Venustas Unisex Heated Jacket 7.4v Review for Chilly Adventures

Staying warm, and not freezing your butt off, sure makes chilly adventures a lot more appealing. Yes, there are lots of ways to do this – like wearing base layers – but what’s more luxurious than a heated jacket? I have to admit, they’re pretty top-notch for winter adventures.

My mom goes on and on about her heated motorcycle jacket and an outdoor-version has been on my wish-list for a long time. When I tried the Venustas 7.4v Heated Jacket, I instantly knew why my mom loves hers – why be cold when you can be the perfect temperature?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been hiking and snowshoeing pretty much any chance I get to test my Venustas heated jacket in all kinds of conditions. After all, I can’t write a review if I don’t really get a feel for it because that’s not fair to you.

As always in my gear reviews, it’s important to point out that I’m not a super techy or extreme outdoors person. I’m your average hiker and camper and that’s exactly how I test all my gear. If that’s your adventure-style, too, this review is for you!

Long story short, I’m a fan of the Venustas 7.4v Unisex Heated Jacket. It’s lightweight, keeps you warm, and the battery lasts a long time. Plus, the colours are awesome! I’ll go into more detail below, but overall it’s a great jacket. Save 15% with code EXPLORETHEMAP.

Who is Venustas?

Before we get into how cool (or warm?) this jacket is, let’s chat about the company that makes it. It’s always good to know more about the people you’re supporting when you buy.

Venustas was founded in 2018 after the owner, Michael, and his wife took a trip to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. They found themselves bundled up to the eth-degree in the cold mountains, wishing they weren’t weighed down by so many layers.

When they got home, Michael began the prototypes for what eventually became Ventustas’ best-selling Men’s Heated Jacket. Since then, they’ve created lots of different designs, added fun colours, and launched other products including heated gloves, heated socks, and even a heated camping chair!

At their core, Ventustas wants to help everyone get outside. They do this by offering great gear at affordable prices (side note: have you seen the cost of some heated apparel? It’s wild) and sizing from XS to 4XL.

Interested? Remember that you can save 15% with code EXPLORETHEMAP.

Main Features of the Venustas Unisex Heated Jacket 7.4v

Let’s go over the main features before we dive into the full review of the Venustas Unisex Heated Jacket.

• 6 heating areas (chest, back, shoulders, and neck)
• 3 temperatures 
• Water-resistant nylon shell 
• Breathable polyester insulation
• Lithium-ion battery (which can also charge your phone)
• Machine washable
• Fleece-lined pockets
• Detachable hood

Venustas Heated Jacket Overview

Venustas launched in 2018 and has created a great line-up of heated apparel – you won’t be cold with any of their gear! 

The Unisex Heated Jacket 7.4v is a great companion for snowy adventures. It’s comfortable and lightweight, even with the battery pack in tow. The 7.4v battery preheats the jacket quickly and the adjustable heat levels ensures you’re never too hot or cold.

Plus, the hand pockets are super spacious and fleece-lined! This was a huuuge plus for me which I’ll get into later.

Besides being spacious, lightweight, and water-resistant, the Venustas Unisex Heated 7.4v Jacket does what it’s supposed to, which is keep you warm (but not too warm). Honestly, as a heated jacket, that’s all I really care about.

Performance of the Venustas Heated Jacket for Men & Women

But enough of all that, let’s get into why you really came here – to find out what I think of Ventustas’ heated jacket and how it performs… with a few tech specs thrown in for good measure so you can decide if these jackets are for you.

Tech Specs

Before I get into it all, here are the technical specs of the Venustas Unisex Heated Jacket 7.4v:

• 6 carbon fibre heating elements (chest, back, shoulders, and neck)
• Water-resistant nylon shell 
• 100% breathable polyester insulation (FELLEX®)
• YKK zipper (best in the zipper biz)
• Fleece-lined pockets
• 3 temperatures:
  • High: 55°C/131°F (3 hrs)
  • Medium: 45°C/113°F (5 hrs)
  • Low: 37°C/100°F (8 hrs)

Battery Specs

• Lithium-ion battery (with LG cells)
• [email protected] (37Wh）
• Size: 3.94 × 2.56 × 0.91in
• Weight: 7.23oz / 205g
• Input: Type-C 5V/2A
• Output: USB-A 5V/2.1A & DC 7.38V/2.4A
• Charging time: 4hrs

Heating Functionality

Obviously, the most important part of a heated winter jacket is that it actually keeps you warm without getting too hot. Based on my many hikes this winter, the answer is yes, Venustas’ Unisex Heated Jacket 7.4v keeps you the perfect temperature on your chilly adventures.

The chest, back, shoulders, and neck heating areas keep your torso warm, but it’s more of an ambient temperature than something you can pick out. In fact, I didn’t specifically notice the heating until it wasn’t on and that’s when I started to feel a little chilly. And mind you, I only wore one wool base layer underneath the entire time.

Having said that, I did notice the neck heating area a few times — it was like a little spa day out on the trail. It was lovely!

For reference, I usually used low or medium heat levels. First, I liked those temperatures best; it wasn’t too hot or too cold. I also was hiking in temperatures just below freezing; it would probably be a different story in super cold weather. Second, I wanted the battery to last as long as possible (for warmth and charging my phone) and that means not blasting it on high all the time.

Last, but not least, you can cycle between the levels by pressing the logo on the front of the jacket. This is also how you preheat the jacket, which takes about five minutes to reach full heat. Some of the other Venustas jackets even let you pick where to heat (this one does not, just to be clear)!

Snow, Rain & Water Protection

Most outdoor puffy jackets these days have some level of water protection on the outer shell so that you don’t get soaked through should you run into some bad weather — which let’s be honest, is pretty common in the winter.

In the above picture, you can see that Jacob’s jacket was starting to soak through from the heavy snow, but my Venustas jacket was totally fine. The wet snow slightly stuck to it, but it never soaked through. Water droplets beaded up and rolled off.

Not once did I feel cold snow or water seeping into my base layer. That’s a win!

Breathability

In any jacket, breathability is always a concern. If it’s too waterproof, the inside of your jacket can quickly become a sweaty, wet nightmare. Luckily, I didn’t run into this with the Venustas Unisex Heated Jacket.

The Venustas doesn’t have pit zips (not that I’d expect it to), but it still does a pretty decent job of regulating your body temperature. The polyester insulation is breathable which definitely helps out.

On a few of the more intense (aka, going uphill) sections of our snowshoe adventures, I did have to unzip and turn off the heating since I was getting too warm and sweaty. Honestly though, I don’t expect a jacket to ever fix that unless it somehow has fans built in. Sometimes you just gotta air out.

I did wear a wool base layer underneath to help regulate my temperature. Between the base layer’s moisture wicking and the jacket, I never felt like the inside was becoming super gross.

Jacket & Battery Weight

The Venustas’ Unisex Heated Jacket isn’t the most lightweight puffer out there, but neither is it the heaviest. It’s a good middle ground.

What contributes to its weight? Obviously, the battery pack (7.23oz / 205g) and carbon fibre heating elements add extra bulk that regular puffer don’t have. Plus, it has huuuge luxurious fleece lined pockets, a large hood, and synthetic insulation. All of these add to weight and size, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

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7.4v Battery Information

The Venustas’ 7.4v Unisex Heated Jacket uses a 7.4v battery pack to heat the jacket, hence its name. This is a standard battery pack for heated apparel and if you want to learn more about the different types, Venustas has written a helpful article on their blog.

I read a few reviews of older Venustas gear which complains about the battery placement. Luckily, I didn’t find the battery placement to be an issue on this heated jacket. There’s a zippered pocket in the inside left-hand pocket area where the battery plugs in and is stored. The battery doesn’t weight much and I barely noticed it was there.

The battery has four lights on the front so you can quickly see how much charge is left. It also has a USB port so that you can charge things like your phone. I used it a few times to charge my phone which I was very grateful for. I even brought only the battery on a few adventures for that sole purpose.

The only thing that could be an issue is the connection type. A DC output connects the battery to the jacket which isn’t standard on most battery packs. Basically, this means you need specific battery packs to heat the jacket. But this is a non issue if you just use the battery that comes with the jacket.

Fit of the 7.4v Unisex Heated Jacket by Venustas

Overall, I like the fit of this jacket. I ordered a large which left plenty of room to move, but I probably could have gone with a size smaller since I don’t have to wear a bunch of layers underneath. For reference, I’m about 5’6″, 170lbs with wide hips.

However, since this is a unisex jacket, I did find it made my body look a little boxy. I don’t really care, though, since it’s an outdoor jacket and I’m more concerned with the functionality than how it looks. And it’s not like it looks terrible!

I also love the fact that it’s long enough to cover my butt! I’m about 5’6″ so this might not be true for everyone, but for those in the short club, it works quite well. It also doesn’t dig into my hips which is often an issue.

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Cuff & Pockets

The cuffs are elastic which means it’s a one-size-fits-all situation — just like most puffers. I didn’t have an issue with the sizing, but it would be nice if the cuffs were adjustable. This isn’t a gripe I have with Venustas in particular, but rather all puffer jackets.

On the other hand, I absolutely love the pockets on the Venustas 7.4v Unisex Heated Jacket! The pockets are huuuge — I fit a whole can of bear spray with extra room in one and an Insta360 Flow, iPhone 14, and a Garmin inReach in the other (and it would have easily fit more). It’s wild!

If that’s not enough, the pockets are fleece lined and so cozy!

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Detachable Hood

The hood on the Venustas 7.4v Unisex Heated Jacket is entirely removable! This defintely help cuts down on packability size if you’re concerned about that since the hood is quite large.

Personally, I prefer to keep the hood on, but you always have the option of removing it if that’s more your style.

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Fun Colours

Maybe this is silly, but one of the deciding factors for me when I was deciding which Venustas jacket to get was the fun colours! This particular jacket is available in red and blue, whereas most of their others are only in black.

I absolutely adore the red colour of this jacket and love how it pops against the background!

Should You Buy the 7.4v Venustas Unisex Heated Jacket?

Venustas’ Unisex Heated Jacket is a great jacket if you want to stay warm on chilly winter, spring, or fall adventures thanks to its lightweight battery and various heating elements.

In my opinion, this is a great heated jacket and I wouldn’t hesitate to get another one. It performs well and is reasonably priced.

However, a heated jacket is by no means an essential piece of outdoor gear. It’s a luxury item that is awesome if you’re able to afford it, but don’t feel like you need to get it.

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