Milwaukee Women's Heated Jacket 2339 | Review

Milwaukee M12 Cordless Heated Jacket for Women (2339) Tool Review

Great for anyone who hates cold weather as much as I do!

When Milwaukee first came out with the heated jacket, I think women actually liked the idea before all of you jobsite “tough guys” out there.  After all, we are the cold-natured ones.  But it quickly became a very popular item, so much so that most of the tool manufacturers are coming out with their own versions. And Milwaukee has continued to add many improvements over the years to their Men’s Jacket (see Brad’s Review) and has greatly expanded the overall line of heated gear.  I can’t confirm, but sources from Milwaukee say that you guys started whining that your wives, girlfriends, sisters, or whomever were stealing your jackets.  Now it’s one of those “duh” moments.  Of course it makes sense to have heated gear on the jobsite, or anywhere else where it’s cold for that matter, for both men and women.

This past summer, Tool Skool attended the 2013 Milwaukee New Product Symposium where they announced that they would be coming out with a special edition version of the heated jacket for women.  I immediately knew this would be a hit and as I tweeted the pictures of the sample for us to look at, the buzz started very quickly.

What’s the same with this jacket vs. the men’s version?

The women’s version operates on the M12 battery platform just as the men’s does.  The battery is placed in an exterior pocket right behind your left hip… same as the men’s.   It has the same 3 heat settings (high, medium, low although there is one difference in this which I’ll describe below) and about the same runtime on a single battery charge… 6 hours on the low setting, and around 3 on the high setting.  In full disclosure, when I’m wearing mine, I generally leave it in high, so I can verify the 3… Not so much the 6, but that seems reasonable.

And it’s made from the wind and water resistant fabric.  It has a softer fleece lining that makes it really comfortable to wear, and it’s pretty warm even when not turned on.

What are the differences?

When you put the jacket on, you’ll immediately notice, it’s cut to fit a woman’s body.  Thank goodness.  Even the smaller men’s jacket didn’t fit my body well enough for the jacket to do an optimal job.  It was warmer than not wearing a heated jacket, but for this jacket to work properly, you need a bit of a snug fit.  It really needs to be in contact with your body or at least the layer below the jacket to get the maximum benefit from the heating elements.  The women’s jacket comes in small, which is perfect for me and I’m 5’2” and 115ish pounds on a skinny day.  Other sizes are medium, large, and extra large.

Speaking of the heating elements, here is one of my complaints about the Milwaukee women’s jacket.  While the basic heating structure remains the same, chest and back are heated so that your body core is nice and toasty, there is one very noticeable difference.  They just upgraded the men’s version to have hand warmers in the pocket.   I’m not sure if they were already in production on the women’s version before they upgraded the men’s, but sorry ladies, the women’s does NOT have the heated pockets, so be sure and grab some gloves.

What about the color of the jacket?

The women’s special edition jacket only comes in black.  But another feature that distinguishes it from the men’s version is the hot pink trim on the pockets and the sleeve.  Milwaukee is a sponsor of the National Breast Cancer Foundation donating money and increasing awareness.  The breast cancer ribbon and the pink trim are both parts of that mission to increase awareness.  The Milwaukee logo is still in white.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed they decide to continue producing this jacket and release it in other colors as well.  That being said, black is pretty versatile.

The Glowing Button:

In my opinion, Milwaukee has come up with a brilliant marketing plan by making the heating switch a glowing button.  Every time I wear it, someone says, “hey, what’s up with the glowing jacket?”.  I explain and they think it’s really cool and they want one: men and women alike.  Just as on the men’s, the glowing button on the chest can be held down to turn the heating elements on.  One big difference in this one is high is hot pink instead of red!  I personally think that’s a nice touch since it matches the trim.  White is medium and blue is low.

Other features of the jacket:

It has the two hand pockets (mainly because most people have two hands).   And it has a chest pocket for your cell phone or portable music player.  It also has two pen pockets on the left sleeve.  It does NOT have the USB port like the men’s jacket… Oh well.  While it would be nice, it's not a deal breaker.

Oh, and it also had cinch cords on the bottom of the jacket.  That's great for windy days.  Cinch it tight to keep the cold out.

My overall thoughts:

I LOVE IT!!! I can’t believe it took this long for it to be available. Men, if you are looking for a great gift for the woman in your life, this is it.  And, you don’t have to hear the whining about being cold anymore outside, at football games... think of the endless possibilities.  It’s a win-win.   I hope Milwaukee not only keeps this in the lineup, but they expand and make women’s sized hoodies too!  Way to go Milwaukee!  Women applaud you! Oh, and add in those pocket warmers next time, please.

For more info: CLICK HERE

Where to buy / Milwaukee Distributors: CLICK HERE

For pricing on Amazon.com: CLICK HERE