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Self-Warming Jackets
jeffy124 writes: "Those of you in the frigid north who find their coats unfulfilling of their duties may be interested in a self-warming jacket. By using steel microfibres woven into the fabric plus a lithium battery, heat is actually generated to as much as 114 degrees fahrenheit. The jackets, sadly, come with a nasty price -- US$500. Among those interested in purchasing are skiers (including some Olympians), and the Military."
a reason to plug in my coat!
...what? Why are you all looking at me like that?
[PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
-Do NOT do that.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
... but most jackets are designed to be "self heating". At least, any good REI type jacket is. They should create multiple layers of air around your body that your body heat will warm, with a protective layer outside that blocks most wind and water.
Not to say that this isn't cool, but it seems a bit impractical. One wonders if it can sufficently operate as a normal jacket once its battery's worn out.
I was told by some DARPA person that one of the problems the military had with wearable tech was that a bullet which has just travelled through a lithium battery was more toxic than one which hadnt; wearing a coat with Li-ion elements is not the kind of thing you'd want to do on the battlefield. is that correct?
Yeah, I was going to say, most normal winter coats cost around 150-300 on average, so $500 isn't that bad.
What?
I guess the steel mesh woven into it makes them partially metal jackets then....
I'm a semi avid skier and I'm amazed at how much people spend on ski crap. $150 bucks for a pair of flimsy nylon pants (like th kind I got at Kmart for $12) isn't uncommon. So I would imagine a selfwarming jacket (if it has stylish logos) at $500 will have no problem selling.
Wow! These were shown in Mens Health magazine here in the UK before Christmas...
Slashdot/CNN need to get with the times or get more healthy! Check it out!
MET 5 Jacket
$500 is nothing. I paid $1100 for my electric motorcycle suit. It covers me from head to toe even at 100mph in 20F on the longest rides; however, 10 amps might be a bit much for a battery not being charged.
I think this is a not so good idea.
- Batteries work very bad/not at all in cold conditions, you world have to keep the entire resupply of batteries inside the jacket.
- Adds complexity, will probably not work when it is really needed (Murphys laws of combat)
- Cotton still works very well from -15 deg C
to -30 -15 deg C, in fact t-shirt, jacket and winter camo works quite well if walking.
- May be usable as a emergency blanket, if you need to reheat someone suffering from mild hypothermia. Having tried that once, it was not very pleasant.
http://www.gerbing.com/
Nothing but highest recommendations. It appears it will last a lifetime. I have had this suit for this winter season and the quality appears to exceed BMW's heated vest which I have abused for two years without fail. After tearing up a widder in less than a month and fixing it several times until it could be used no more, I would go with nothing else besides BMW or Gerbing. And the heat output is incredible. Most importantly I know it will not fail on long trips. In the cold weather on a motorcycle in the middle of nowhere, quality is the difference between life and death.
My suit has electric heated socks (which are uncomfortable by themselves,) the two piece suit which can be comfortably worn over street clothes, electric gloves (never leave home without them,) and a the collar in the jacket has extra heating and sticks inside the helmet to keep my sinuses warm. It works and is worth the investment if you like the snow.
What happens if you turn the jacket "on" when nobody's wearing it? This thing must generate lots of heat in a small amount of time. My chem lab experience make me think the jacket might start to melt or burn...
Finally I can stop using methane to heat up my pants.
First off let me say that I wear electric clothing on a regular basis. Of course, mine is the somewhat low-tech variety. More cheap electric blanket, less lithium-ion.
The main reason I wear them, is for when you need to be stationary in the elements for an extended period of time. Sure, I'd be warm if I were moving about, but if you have to sit still for 60 minutes it's going to take a *LOT* of insulation to equal the warmth of a good electric vest.
There's another subtle difference between heavy insulation and active heating. Alterness. You'd be amazed at how fast your reaction time sinks when you get a little cold. That's not so bad when your hiking along a trail, but if you're driving a motorcycle (like me) or holding a gun (soliders) then a half second can be critical.
Mmmmmm... toasty warm.
dominionrd.blogspot.com - Restaurants on
I ride year round and it's frequently cold enough to put on my electric vest under my motorcycle jacket. These things are a life-saver and they're pretty low-tech, with fine wires laid out in an electric blanket configuration surrounding your torso. Of course, I guess this approach to keeping warm is much easier to pull off when you're riding a high-current, 400+ pound battery on wheels...
My titanium puts out a lot of heat - and I'm moving to Europe soon (Germany) - so I know it'll function quite nicely as a bed-warmer during those long nights.
... in a tight little package.
...
Plus it plays DVD's, so in all it's pretty much like snuggling up in front of the fire and watching a movie
If they could one day *use* the heat that these sorts of devices put out, instead of trying hard to reduce it, things might become a little more efficient
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
...I haven't worn a jacket for several years now. Of course, I live in Northern VA, near Washington DC which doesn't really qualify as the frigid north. This winter has been rather warm, but I didn't wear a jacket last year when we had a good solid month of cold in December (ice on the canal was thick enough to skate). How do I do it?
Well, first of all, I find that I just don't spend that much time walking from the car to the inside. If you get that cold walking outside for a few minutes, you are a wimp. There is simply no other way to put it.
Well you say, what about when you are doing non-wimpy things like hiking along the banks of the semi-frozen Potomac?
In situations like that, I layer. Sometimes as much as 5 or 6 layers. More often than not, I end up pealing them off as the physical activity causes body temp to increase. In an extreme situation (e.g., hiking up the Blue Ridge) body temperature increases to the point where I have gone shirtless in 20 degree weather just for the thrill of it. You have to be doing heavy aerobic climbing for that to be comfortable though. No, I'm not overweight either. It is essential to pack several T-shirts and change the innermost layer if you are going to rest during such an outing. Otherwise the moisture can really get to you.
My only special equipment for dealing with the cold is a warm cotton hat to cover my ears, and gloves. That takes care of most of the body heat loss.
I can see how something like that jacket would be useful in Minessota, especially if you did a lot of driving and were concerned about getting stranded in the middle of a blizzard.
For me though, I've found that most special Winter clothing is something I can do without. More Winters like this one, and I may not even have to endure much discomfort to save a few bucks.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
You sure can take things out of context. Ever work for a newspaper/tv?
How many of you have ridden motorcycles in a cold winter climate? I don't care how many layers you have on, what nifty fibers they contain, etc. If you wear something that doesn't breathe, you end up covered in sweat. If you wear something that does breathe, you freeze at highway speeds. That's why heated electric vests are so popular.
I've only been riding motorcycles for about 28 years, so I expect there will be some people that weren't born when I started riding that are sure that they know far more than I. You will find their responses following this.
I had read it as "Self wearing jackets" and I was about to be really impressed... Oh well, maybe someday!
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
Also, reminds me of George Jetson in one episode (when he thought he was going to die) trying out some indestructable suit for Spacely Sprockets to win the Good Spacekeeping Seal. It survived all the tests, but was ruined when Jane put it in the wash. Dry Clean only!
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Get your warm toilet seat right here.
Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I'll never know.
I remember paying around CA$1000 for a decent parka around 1979. Of course, that, normal clothing and thermal underwear were good to around -50C. Never been out in anything colder than around -44C, though.
You could've hired me.
While the Li-Ion cell taking a hit would certainly be a problem, maybe even starting a fire (is this thing fireproof?) I expect these microfiber wires aren't insulated, themselves. So you get some salts from persperation in there and poof, caustic could be produced. No thanks.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Batteries don't do well in cold weather. More importantly, the colder it gets (and the more you want your jacket to be warm), the worse the jacket's battery will perform.
Some form of fuel cell would be just the ticket:
Laptop Methanol Fuel Cells Promised This Week
It should be easy to convince the propane-toting crowd that a fuel cell is a sensible way to supply heat to a jacket.
And you'd never again have to face that sinking feeling, high on an alpine ridge, that what you thought was a jacket battery was actually the battery you used to complete that chunk of code during the flight out...
which gets a lot of its stuff from REI, is paying much attention to this. Mostly they're discarding what doesn't work, and continuing to go after the bad guys.
God bless Western Civilization (minus the French, Germans, Spanish, Italians, and other former fascists).
668: Neighbour of the Beast
Conduction of heat might be irrelevant considering the heating elements draw pretty much the same current in our environment. What I have found with electric clothing over the years is the amount of wattage rules. The layers of clothing over the heated liner multiplies that effect. Try 100mph at 20F for several hundred miles on a motorcycle and a great appreciation for raw power with wind resistant insualtion can do. It can mean the difference between comfort or death.
Marty McFly's jacket
"They just need to install a blow-dryer in this baby and we'll be all set."
;]
You forgot the auto-adjust feature... can't leave that one out.
This is interesting, though. What if clothes do get electronic features integrated into them in the future? Will it really be for the better? Nowdays you can put on a wooly jumper and feel a natural warmth, but to me the idea of a completely synthetic piece of clothing which relies on electronic heating just seems to have something lacking. It's not natural. I don't want to feel like I'm wearing a computer (despite my obsession with computers and electronics).
If I boost the voltage a bit, and cover my body with high quality thermal grease....
Get a free ipod.
The wired jacket would be good for spectators though - but maybe a little expensive.
See my journal, I write things there
I bet the heat is done by running current through the strands. That's how an electric blanket works - more or less.
My cousin actually owns a neoprene jacket with
microcapsules of wax. The wax melts at room
temperature and can store quite a bit of energy.
When it's cold outside, the wax slowly releases
the heat to the body.
I'm not sure whether this jacket is on the market.
He was jobbing for a sports fashion producer when
he got it (Adidas?).
Anyone ever think about what happens when the battery goes out?
Being as how steel is woven into the fabric, and being as how steel is a very good conductor of heat, it also means that it's a very good heat-disipator as well. When the battery goes out, not only will the heat be lost quick, but your body heat will also be lost quicker through the fabric of the coat.
Something like this would work nice as a vest or an inside liner, but I wouldn't want to have it inside the coat itself.
Words of wisdom from a northerner who loves the cold (and hasn't been getting enough of it this winter).
what none of you realize is that %500.00 jacket is the same as the $29.00 polar fleece spring jacket you buy for $59.00 when you can find the most expensive one on the market... Most Polar Fleece jackets run from $10.00 to $59.00 (kmart to North Face... I guess Armani might make one more expensive to go with your Itilian Leather shoes)
So your leather Jacket would be about $1500.00 and a good high altitude climbers jacket about $3000.00
which would be stupid to buy, get the cheap vest and wear it under everything. Voila every jacket I own is now self heating.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I don't like heated grips on bikes. Bike electrics are dodgy at the best of times without throwing heated grips into the mix.
Again, HG do some fantastic non electric 3 finger gloves that are waterproof and warm in all but the coldest freezing fog.
I don't work for Hein Gericke BTW, just use some of their products.
Deleted
I ride all year round in the UK and these days bike jackets are *completely* waterproof, warm at 90mph on the Motorway in freezing weather and breathable.
The Hein Gericke Voyager II jacket is a good example, though, like all sequels, not as good as the original Voyager I.
Gloves are a bigger issue. HG Pathan three finger gloves are fantastic for all but below zero temperatures, but I might be persuaded to use electric gloves if they were simple to use.
Deleted
$500 isn't that expensive considering when you walk into a store and see the same price on an unheated Tommy H. coat. I've seen many coats over a $1,000.
$500 seems like a reasonable price for a new product like that and I'm sure price will come down after a while.
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
Slashdot item for 2012:
This article over on FoodDot reports that researchers at Nutriglomerate have invented bread that toasts itself. A network of conductive thermal protein monofibers woven through the bread during baking draws power from an organic battery in the center of each slice. When the toast is done the battery's own heat converts it to a pat of butter. Bon apetit!
I don't know if this exists, but with the focus of news going to wepons and military hardware [nerdware]... let's use a Military category.
I would like to list news that is related to Military improvments, but so would the Bad Guys [tm]
Get your Unix fortune now!
This is a company that's been in the news because the main plant burned to the ground several years ago and the owner, a family owner 2nd or 3rd generation refused to take anyone off the payroll even though the company nearly went bankrupt recently until it secured new capital. This new project will probably save the company which proves that sometimes good deeds are rewarded.