Life is always surprising. I wanted to buy a heated jacket when InfoQuad magazine offered me the opportunity to try the Ewool Pro heated jacket, a high-end product from Quebec. It was with great pleasure that I tested the jacket on a beautiful day in March 2021.
The coat I wear on my quad in winter is really warm, but, let’s face it, a bit bulky. I much prefer to wear my fall coat which gives me more space to move around and it also “fits” with my ATV, which my girly side really likes 🙂 . However, it is not warm enough to ride in winter, unless you dress like a bear underneath and lose all its advantages.
I wanted to test if the Ewool Pro jacket was warm enough to allow me to ride comfortably with a less warm coat and compare the two. So I started the ride with my winter coat on, then put on my light jacket and the heated jacket to validate its performance, without changing my other clothes.
Before revealing the result, let’s take a look at the product. As soon as I received the jacket, I could see that everything in the box, from the power cord to the jacket fabric, was quality. Even though I had taken care to take my measurements as indicated on the Ewool.com website, I was still a little stressed to try it on for fear of being wrong. To be efficient, a heating jacket must stick to the body and this is precisely the function of the two large elastic bands on each side. These bands allow a good adjustment of the vest without tightening the body too much and finally the chosen size fits me perfectly.
Like a child, it is with my jacket on my back that I unpack the battery, the charger and the instructions. As for the instructions, I had to reread them a few times to understand how to use the different wires and connections. A button on the battery allows to check the charge and of course, a charger accompanies the package.
Inside the front of the jacket, there is a pocket that hides a power cord compatible with the quad’s accessories and a charging port that allows to charge the battery without removing it from the back pocket. Photo4
Once the battery is fully charged, I turn on the jacket and I appreciate how quickly the warmth is felt. It’s enveloping and comes from everywhere, including the neck. The control button is easy to use to change the three levels of warmth offered and you can see the charge of the battery. However, this button ended up well below my snow pants bib during my test drive.
The waterproof zippers on the Ewool Pro jacket seemed to indicate that the fabric was fairly water resistant. So I left the jacket under the faucet for 60 seconds with one hand in a pocket and found no moisture inside. The fabric became wet where the water stream was touching it, but the water beaded around it without penetrating it. I conclude that the Ewool Pro jacket can take a good shower while keeping its owner warm and dry although it is suggested not to wear it directly under the rain.
Let’s go back to my day on the quad where I swapped my winter coat for a fall one with the heated jacket at a temperature of -9 degrees. At the beginning, a little apprehensive, I activated the jacket at its maximum power: too hot. I reduced it to the middle power: too hot. I reduce to minimum power: excellent! To test it with the wind factor, we ride at a good speed on the road portions of our trip and I can feel the cold on my arms, but not at all in the places where the jacket covers me. After 4 hours of use, I still had 50% of autonomy left on the battery. The only thing missing from the Ewool Pro is the sleeves to put away my big winter coat.
This jacket will definitely accompany me not only on my quad, but also on duck and deer hunts next fall. No more freezing in a shed!!!
Thanks Ewool and InfoQuad for this test.
