Milwaukee has made complete changes to the women’s heated jacket this year some of those changes are welcomed, and some not so much. The jacket itself does not remotely look the same to the 2014 version, from the color scheme, the heating controls, where the battery sits and lastly and to most of us.. where the heating elements are.
2014 VS. 2015
Let’s start with 2014’s Jacket:
Specifications:
- Color Scheme: Black and Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness
- Heated Control Button Colors: Pink (High) White (Med) Blue (Low)
- Battery Location: Off to the side of the Jacket, Closer to the zipper and more so off to the side of your body
- Heating Elements: Right below chest and upper back
- Fitting: I own a small and I had enough room wearing a sweatshirt/sweater underneath. (in other words – you’ve got breathing room) sleeves aren’t too long OR too tight
- Water Resistant
- Storage Pocket
- Easy to Wash
- 1 year warranty
- Battery Life: 6 hrs on low
Pros:
- Fit well – no complaints there
- Keeps you warm without the heating elements on
- Sleek and stylish look (A lot of people asked if was wearing a new design of North Face which I looked up and it looked something like this)
- Comfortable
Cons:
- No Pocket Warmers
- No Internal Pockets
- No Cell Phone Charger
- Lack of Color Options like the Men’s
- No other type of jacket (Hoodies, etc)
Now the New 2015 Heated Jacket:
Specifications:
- Color Scheme: Black and grey
- Heated Control Button Colors: Red (High) White (Med) Blue (Low)
- Battery Location: Left side of your back with more discreet pocket to plug the battery in
- Heating Elements: Collar, upper back, and pockets (when using the pocket warmers)
- Fitting: I own a small and wearing a spaghetti strap shirt this jacket is SNUG — it does indicate on their website that they added more thermal lining.. and they are not lying about that!
- Water Resistant
- Storage Pocket
- Easy to Wash
- 1 year warranty
- Battery Life: M12 2.0 – 8 hrs on low
Pros:
- Keeps you warm without the heating elements on (warmer than 2014’s this jacket is VERY SNUG) aka all that extra lining.
- Sleek and stylish look – Softer to the touch, doesn’t have the same feel as last year, almost feels like a down jacket in the front vs. the scratchy material (if that even begins to make sense)
- Comfortable
- Pocket Warmers
Cons:
- SNUG — Notice I’ve mentioned this in both the Pro and the Con — Here’s why — Snug is good.. IF you wear lighter clothing in the winter — like a t-shirt for example for quick outdoor activities or on your way to the office and you have something of a thinner material) If you want to wear a sweatshirt with this size and you are gifted in the chest area.. get the next size up or you won’t be zipping up this bad boy.. the ladies are tight and compacted in this years model.
- Collar seems be be stuck UP, as seen in the photo -> the collar is zipped up, and when you un-zip it, it stays right in your neck… very annoying.
- No internal pockets
- No External Storage pocket
- No Cell Phone Charger – although they indicate this is in the battery..but I think this can be improved
- Lack of Color Options like the Men’s
- No other type of jacket (Hoodies, etc)
- Thumb cuffs — ehh.. I mean I could take them or leave them so this is neither a pro nor a con to me
- No Rip Stop Version of this jacket like the male version
So.. Overall… I like these Jackets, I recommend them all the time at work and several women try them on and end up getting themselves one. The glowing M12 control keeps the questions rolling, is that a HEATED jacket? Where do I get one? However, If I could take the lining of the 2015 put it into the 2014 with the way the 2014 fits.. keep the pocket warmers, and add more heating elements…(lower back, stomach area w/o the pocket warmers on for example) add a cell phone charger and some color variation.. I think Milwaukee would be well on their way to a even better jacket for 2016.