I bought this heated vest

[tonymil]

Find it here:

https://voltheat.com/torso-heated-vest-liner.html

It uses rechargeable batteries. The benefit of this versus plugin is that I can turn it on when I leave the office and by the time I get to my car I'm already warm. The downside is that if you use it on the high setting the batteries need to be recharged pretty frequently.

The vest is very lightweight and the battery pack sits in a small pocket near the bottom. I haven't had any extremely cold weather yet but it has worked well in weather slightly below freezing. So my habit has been to run the seat warmer, the heated vest and the heat and heat fan on high - but not max - until I get comfortable, then turn the heat fan to low but keep everything else the same. So far so good. I'd be interested in hearing everyone else's experiences.

 

[MLucas]

We haven't seen real cold weather here yet. Still around 5c here in the Niagara region. I'm doing fine with the heater on low (notch 1 & 2) and the seat heater. Your vest sounds like an excellent solution, get three more for you passengers and you are all set. :lol:

 

[JoeS]

Gosh, a lithium pack inside your vest, and it looks as though it should certainly last for much longer than your typical trip. Do let us know how it works out.

 

[Brian]

Let me apologize in advance if this comes out the wrong way.

But for myself, I've taken on a cost of ownership mentality for most things i-MiEV related.
The way I would have approached the purchasing situation is in terms of Return on Investment [sorry for that turning into a pun].
For $120, and a cost per mile of $0.02, I could get 6000 miles. Even if using high heat/fan settings and increasing potential cost per mile, I think I would come out ahead by using the heater.

But my daily commute is short enough that I wouldn't have to worry about reduced range. Is that something that has influenced your decision? I could see that as being a factor to consider for someone who is driving enough to need to recharge daily.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Yes, the reduction in range is the reason to use an electric heated vest. If the batteries for the vest last long enough, then that avoids *all* power from the traction pack (except for defrosting the windows).

My brother owns an i MiEV and his wife has a Leaf - they recently drove the Leaf from their suburban home into Boston (about 21-22 miles each way?) and they arrived home with just 4 miles left on the charge. They shut off the heat altogether during the last 8 miles or so, and it was quite nerve racking for them - and they are relatively seasoned EV drivers.