatively new material of carbon fibers specially treated to make them electrically conductive with high resistance level and woven to textiles, creating heat generating fabrics allow apparel designer to create slim, invisible integration of heating patches into clothing.

There are no wires like in the old days, carbon fiber heating textiles feel and have the wearability properties like any other textile.

The Carbon Fiber Heated Jacket offered by Hammacher Schlemmer is a windproof fleece jacket that has a virtually undetectable heating elements woven from carbon fibers that are 5 times thinner than human hair but still powerful enough to give you some comfy warmth when needed.

The heat is generated through the carbon-fiber mesh sewn into the chest and back of the jacket and the laminated microfleece fabric is windproof, keeping the warmth close to your body.

An unobtrusive lithium-ion rechargeable battery provides up to five hours of continuous use after a three-hour charge. Three heat settings allow to select just the right temperature depending on the outside conditions.

Available in black, this unisex jacket goes for $179.95 as seen on this online store. You know my saying: staying warm during winter is priceless.

Our coverage around wearable power in the consumer space is usually about heating of gloves and other garments. The wearable power system from Ardica is adding a new dimension/function to heated clothing by using the available power to recharge most of the gadgets everyone is having in the pockets on a day out in the mountains: audio player, cell phones, GPS to name a few.

Ardica, a spin-off from the mechanical engineering department at Stanford University, is approaching wearable power by designing a module which can be transferred from one jacket to another if the jacket is ‘Made for Ardica’.

Needless to say, I like the modular, transferable solution as I can use the most expensive part of an wearable electronic containing garment on different styles and carry it over from season to season – assuming the technology lasts longer than the fashion style.

The first jackets using Ardica power management will come from Montain Hardwear in their 2009/10 fall/winter collection. The heating and battery elements are flat and flexible measuring about 4 x 4 inches and connect to the power source via fabric embedded wires. The Li-ion battery cells are controlled by Ardica’s ‘smart technology’ that can be configured to respond to outside activity and send heat in regulated doses.

The battery weights less than one pound and is powerful enough to give heat for up to 8 hours on low setting or could charge a cell phone around 10 times or an iPod up to 20 times.

It’s ultimately up to you to decide if you prefer to talk all day or shut up and have it cozy warm inside your jacket.

The added cost for jackets that are ‘Made for Ardica’ is expected to be around $35.- to $50.- for comparable jackets. The power heat module will be available by Ardica for $145.-

Ardica is actually on a mission to develop and commercialize small fuel-cells that can potentially be used to replace the Li-ion cells and plans to have a first version ready by 2010. We will watch out and keep you updated on the power jacket progress.

[via Gizmodo and Outside Blog]

Rossignol, French manufacturer of alpine and snowboard equipment as well as related outerwear, joined the growing market of heated apparel by launching for the 08/09 winter season the Hit Jacket.

Skiers know that after the adrenaline rush of a downhill race one has to line up at the ski-lift to go up again. Especially when the weather is not that great and the sun is hiding the time spent in the lift line can feel

Rossignol’s Hit jacket for women has a patented adjustable heating system with four heating panels integrated into the jacket’s lining giving up cozy warmth to make queuing up on the ski-lift more pleasant or at least more comfortable in cold weather.

When you are cold simply turn on the system by pressing the button on the battery which triggers the autonomous system into a 20 minute operating cycle – these cycles can be repeated 6 times per day before the battery has to be recharged.

The Hit Jacket is made of breathable, waterproof stretch material keeping the warmth inside.

Rossignol will launch the Hit Jacket this autumn for a suggested retail price of $700.-

Winter time will never be as cold as it used to be in the past. No, I am not talking about global warming, I am talking about heated clothing.

Over the past few years we have seen an increase in cold season clothing that incorporates advanced textile heat elements to keep us toasty warm no matter how cold it gets.

Burton‘s Heated Dream Jacket for the 08/09 winter season comes just in time to get your next seasonal outfit arranged.

The Heated Dream Jacket uses a rechargeable battery to power the Thermo–Tex® Printed Heat, which converts electric current into radiant heat via the ink that is printed directly onto the liner of the jacket.

The stylish looking Heated Dream Jacket for Women has a slim fit cut and comes in two colors: True Black Plaid and Bright White Plaid. The jackets offers many dedicated pockets for goggles, ski pass, ATM, iPod/MP3 player and offers all the quality materials like Thermacore™ Insulation, DWR Coated Fabric and Microfleece Chin Saver. Available around the net as for example via this online store for $349.95

The choice is yours but keep in mind: the next winter comes for sure and better stay comfy warm than shivering.