If you have been following us for a while, you know we are huge fans of the Milwaukee Heated gear. I own a couple different items such as a jacket and hoodie. I have to say my favorite jacket is the Milwaukee M12 Camo Heated Jacket. Between fall, winter and early spring, this is probably my most worn apparel, yes even more than my Cubs hoodie. I can’t tell you how many people have approached me over the last year and asked about this jacket. When I tell them it’s a heated jacket, I always get the skeptical look. Then I show them and that’s when the wow factor comes into play. In fact, I even have a couple of friends who are avid hunters who didn’t know about these jackets. Yes, I do have friends, well at least for now. My buddies have since bought a camo jacket and they love it. They always tell me it’s perfect for hunting and helping them stay warm in the deer stand, especially in the early mornings and towards dawn. Anyways after a little thought, I decided it was time to do a quick write up for all the hunters out there who have never heard of these jackets. Milwaukee offers a couple different jackets in their camo line. They have the following items for their M12 heated line:
Plus they also have a camo knife and even hand warmers. We have already done a write up of the heated jacket 2393, so this will be about their 3 in 1 jacket, hoodie and knife.
Heated 3 in 1 Jacket – 2387
Talk about a great camo jacket, this jacket has a heck of a lot of options. Not only is this jacket designed with the Realtree Xtra camo, but it is a 3 in 1 jacket. As you know the Realtree is designed to blend into the environments during fall, winter and early spring. A 3 in 1 jacket means you can wear it one of three different ways. You can wear the outer shell, the inner vest or both together. This is a great jacket because not only is it heated and layered, but it also allows you the freedom to adjust what you’re wearing throughout the day. The outer shell is water resistant, noise reducing polyester/spandex soft shell. The vest is a cotton blend with an inner thermal knit fleece. The vest is where the heating elements are positioned. There are 5 carbon fiber heating elements to keep your core body areas comfortable. They heat your right and left chest, back, pocket zones and lower pockets. You can easily adjust the setting with a push of a button from low, medium and high.
The jacket has a run time of 8 hours on low with a 2 Ah battery. If you want a little more heat you can expect to get about 4.5 hours on medium and 3.25 hours on high. One cool thing about this jacket is on the battery holder, there is also a USB port to keep your phone charged. While you’re waiting for your game, you can keep your hands warm using any one of the numerous pockets. On the outer shell there are two outer pockets and one inner pocket. On the vest, you have four outer pockets along with one outer zip pocket. For those who like hoods, yes this has a hood. If you don’t like hoods, no problem, you can remove it with a knife or scissors. Just joking, Milwaukee allows you to take the hood on and off easily. The cuff can be adjusted using Velcro. You will be outside, which means it will get dirty. Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those jackets that have to be dry cleaned. This jacket is washer and dryer safe. Also, this jacket comes with a standard one year warranty. There is even a place to display your hunting tag.
Heated Hoodie – 2383
If you’re the type who doesn’t like jackets, the hoodie might be up your alley. This is a great option for when it’s not too cold or you like layering your clothes. Having the option to add a little heat when needed is a nice touch and option. The hoodie is another Realtree Xtra camouflage design to help blend into the environment. The other material is a noise reducing and water resistant polyester. Obviously both important qualities in any hunter’s gear. The inner material is a waffle weave cotton/polyester blend for added warmth and comfort. Sandwiched between the outer and inner liner is a 3 carbon fiber heating element that heats your core areas. This hoodie will heat your right and left chest, plus your back. You can control the temperature by a push of a button. You can set it to low, medium or high.
The hoodie has two pockets, one on each side. As you can see by the picture, this is a zip up hoodie and not a pull over hoodie which is great if you want to zip it down a little and get some fresh air. As with the jacket, this is powered by a Milwaukee M12 battery and provides up to 6 hours of run time on their compact battery in low mode. If you are really into heat, you can set the hoodie to high, but it will reduce your run time to 2.5 hours. The medium setting will give you a run time of 3.5 hours. In case you’re wondering, yes this has a hood, hence the name hoodie.
As you know, you will get this jacket dirty. Good news, you can wash and dry this at home. You don’t have to worry about driving to any dry cleaners to get your jacket cleaned. Comes with a 1 year warranty.
Fastback Camo Spring Assisted Knife – 48-22-1996
Looking for a good portable knife? This might be the knife for you. The Milwaukee Fastback is a spring assisted knife featuring Realtree Xtra camo design. The knife features a black oxide coded stainless steel blade. Once you open the knife, it stays locked with a liner lock. Just don’t drop this on the ground as it will be hard to find. I am not saying this is the best knife money can buy, but for the outdoors man that wants a dependable, quality knife, this is a great option and for the price it’s hard to beat. As a user you can mount the belt clip on either side of the knife. I just like the fact that opening the knife with one hand operation is a snap. It’s always nice to have a knife at your side, especially when outdoors.
If you are a hunter, you definitely need to check these items out. These aren’t just a jacket slapped with camo makeup, they are well thought out, they have the Realtree Xtra design and they are well designed. They are designed to be quiet and keep you warm, so you can sit there, enjoy your scenery and wait for your game. I hope this article didn’t come across like a sales piece, but this type of product is really hard to explain and get points across. It’s one of those products you just have to put on and try for yourself to understand the quality and the design behind these jackets. A lot of hunting has to do with waiting around. When you sit, the blood flow slows. When the blood flow slows, the cold sets in and that’s why it’s important to have a quality jacket that keeps you warm.
Cannot say enough about my Heated Camo jacket. I got it a few years ago from my wife and wear it ALL the time. It’s great for duck hunting and just going out in the chill. Great product