Reviews
Customer Reviews
1 item(s)
- Toasty warm and good value.
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I have considered the potential benefits of a heated vest under my drysuit for some time but the high price has always put me off. When I saw this around half the price of the cheapest vests I'd previously looked at I decided to bite the bullet.
What you lose is any means of controlling the vest in the water. All the other vests have some means of controlling the heat level or switching the power off when zipped into the suit. With the Mares vest the controller sits in a small pocket in the vest so it's a case of switching it on and setting the power level as the last thing before zipping up the suit. Obviously slightly easier with a front zip. For a saving of over £200 I'll manage.
The charger I was supplied with has a continental 2 pin plug attached so an adapter is needed.
I'm around a 38 inch chest and ordered a medium. It's comfortable although I'd have liked it a little closer fitting but I'm sure the small would be to small.
The fabric of the vest is thicker than I expected. It's comfortable and flexible and will provide a layer of insulation even when switched off. The heat pads are slightly thicker than the rest of the vest but not excessively and still flexible and comfortable. There's a large heat pad across the lower back and two smaller ones each side of the front of the chest. There are 2 inside pockets, one holding the battery pack and 2 handy zip pockets at the sides.
The battery is like a slightly large digital slr camera battery. It has 4 lights and a switch on it. A quick press when the battery pack is disconnected from the vest and the lights indicate the charge level. A long press when connected switches the vest on. When switched on the lights indicate the power level. It switches on at max press the button once you get high, press it again for medium again for low and a final press to turn it off.
I've done 2 dives, in Capernwray for those who know it, the water temperature was 5° and the dive times were 43 and 37 minutes. I set the power to medium and before I got in the water for the first dive I thought it was too hot but it proved to be about right. I replaced a long sleeve thermal vest with the heated vest and as a result my arms and the area of my chest not covered by the heated vest felt a little cold. I'll be trying with the thermal vest next time. Whether it felt colder than usual or it was the contrast I'm not sure. My hands felt a lot warmer none of the usual snowball fight pain in the fingers. Presumably with the core kept warm the capillaries don't shut down in the same way. Overall a much more comfortable dive in these conditions. It is a deep v at the front I think a round neck would have been better I'll just have to find the right combination of clothes.
Battery life seems good. I did 2 dives with the power at medium. I didn't hurry to switch it off after the first dive. I turned it from medium to low on the motorway on my way home and off when the interior of the car got up to a comfortable temperature. I put it back on low while I unloaded the car and there is still power left, but not much. RHIB diving will be a problem with the lack of control, I'll try setting it to low and hope it lasts the day.
1 item(s)