Turn Up the Heat: Venustas Classic Heated Vest Review

I’m a perpetually cold person. I wear heated Hotronic socks when snowboarding, even if it’s sunny and 30 degrees. So when I had the chance to review a heated vest, I was extremely interested. Heated socks, and even heated gloves or mittens, are becoming increasingly popular, but a heated vest? It didn’t seem like a true necessity to me, but rather a luxurious treat. 

The Venustas Classed Heated Vest uses a small battery pack to add heat to various parts of the vest. It has three heat settings: high, medium, and low, and is available in both men’s and women’s.

Venustas exclusively makes heated clothing. The brand also sells heated jackets, hoodies, gloves and mittens, socks, wearable blankets, a hand-warming muff, and even scarves and shawls. You can get jackets and vests that are puffy or fleece.

In short: The Venustas Heated Vest ($200) uses low-profile carbon fiber elements to deliver heat throughout the wearer’s torso. The battery lasts for a few hours to a half-day (depending on the heat setting). The vest is wind and water-resistant. It is also machine-washable, has a regular fit, and is comfortable to wear. For people who value staying warm no matter the conditions, this vest is a great companion.

Venustas Heated Vest Review

I wore this vest in all sorts of spaces, both inside and outside. I popped it on when I was cold in my house or at my office, when walking my dog, before gearing up for a day of snowboarding, and while teaching preschoolers outside at Forest School.

My activities ranged from moderate walking or hiking to simply standing in cold weather while my dog did her business or while supervising the kids building a snow fort.

I kept track of how long the battery lasted on average, how long it took to fully charge, and how many comments I got about it being a nice vest, or people wondering why the label was glowing while it was actively heating. 

Warmth & Comfort

I was happy with this puffy vest simply as a nice, everyday vest, but was thoroughly impressed with how amazingly warm it was. My favorite parts? The heated collar and the heated pockets. Yes, heat in your core is important for overall warmth throughout the day, but cold hands can quickly ruin time outside. The heated, fleece-lined pockets were a very nice touch.

The collar is about 2 inches high, so it stands up. As I pushed the power button on, and the LED logo lit up, I could feel the heat building up all around my core. With the added heated back panel and shoulders, my entire torso was toasty. 

Construction

The Venustas Classic Heated Vest is a puffy vest that zips up the front. There are two zippered front pockets, as well as a zippered inner pocket for the battery. There is no hood, but a thick collar. At the base of the vest, you’ll find cinches, which help trap in that extra warmth on cold outings and hikes.

It has a regular cut that isn’t too slim nor baggy. If you are between sizes, consider sizing down as it runs just slightly large.

It is made from wind- and water-resistant nylon with lightweight FELLEX insulation. I still would not recommend wearing this vest in weather where it would be directly exposed to wind, rain, or snow. Instead, layer it underneath something that has more protection from the elements. This vest under a shell would be a furnace.

The heating elements are made of carbon fiber and use NTC (negative temperature coefficient) thermal protection. That helps limit potential overheating-related problems. 

Heat Settings & Placement 

The vest has three heat settings: high, medium, and low. According to Venustas, the battery will last about 10 hours on low, 6 hours on medium, and 3 hours on high. These times were accurate in my own testing.

I wore this vest in chilly rooms and on 20- or 30-degree mornings and outings, but as with any battery, I imagine that if I wore it in extremely cold temperatures, like teens or below, the battery would not last nearly as long.  

Within the vest, the heating elements are located in small areas on both shoulders, a larger area on the mid-back, the collar, and inside the vest near the front pockets. 

The battery, which is about the size of a deck of cards, zips into an inner pocket on the left-hand side. The battery connects to the rest of the heating elements via a small cord and port. It charges with USB-C and has a standard USB port, so you can also charge your phone or other devices. I did find that the battery took at least a few hours to fully charge.

Usage & Performance

The heating part of the vest is intuitive and very easy to use. Make sure the battery is charged and connected in the inner pocket. Then press the power button on the vest’s front left to turn it on. It will flash red for a few minutes as it heats up, and then automatically adjust to medium heat.

The power button is red when on high heat, white on medium heat, and blue on low heat. To toggle between the settings, simply press the button again. To turn off, hold the power button for 3 seconds until the light turns off.

Although I understand why the vest needs a power button that visually shows which heat setting you are on, it is very apparent, if not distracting, when you have it on. Multiple people, in the same breath, complimented my vest and immediately asked me why it was lit up. 

According to Venustas, at room temperature, the high heat setting reaches 131 degrees F, the medium setting 113 degrees F, and the low setting 100 degrees F. I didn’t find any of these settings to be dangerously high or painful. Rather, I was able to easily switch between the settings depending on how warm I was getting.

Most often, I used the medium or low settings, or would blast the high setting for a few minutes if it was extra chilly out. When toggling between medium and high heat, the battery lasted about 5 hours. 

Drawbacks

My biggest gripe with the Venustas vest is the placement of the power button. When on, the power button is lit up either blue, white, or red, and because it is on the chest on the left side, it is extremely noticeable — especially when it’s red.

The battery pack is also a little big and feels like you constantly have a phone in your pocket.

Venustas Heated Classic Vest: Conclusion

If you are always cold or sometimes let frigid temps keep you from heading outside, the Venustas Classic Heated Vest is well worth investing in. It could be used for hiking, walking your dog, worn in hunting blinds, or simply in offices that are too cold.

Staying warm when it’s cold out doesn’t have to mean wearing tons of layers (and getting cold anyway). Heated vests and other apparel products like those made by Venustas are becoming more advanced and reliable. While you still have to wear a battery pack — and, in the case of this vest, a light-up logo — they verifiably fend off cold weather, and superpower your ability to stay warm.

The Venustas vest is extremely easy to use, it’s comfortable, and I enjoy how it looks. It helped me stay outside longer, so I could keep adventuring in cold weather.