Heated vests: zones, real battery life, sizing — the no-marketing guide
A heated vest is the most effective heated garment: it warms your core and the body redistributes. It's also the category where marketing exaggerates most — generously counted zones, unrealistic battery life, misleading sizes. Let's put the numbers straight.
Heating zones: placement beats the number
Listings advertise 9, 21, sometimes 28 'zones'. In practice what matters is elsewhere: the back and lower back must be covered (that's where heat relaxes and spreads), a heated collar is a real plus in deep cold, and separately controllable sections (front / back) stop you cooking your chest to warm your back.
A vest with 6 well-placed, controllable zones beats one with 28 micro-zones all wired to a single button.
Real battery life (and why listings lie)
The advertised '8 to 10 hours' refers to the minimum level, often with a single zone active. In real use on a 10,000 mAh power bank, expect about 3 hours at full power — more in medium or eco mode. Enough for a commute, a match, or a session in a cold room; not for a full ski day.
Two details that change everything: the power bank is almost never included (budget €15–25 extra), and heating is noticeably stronger with a 20 W-capable power bank than with an old 10 W unit.
Sizing: the one-size-up rule
Nearly every heated vest on the market uses Asian sizing: order one size above your usual EU size — an EU M orders L, an L orders XL. It's the category's number-one cause of returns.
The right test on delivery: the vest should sit close to the body (heat transfers by contact) while leaving room for one thin layer underneath. Too tight compresses the heating zones; too loose loses the heat.
Care and lifespan
A graphene vest machine-washes cold on a delicate cycle, no hard spin, no dryer — after removing the power bank from the pocket. Never wring the fabric: that's the gesture that snaps heating tracks.
For spring storage, fold without creasing the heating zones and store the power bank half-charged: it's the part that ages fastest.