Heated vests - Do they actually work ?

[Roy_W]

I am currently in the process of looking at heated vests ( full suits are simply beyond my budget limits) with a budget Limit 1000 Euros.



Here in France/Geneva the lakes get cold in the winter, the temperature generally gets down to around 7° C ( 44° F).

I dive with a SFTech Trilaminate Dry suit and wear SFTech's Polar undergarments; the undergarments are ready for SFTech heated pads but I do not possess them. A typical winter dive would last around 35 minutes, after this point the cold becomes a serious problem and we come out of the water. Most of the other divers are also surfacing around this point so it seems that the 35 minutes mark is cut off point for most folks.

I understand that my budget will limit the possibility of only being able to afford a vest + small battery what should I truly be considering before making a purchase ?

I have seen the SmartTex vest, which has a battery worn under the dry suit. Heated vest for divers | Smart-Tex heated clothing this appears to fit easily into my budget.

The Santi Flex 2.0 and the SFTech heating system both go over my budget when adding in the battery and the new inflator valve that is required.

But even if the Santi/SFtech were just inside the budget, what difference do these kinds of vests truly make, do they just fend off the cold for a little longer or do they actually make you feel kinda toasty ?

I understand that they should help keep the corps warmer and as such the body will allow for more blood to reach the extremities, at least in theory, thereby alleviating cold hands and/or feet. ( I usually feel the cold in my hands before my feet)… But how well do they actually perform ?

Also, what are the actual chances of these internal batteries actually suffering a failure. I have a hard time believing that it is a common problem, if it were a major problem I would have presumed that it would be well known but I can’t find much information on the subject.

I know that it is a very subjective subject but I would love to know how much effect the vests produce or not…

Cheers

 

[Snusmumrik]

Hell man, i've made DIY heated vest after trying fabricated one, and that's my favourite thing.
35W, external 12V 9A*h battery connected via inflator valve gland,
DIY control with 4 heat levels. Used it on all dives, at summer on 50% power
below 10 mtrs deep, at winter - in-water 75%, on surface 100%.

Heating vests - they actually make you feel kinda toasty if not regulated, i think that's mess.
But that's matter of how to proper wear it.
I see a lot of people wearing heated vests over thermal underwear.
Wear it as near to your skin as you can. Thin polo is enough as intemittent layer.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

The battery will be your limit, especially in colder water, so buy the largest battery that you can afford.

You need to consider whether you can run heating on the deeper portion of your dives. If you are warm at depth and then your heating fails on ascent / deco, your decompression will be very inefficient and it's a good way to get bent. I run heating only shallower than 10-15 meters for this reason.

I have Santi Flex 2.0, it absolutely does work and makes for more comfortable dives, as far as I can tell after few dives. Your hands will get cold but not too cold to handle gear (60-90 minutes exposures at 7 degrees Celcius). I also use it on the surface between dives to keep warm. You still need a proper undersuit.

Beware of Santi quality - check how warranty replacements work in Switzerland. In the UK it is crap and I would not buy anything Santi ever again. On a sample of 3 people I know who bought the newly released BluePower batteries: friend's battery failed on the first dive, sent to Poland 2 months ago as local dealers cannot replace it 1:1, still not fixed, Santi refuses to replace it with a new battery. Diodes on my battery cable failed after less than 5 dives (battery still works though), dealer cannot replace just the cable but the whole battery would need to be shipped to Poland, with resolution time unknown.

SF Tech is local, I would always buy something local if I were you. Diving gear breaks all the time.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

I use a Venture Heat vest and it works great.

It is below freezing here today in North Florida Cave Country - I will be diving today and will have that vest on under my drysuit all day long.

 

[lexvil]

Vests work ok, I have the venture. It’s just my opinion but I think you would be better served with better undergarments that don’t rely on a power source, layer up.

 

[Imla]

Personally, I love my heated vest. Have had a Santi 55w. Now use a Trojan 70w. Very happy with both.
However, if the sf tech polar undergarment is the ONLY undergarment you use, then I can understand that you are cold. A lot can be done with proper under garments as well.

Depending on temperature, this is my setup. ¨
Cotton as ABSOLUTELY NO place in a dry-suit setup.
First of all: NO COTTON! (So, that said)
Second: EAT a good warm meal before you dive, and make sure you have stocked up on plenty calories during the day. It is very easy to get low on fuel, and first thing that suffers is ability to maintain warmth. (We're talking eggs, bacon and avocados with OJ, not a skimpy salad!) Before you splash, drink a hot, lots of sugar warm chocolate made with whole milk. You need the calories.

I swear by Kwark undersuits. Here is my setup for 3,5hr cavedives with decompression in 3C:
Layer by layer:
Merino wool knickers and bra
1 Thin merino/silk tshirt
Heatingvest (Always on as I am too lazy to adapt the lead, and I use the canister for my long hose)
2 Thin Merino Wool shirts and underpants
If wery cold, extra doublewool netting underpants/shirt
Kwark Navy Extreme undersuit
Thin merino wool neckliner
2-3 pairs of wool socks (mostly because my shoes are a tad large, so this keeps everything where it should be.
Wool undergloves with extra pair wool fingercutgloves on top
Ursuit drysuit
10mm Hood
Drygloves with ring system. If i don't use a ring system, I make sure my seals are properly cut not to be tight around the wrists.

With the exception of the Kwark undersuit, I will not ever use other fabrics than wool. It will keep you warm even if wet. This is an exclusive quality of wool. Synthetics will not keep you warm if wet.

This is also the reason why I will not keep a battery IN my drysuit. I have seen batteries blow under water. Luckily my friend had it on his belt and not in his suit. It very nearly burnt a hole in the suit, but he managed to get it off before.

If I do shorter dives I will remove layer by layer. This kept me warm and toasty.
Oh... did I mention... Absolutely NO cotton!!

 

[JohnN]

+1 for Venture Heat

 

[grantctobin]

Personally, I love my heated vest. Have had a Santi 55w. Now use a Trojan 70w. Very happy with both.
However, if the sf tech polar undergarment is the ONLY undergarment you use, then I can understand that you are cold. A lot can be done with proper under garments as well.

Depending on temperature, this is my setup. ¨
Cotton as ABSOLUTELY NO place in a dry-suit setup.
First of all: NO COTTON! (So, that said)
Second: EAT a good warm meal before you dive, and make sure you have stocked up on plenty calories during the day. It is very easy to get low on fuel, and first thing that suffers is ability to maintain warmth. (We're talking eggs, bacon and avocados with OJ, not a skimpy salad!) Before you splash, drink a hot, lots of sugar warm chocolate made with whole milk. You need the calories.

I swear by Kwark undersuits. Here is my setup for 3,5hr cavedives with decompression in 3C:
Layer by layer:
Merino wool knickers and bra
1 Thin merino/silk tshirt
Heatingvest (Always on as I am too lazy to adapt the lead, and I use the canister for my long hose)
2 Thin Merino Wool shirts and underpants
If wery cold, extra doublewool netting underpants/shirt
Kwark Navy Extreme undersuit
Thin merino wool neckliner
2-3 pairs of wool socks (mostly because my shoes are a tad large, so this keeps everything where it should be.
Wool undergloves with extra pair wool fingercutgloves on top
Ursuit drysuit
10mm Hood
Drygloves with ring system. If i don't use a ring system, I make sure my seals are properly cut not to be tight around the wrists.

With the exception of the Kwark undersuit, I will not ever use other fabrics than wool. It will keep you warm even if wet. This is an exclusive quality of wool. Synthetics will not keep you warm if wet.

This is also the reason why I will not keep a battery IN my drysuit. I have seen batteries blow under water. Luckily my friend had it on his belt and not in his suit. It very nearly burnt a hole in the suit, but he managed to get it off before.

If I do shorter dives I will remove layer by layer. This kept me warm and toasty.
Oh... did I mention... Absolutely NO cotton!!

This^

Also a post here that reiterates similar: Bottoms of feet cold (drysuit, 39F / 3.9C water)

 

[Cio]

I have a thermulation and love it.

That said, I use it as a backup, almost never on the dive, mostly on deco (I assume it helps off gassing) and dress warm enough for conditions,

35 min dive time is pretty short, if you are cold in that amount of time, add undergarments first. I got a used weezel extreme for $50 so there's no reason you can't find something appropriate for a reasonable cost, well within your $1,000 budget. (Seaskin looks to have a nice option for low cost. )

People have apparently bent themselves by relying on heaters so be cautious how you use one.

 

[flymolo]

diving in similar temperatures i can get about an hour in before i start to get chilly. a heated undergarment is absolutely a worthwhile investment