Ridgid 18-Volt Heated Jacket Review

Heated work-wear made its big debut about 6 years ago with mostly coats and hoodies being available. At that time, tool companies like Milwaukee, Ridgid, DeWalt, Bosch and a few more were getting into the space.

After the initial surge, some companies either cut back their venture into the space or backed right out. Ridgid was one of the companies that kind of backed out. Now, they are back into the space with what appears will be a “seasonal” offering.

Ridgid 18-Volt Heated Jacket Review Overview

I’ve had the opportunity to wear and own some of the heated jackets that came out in the first few years. There are things that I really liked about them and somethings that I wasn’t so happy with.

The new Ridgid 18-volt heated jacket addressed some of the features that I thought were lacking in the older 12 Volt heated jacket offerings.

My goal here is to give you as much information about this jacket to help you decide if this is something you might want to spend your money on.

Ridgid 18-Volt Heated Jacket Review Features

The biggest feature that I want to point out is that this heated jacket is designed to run off of an 18-volt battery. The pockets that house the battery are made for an 18-volt compact battery. The battery compartment pocket can also be expanded to fit a larger battery if you like.

The jacket has three different temperature settings (high, medium, low) which are controlled by a led lit button located on the inside of the jacket.

There is a cable run on the inside of the jacket that allows you to connect a USB cord from the battery pack up to the breast pocket of the jacket. If you decide to run this cable, you will be able to charge your phone as you wear the jacket. This will, of course, lower the amount of battery life you have to run the heating elements.

There are three heating elements in the jacket. One is in the center of your back and there are two located on the right and left breast areas.

The jacket I got is most certainly made longer in the sleeve length and in overall length.

The hood that comes with this jacket, which is quite large is removable by way of a zipper.

The pockets have zippers to close them when you want.

There is a front flap that covers the jacket’s main zipper and has Velcro to keep it closed.

Orange stitching is used on the jacket for visual appeal.

The Ridgid logo is located on the left shoulder instead of the front breast pocket like most other jackets.

Ridgid 18-Volt Heated Jacket Review Performance

While nearly all the heated jackets on the market today are sold as a 12-volt unit. You can use an 18-volt battery, but you need to buy a separate 18-volt cordless power source adapter that fits over your 18-volt battery. Unfortunately, I’ve found that most compact 18-volt batteries don’t fit very well in the battery pocket designed for a 12-volt battery.

What I love best about this 18-volt jacket is just how fast it heats up. When I put this jacket on its highest setting, it gets noticeably warm in a matter of just a couple minutes. This was much fast than what I have come to see with the 12-volt jackets.

Fit is where this jacket differs from other jackets the most. The common thought on heated jackets is the jacket is supposed to fit snug on your body so that the heat is close to your core. I’ve always felt that feeling constrained was more of a downside than the efficiency of heat transfer. It also makes buying the correct size kind of a crapshoot.

In anticipation of this jacket fitting snug, I moved up a size from an XXL to an XXXL. Big men, please feel free to rejoice because this jacket was way too big for me. Not only was the jacket too loose, but the sleeves were extremely long for me. This is one of those times where I should have stayed with my usual fit.

Since this was too big for me, I had the idea to call my very large friend “BIG TODD” and have him give me some of his opinions on fit. I stand about 5’11” and 265 lbs. and Big Todd runs a good 6’8” and 360 lbs. (makes for a good prison guard). The first thing he commented on to me was the length of the sleeves and how much he loved that. Being his size, he always has a hard time finding big enough cloths. The second thing he mentioned was how much he enjoyed the length of the jacket. Out of all the heated jackets, I have tried, the Ridgid 18-volt heated jacket is by far the best fit for big and tall guys.

When I was doing some reading into this jacket on The Home Depot site, I noticed a few reviews complaining about the size of the heating zones, so I wanted to give you my views on that. The comments I read were the heating zones were too small. I believe these reviews were from a first-time heated jacket user. From my experience, the heating zones are only made to keep your core warm and don’t cover the full jacket. Some of the Milwaukee units have heated pockets and some have heated shoulders. But as far as keeping your core warm, I believe the Ridgid 18-volt heated jacket does a better job of warming you up than the brands that use 12-volt batteries.

Ridgid 18-Volt Heated Jacket Review Value

The Ridgid 18-Volt heated jacket only comes in one color (black) but is available to buy two different ways.  For $199.00, you can get the jacket, 1.5 Amp Hour Battery, and charger. For $159.00 you can get the jacket only. These prices are nearly identical to comparable heated jackets from the competitors.

Ridgid 18-Volt Heated Jacket Review Final Thoughts

The Ridgid 18-Volt Heated Jacket is a very good performing and fitting jacket. If you want to get a really good-looking heated jacket that is going to keep you warm, then this is a good option. If you are already invested in the Ridgid 18-Volt platform, then this becomes an even better choice. And if you are a big and tall guy, this may be the absolute best choice for you.