Men’s Electro Amp™ Jacket
4.4
5
11
11
A good start
I bought the Electro Amp to wear in NYC, where it's incredibly annoying to layer up to walk in the super-cold for a 5-20 minutes, sweat in a warm subway, then explode like a yard sale upon entering a restaurant or party. The inevitable pile of black jackets, hats and scarves that grows giant at every bar during the winter is a huge pain to dig through, and often results in things going missing.
As an outer layer, the Electro Amp is not enough, but it does work quite well under an overcoat without adding too much bulk or making you look goofy. I purchased a Canada Goose Snow Mantra for similar money, and it is likely to be warm enough for whatever this winter can throw at me. The down side is that it's enormous and cumbersome--a tradeoff I'm willing to make at this point. If for some reason it doesn't do the job, I'll likely attach an Electro Amp into it as a liner to form The One Superjacket to Rule Them All.
The Electro Amp fits snug, but I wouldn't consider it a full size smaller than you would expect. It's more like a half-size. For me, this is an undergarment intended to be worn over 1-2 light layers. That said, I'm a pretty slim dude. Your mileage may vary.
Your wrists will be warm, but that's most of what you notice. The jacket doesn't get particularly warm, but it does prevent you from getting particularly cold. I think the battery adds about one layer of warmth on full (not amazing, but certainly something you'll appreciate when you walk out the door). It's difficult to gauge, but I'm not sure the tech is there yet. It would be nice if the heat areas were broader, but that would surely add to the cost.
In stealth mode, the Electro Amp keeps the front light on for an absurdly long 30 seconds. It should be 2-5 seconds. If you're trying not to call attention to yourself, you have to walk around with your hand over it until it turns off.
The thumb-hole wrists in the sleeves are nice, as is the double wall-charger. It uses standard Micro USB cables such that the batteries can be charged just about anywhere. Charging time is reduced when connected to a computer vs the wall charger, but it works fine. To be clear: You do NOT need the "Desktop CE Charger" to charge the batteries, any micro USB cable will do. I share the concerns over the proprietary batteries that were expressed by another reviewer, but $65 for a pair of Lithium batteries is pretty reasonable.
I find myself wishing for a "turbo" mode that would further trade runtime for heat. The jacket could really use more juice, especially during the first 5-10 warm-up minutes (the most important, I feel). Since only one battery is active at a time, it seems like it would be pretty easy to add that feature by having BOTH batteries active simultaneously (one to heat each side of the jacket). I need less than an hour of max-heat output per day, and the "high" setting just doesn't put out enough heat to avoid layering up or putting on a mega-overcoat. I'd be perfectly happy carrying around 2-4 more batteries if it meant more heat output (though they are surely pricey).
Great jacket, but not yet a life-changing garment technology. Whether it's "worth it" depends on your net worth and ability to handle the cold…I would not spend the money on this jacket before spending it on a very warm, conventional jacket, unless your needs are specific.
January 30, 2012
Its Ok, but does not seem like its finished.
I was unaware of how many elements the coat had before I bought the jacket. That was my mistake and really wished I would have waited to find out first. I thought that the entire coat would have had heating elements throughout the jacket. I have tried it on a couple of very cold days and I am still not a 100% sure this is the final finished product. For as much as you pay for this jacket I thought you would get more heating elements then just 4. Sure it does not get as cold in VA as it does in Wisconsin or other places North, but it does get cold none the less. I don't own very many sweaters and when I purchased this jacket I expected not to have to wear much else underneath the jacket other then my normal t-shirt, but I found that to be not enough even with the heating elements on. I just don't think there are enough heating elements in the jacket to keep me warm and I am not a very cold blood person. I hope that I the next generation has more elements and advertising for where the elements are and there location in the jacket prior to purchasing the jacket would be helpful.
January 4, 2012
Warm jacket
The jacket by itself is very warm, and looks very good IMO. I'm somewhere b/w size Small and Medium, so at first I ordered a small, which is too small. Medium is perfect, except the sleves were longer but that was easily fixed, it be great if that was adjustable. Batteries don't feel heavy at all. I'm always cold, and with this jacket I feel like my core is warm, I can actually feel the heat. The LED light system is pretty cool, although at night its extremely bright. I've also noticed some smaller dogs start barking at me when set to red light:) But there is stealth mode, too bad you cant have the stealth mode on default, i.e. you have to activate it every time, which is not too much of a problem.
December 29, 2011
perfect fit
I am very pleased with the performance of this jacket. We fish in all conditions and it allows us to use less layers and move about freely. It is definitely an investment but well worth the money. Battery life could be a little longer but this is more a failing of batteries in general and not the jacket.
December 11, 2011
Extra/replacement battery???
I am generally satisfied with this jacket. It works pretty well. However, I have a huge concern about the battery. Columbia use batteries with special tip and special output voltage (7.4 V). There have been lots of good universal external battery for smartphone and tablet with usb as both input and output. Many of the external battery for laptop can even support multiple tips and voltage used by major electronic manufacture. Why Clumbia uses a totally different battery spec? If Columbia discontinued this product one day, it will be very difficult to find a battery replacement.
Also, I need extra batteries to avoid charging the battery everyday. Where can I buy it?? and how much will it cost? Because Columbia uses such a special battery spec, I will be very upset if the replacement battery is much more expensive than the ordinary external batteries for the smartphone, tablet or laptop.
December 8, 2011
Rad
Super epic. Amazing.
December 7, 2011
Love it!
Can't wait to wear it!
November 24, 2011
A mess of issues soil an excellent idea
I ordered this jacket when it first came out a few weeks ago -- only to have to return it because it ran quite small. I wear small jackets, and this was way, way too small. Medium is a better fit for these. Issues about the jackets in particular:
* The jacket is not particularly heavy -- the Gale Warning parka is a better fit for ultra-cold conditions, but Columbia did not place it for sale on their website (or even tell anyone it would exist) until today. Anybody who bought the Electro Amp ended up buying something less effective without knowing something better would be coming along in a few weeks. This is more a communications issue on Columbia's part -- I would have purchased the more expensive jacket if only I had known it would exist and now since I cut the tags it's too late. Kind of a bummer.
* The Electro Amp jacket appears to only have its heating elements in small square compartments around the batteries on the front face of the jacket as well as on the rubberized wrists. The jacket does not have heating elements totally surrounding the jacket surface. I'm not sure if the other jackets have this issue also.
* You can't have both battery packs plugged in simultaneously, so if you're outdoors for a long time and your battery fails you have to open your jacket up and physically plug in the second battery. I'm not sure why this is so.
* The instruction manual is tiny and difficult to understand, even for techies.
Overall, the jacket is high quality and does an excellent job keeping someone warm while remaining thin and not bulky.
November 18, 2011
Best Jacket Ever!
Very Warm and comfortable! You can feel the heat all the way down to your arms. Worth the money to get this jacket.
November 16, 2011
Jacket Envy
This jacket is warm without the heat, but push the button and it can handle any cold. Its great to finally see a heated jacket without a super-heavy battery pack. These batteries weigh less than my cell phone. The most notable part of the jacket is the lighted logo. It catches so much attention, I constantly get asked about the jacket when the button is lit up. The kids especially love it.
The only improvement that could be made is if I couldn't feel the batteries at all. They don't bother me, but I do notice them.
The fit is good. I'm 6'3", and the arms are long enough. The torso is a bit loose, but that may be so the batteries aren't uncomfortable.
Revolutionary jacket - thanks Columbia!
November 14, 2011
Warm Jacket
I previously owned a competitors electric jacket. I bought this last week. The jacket is very well constructed. After reading the instructions, charging the batteries, plugging in the heat module, and plugging in the jacket, I proceeded to try the jacket out.
While the jacket does produce heat, I would have preferred documentation on the website or in the instructions, as to which parts of the jacket emit heat. I called Columbia, they were exceptionally nice, and quickly told me the jacket provides heat in the front on both sides and around the sleave areas on both arms. I'm pleased with the jacket, however, I wish for better positioning of the heating elements, my previous jacket heated a couple of core body areas from a blood flow perspective (liver and kidney areas), also some fabrics are able to heat throughout the entire area. Overall I'm pleased though
November 12, 2011
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