Craftsman will soon be coming out with a new 12V cordless heated jacket that works with their Nextec Li-ion battery packs. The new jacket will feature 3 heating settings (low, medium, high), built-in USB device charging port, 5 heating zones (left and right chest, back, left and right pockets, and fleece lining and cuffs.
There will be 5 models, with sizing ranging from medium to 3XL: 46386, 46385, 46387, 46388, 46389. All jackets, at least for 2014, will be black.
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The jacket exterior is made from 95% polyester and 5% spandex for weather and wind resistance, and the interior lining and cuffs are made from fleece for extra warmth. A built-in cord guide helps to control charging cables that connect devices, such as smartphones, with the power port’s USB port.
Runtime is 5 hours, presumably with the low heat setting.
Price: $120 (on sale) for the bare jacket and power adapter.
You will also need a Nextec battery and charger, which are priced at $25 and $40 (QuickBoost) respectively.
First Thoughts
While I would ordinarily be excited for news like this, I have little confidence left in Sears’ commitment to Craftsman’s 12V Nextec Li-ion lineup. In recent months many Sears stores have clearanced out their in-store Nextec inventory, and at times replacement batteries were out of stock and hard to find. Sears.com does have a healthy selection of Nextec kits, add-ons, and batteries, but that doesn’t really change my mind. There are no Nextec tools or accessories featured in the most recent 2013-2014 Craftsman and Sears tool catalog, which further fuels my hesitation.
Worries about the fate of the Craftsman 12V Nextec line aside, the jacket is reasonably priced and seems to be well featured.
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A number of brands have come out with heated jackets and hoodies in recent years, with Milwaukee soon launching their 3rd gen lineup, and Dewalt soon expanding their own lineup as well.
This looks to be a decent no-frills heated jacket, but if you want color and style selection, a removable or permanent hood, or the ability to use higher voltage or capacity battery packs, you’ll need to look at other brands’ offerings. The Craftsman jacket looks to be better suited for more casual users’ outdoors personal warming needs.
To be honest, I don’t see this jacket being a very strong seller, unless Sears drops the price to maybe $100 or even $120. At $140 for the bare jacket and power adapter, you still need to spend $65 for one battery and charger to get started with. A better idea would be to buy a Nextec drill/driver or impact driver kit for $45-$80, although the lesser kits come with basic chargers and not the QuickBoost one.
Still, that means a new user will have to spend about $185 ($140 + $45) to get started. There are plenty of competing heated jacket kits that are priced under $200, especially this time of year when 2013 styles and colors are selling at huge discounts.
On the bright side, I like the idea of a fleece interior lining and the look of the paneled construction of the outer jacket material. This looks like a very comfortable jacket design.
Steve Cox
I want a C3 jacket!! I have all of the c3 tools ever made except the paint sprayer.
I also wonder about the 12v line, local store only has a few of the tools scattered around with no signage.
mizzourob
I thought Craftsman was discontinuing the Nextec line based on all clearence deals and empty store shelves. The lawn/garden tools were the first to go (not that they were any good). When was the last new Nextec product? Seems like at least a couple of years ago and I can’t imagine how a C3 jacks would work without being bulky to hide the stem battery pack. Even though Milwaukee is clearly the 12 volt leader, the Nextec line is the second largest by number of tools.
Does anyone know the OEM for the Nextec line? Maybe this is one last hurrah for it to finish the clearence sales.
Stuart
Chervon makes (made?) many of Craftsman’s Nextec tools. TTI is also a C3 supplier, and so it’s not unthinkable that maybe TTI – which also makes Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Ryobi power tools – made this for Craftsman.
mizzourob
Being that the OEM for Nextec products is not TTI, I would be surprised if they would be supporting a competitor’s line up. I looked at Chervon’s website and see very few current tool, but there is a picture of the discontinued Nextec hedge trimmer. Now if I cross my fingers, perhaps this jacket might reveal relaunch of new Nextec tools made by TTI.
As to the C3 jacket, even though the OEM has the technology I still doubt one would be made due to the size of the C3 battery. If they did do another 18/20 volt jacket C3 would make sense, as a Ryobi one would be competiting againt their other the HD brands, where a Craftsman model would compete at sears instead. They did thus recently with Craftsman getting C3 multi tool and autohammer but Ridgid and Ryobi use the Fuego ridgid head system.
Paul
The high capacity battery for the NEXTEC line (Model 33170) has a built in light. Power for your jacket and a light if you need it too!
KL
See, and I’m always afraid to just throw that battery/light in a bag because the button is so easy to depress, thus potentially leaving the light on and draining the battery. Plus, it’s just a 1.6ah IIRC, old news by today’s standards of 2.0 for compact 12V packs.
I’m surprised the price point is so high here, a Milwaukee jacket a-la-carte can be found for around $140. Especially when Craftsman puts out a Bluetooth radio (albeit different battery voltage and no charger) for $40.
Milwaukee makes an adapter to run their jackets on the M18 packs; I’m sure Craftsman COULD do this too but rarely do they go to these lengths for support of their products w such accessories.
Stuart
I am sure they *could* have made a C3 adapter, but would you really want a C3 battery, with its stem-style connector, in a back or side pocket?
aaron
could you not use the battery pack from the milwaukee heated jacket. looking at the two jackets they look exactly the same except for the brandname on the chest
Stuart
The two cordless systems are incompatible with each other,
Misty
Why does my jacket turn itself off after 30 min high heat?
Stuart
Is it running out of battery power? Overheating the battery? Automatic safety timer? Just some guesses.
K.L. Brown
I have the jacket, now I need a replacement battery pack. Where do I get that?
Stuart
Contact Sears or Craftsman?
The batteries aren’t available online, but might be available at some stores. There’s one available for pickup 34 miles from me.
As a last resort I can send out some emails to see if anyone at Sears, Craftsman, or the OEM can help.
Gerard
What’s the battery model for the heated jacket my dad just gave me his jacket but he never had a battery
Cullin
Mine won’t turn on any more. I only got a season out of it. Took it back into sears and because it was a gift and I didn’t have a receipt, they told me to get lost. It sucks because I loved it when it worked. I stayed warm with sub zero wind chills while riding sleds.