Heated vests - Do they actually work ?

[Cali_diver]

@Kendall Raine Thermulation and yes it was a short in the heating element. It burned a whole right through the vest and my rashguard. I have also seen people get minor burns that last a day or two from having it on for the tender ride back to the boat. It appears in the pattern of the heating element so make sure you turn it off when out of the water. Thermulation replaced the vest when it happened but I don't think they are in business anymore.

 

[Whitrzac]

All the heated vests/suits on the market use the same style of carbon heating elements. They are all susptable to cracking and creating hotspots/burns. In every case I've seen with one causing a serious burn, the person knew their vest had failed and chose to keep it on, giving them a little heat, but also burning themselves.

My venture will leave an imprint of the path the element takes, but my J2 will leave the waffle pattern on me too.

 

[Rich1280]

I've got a Hauberk heated undersuit, I really like the build quality and the fit on the upper body is really good with great shoulder mobility. Its a little broad cut in the ankles, so not the best fit in the legs, but works really well. They're MTM in Ukraine for 400Euro, and mine as done super quick. I've been diving it a couple of season now and generally don't need to put the heating on unless its a cold hang, or our winter Scotland trip where its 5-6degC and we do an hour or so. I'd recommend a look at them as a sensible option to get into budget. It may also be worth a look at the dive gear selling pages on facebook, we seem to often get heating kit come up on the UK ones, and batteries. You can possibly get a MTM Hauberk, new valve and used battery for under 1000Euro, or some combination thereof.
I'm considering the heated gloves, not used them yet but the wife has the Santi ones and raves about them.

Electric heating

Rich

 

[Tucsonwilly]

Be aware that Venture Heat does not service their products. The response from Venture Heat when I asked to have my vest looked at because it is not heating very well is below. It could be the batteries, but they don't have those either, nor unwilling to even look at the vest.
*************************************************************
From Venture Heat:

L (Venture Heat)

Feb 5, 2024, 4:14 PM PST

Thanks for reaching out; unfortunately, we do not have a repairs department, so we are unable to fix products on our end.

If your product is past the 1-year warranty, we can assist with a discount on the purchase of a new vest if you're interested.

Kind regards,
L
Venture Heat USA

service@ventureheat.com
www.ventureheat.com

 

[Still Kicking]

I have used Thermalution and Venture Heat over the years. Both worked well for heating under a wetsuit but neither proved to be reliable over the long term for me.

The problem with Thermalution was that the shirt is stretchy lycra but the heating elements were not stretchy. The shirt streches as you take it on and off and the heating elements come unglued from the lycra. I sent it back to China for repair ($80 plus shipping) but it happened again.

I liked the Venture Heat design because of the side zipper (no stretching). Unfortunately, it eventually developed a short in the Y connector where the cables from the two batteries come together. I felt uncomfortably warm after a dive -- even though I had the shut power off -- and when I took my wetsuit off, I found a burn about the size of a quarter in my back. There was no damage to the molded Y connector so I can't say why it shorted.

After it healed up, I was in hospital for an unrelated procedure. The doctor noticed the scar and asked when I got shot. So now I just tell cool stories about it. LOL.

 

[rjack321]

After reading the replies and also some other threads I am surprised that no-one appears to state that a heated vest is a "must have".

Reading between the lines I would now almost suggest that it appears to be a nice to have but not a vital.. Alternatively, I am starting to take far more interest in the layers/undergarments. I will definitely begin by sourcing some good quality merino layers + heavier socks//gloves before I make any rash decisions about vests/batteries..

Thanks to all, it has given me food for thought.

Think of it this way, if heat is a "must have" and it fails... then you die. It's not like gas to breathe.

On the other hand, in super cold waters for long durations you absolutely need heat or a Finnish blood transfusion. I don't know how they survive in some of those arctic caves and mines.

 

[Sebs]

Not to dissuade you from active heating but how do SFTech undergarments compare to other products? The reason I ask is because I just recently bought a tecline 490 and after 45 minutes I was still warm. My hands and feet were getting cold but my core was comfortable. This was in lake Zürich at 7 degrees.

To compare: a very heavily used rental halo 3D felt the same as my seaskin 250 and with those I was freezing by 30 minutes.

 

[TrimixToo]

So first off, any system that you cannot unplug underwater is a failure. There's no good reason for a heated vest or suit to burn you, ever.

I was routinely doing 1-2 hour dives in 40F water for a while. Heat vastly improves comfort on longer dives. But as observed above, you still need to dress warmly enough that if it fails you won't be hypothermic by the time you exit the water. It's a real plus if your extremities don't get cold enough to impede their offgassing, too.

The best way I found to use heat was to leave it turned off until ascending. I was warm enough during the active part of the dive without it, but on deco, where I wasn't usually swimming, I'd get chilly. This strategy also let me use it for two dives without running the battery down too far.

 

[johnydive]

I'm in canada and my buddy and I we use motorcycle vest. way cheaper and works like a charm!

 

[rjack321]

I'm in canada and my buddy and I we use motorcycle vest. way cheaper and works like a charm!

So first off, any system that you cannot unplug underwater is a failure. There's no good reason for a heated vest or suit to burn you, ever.

A break or crimp in any nichrome wire based vest will burn you. The Santi uses nichrome wire and every motorcycle vest I've seen uses a similar technology. And for whatever reason in a drysuit its very hard to detect/realize you have a major hotspot until you are already burnt.

There are other types like the light monkey carbon wire pads but they are arent as waterproof and typically have lower wattage overall