DeWalt Heavy Duty Black Heated Work Jacket Kit

I spent the past few weeks living in DeWalt’s heated work jacket through cold dawn slab pours, wind-whipped site walks, and a few long dog walks for good measure. It’s a straightforward garment that leans more jobsite-tough than “tech-y,” and that’s largely why I kept reaching for it.

Build, fit, and first impressions

The outer is a heavy duck fabric that hits a sweet spot: stiff enough to feel durable and block wind, but not so rigid that it fights you when you’re reaching or climbing. The gusseted underarms and articulated shoulders are the unsung heroes here. Overhead pulls, raking, and running conduit on a ladder felt natural without the jacket binding across the back. Inside, the fleece/poly lining adds noticeable warmth on its own; the sleeves have a smooth lining that makes it easy to slide over a hoodie or flannel.

Sizing is true to a standard work jacket fit—room for layering without drifting into parka territory. The hood is warm and flannel-lined, but it’s generous to a fault. It kept my ears warm over a beanie, yet the brim can hang low enough that I needed to cinch it, roll it back, or wear a cap with a bill to keep it out of my eyes.

Stitching and trims all look clean. Zippers are stout and track smoothly. This feels like a jacket built to live in a truck cab, not a closet.

Heating performance and controls

Five heat zones separate this jacket from a lot of alternatives: both chest panels, both upper sleeves, and the mid-back. The sleeve heat ends up being more useful than I expected. It warms the arms directly and, indirectly, helps keep hands from feeling like blocks of ice when you’re not wearing gloves. The chest and back zones come up to temp quickly and create an even, enveloping warmth rather than hot “stripes.”

Preheat genuinely works—on cold starts I felt the jacket become comfortable around the 2–3 minute mark, with the fabric noticeably warm by 5 minutes. The three heat levels do what they should: high for standing around or long, still tasks; medium for light movement; low for continuous, all-day use. I ran it on low most of the time and bumped to medium/high during breaks.

The LED controller is inside the jacket, which keeps the glow out of sight and prevents accidental bumps. It’s simple to use with gloves after you memorize the button location, though you’ll probably open the zipper a bit to confirm your setting at first.

Battery, runtime, and the inevitable bulk

This jacket runs off the 20V DeWalt packs you already own, which is both a blessing and a trade-off. A 2.0Ah compact battery kept me going for a full day on low with intermittent preheat—about 6.5 to 7.5 hours in my use. On high, plan on 3 to 4 hours. If you step up to a 4.0 or 5.0Ah pack, you can cover longer shifts, but you’ll feel the weight.

The included adapter provides a USB port for charging phones or headlamps. Handy, yes, but it adds bulk and will siphon runtime if you actually use it. Battery placement matters: you can stash it in the rear pocket or route the internal extension to one of the front pockets. On days with a tool belt, the rear pocket was a nonstarter—it interfered with the belt. Routing the battery forward solved the problem and made battery swaps much easier with gloves on.

If your priority is the slimmest possible power pack, this isn’t going to disappear at your hip the way a smaller-voltage system might. If your priority is runtime and ecosystem compatibility, the 20V setup is great.

Pockets and practical touches

The pocket layout is well thought out for an everyday work jacket:
- Fleece-lined hand pockets that actually warm hands, not just hold them
- External accessory/tool pockets that fit a knife, small level, or notebook
- Internal pockets for a wallet or radio

The internal cable routing is the clever bit. Being able to move the adapter between rear and front pockets without snaking wires out of the zipper keeps things tidy and snag-free. There’s nothing to fight with when you’re already juggling gloves, a respirator, and a harness.

Weather resistance and jobsite reality

The duck fabric does a solid job blocking wind, and the jacket shrugged off a 20–25 mph gusty day without heat cranked to high. In mist and light snow, water beaded up. In sustained rain, it eventually soaks, as you’d expect—this is water-resistant, not waterproof, and the seams aren’t taped. If your day calls for a downpour, throw a shell over it and the heat will still push through.

A note for spark-heavy work: it’s not flame-resistant. Around grinders or welding, use common sense and proper PPE.

Comfort in motion

Between the articulated shoulders, the gussets, and the slick sleeve lining, movement is easy. It’s easy to forget you’re wearing a heated jacket, and that’s the point. The heating elements are thin and flex with the fabric; I didn’t feel any hard edges or hotspots. The jacket sits cleanly under a harness without bunching. The only recurring annoyance is battery bulk when you’re wearing a wide tool belt—again, front-pocket routing is the fix.

Care and durability

After multiple muddy days and a few run-ins with wet concrete, the outer brushed clean and looked presentable again. I treated the duck face with a light fabric spray after the second week to keep water beading, and it helped. Follow the care tag closely for washing; remove the battery and adapter first, and don’t crumple the jacket into a ball at the bottom of a truck bed if you want the wiring to last.

A year warranty is standard for heated gear in this class. Given the build quality and reinforced stress points, I’d expect the jacket to outlast the battery packs you feed it, so long as you don’t kink the internal wires during storage.

What I’d change

• The hood is too big. Great for warmth, but it needs a shorter brim or more effective cinch to keep out of your line of sight.
• The adapter and battery are bulky. Routing options mitigate it, yet a slimmer adapter would improve comfort with a belt or while driving.
• Add a small, external, low-profile indicator or tactile cue for heat level; the internal LED is fine, but a way to confirm level without unzipping would be welcome in cold wind.

Who this jacket suits best

• Tradespeople already on DeWalt 20V who want heated outerwear without adding another battery platform
• Outdoor work where wind-blocking and sleeve warmth matter—framing, masonry, site supervision, early-morning deliveries
• Anyone who wants a rugged jacket that functions well even with the heat off

If you need the absolute lowest-profile heated layer to wear under tight shells or harness setups, or you hate the idea of carrying a larger battery, a slimmer system may suit you better.

Recommendation

I recommend this DeWalt heated work jacket. It strikes the right balance between durability, warmth, and practical jobsite design. The five-zone heat—especially in the sleeves—works quickly and evenly, the fabric blocks wind without feeling like armor, and DeWalt’s internal cable routing makes the inevitable battery bulk manageable. Runtime on a compact 2.0Ah pack is legitimately all-day on low, and if you already own 20V batteries, you’re set.

It’s not perfect: the hood is oversized, and the adapter could be slimmer. But those are small offsets to a jacket that feels built for work first and clever second. If you live in your DeWalt 20V ecosystem and need a tough, warm layer that keeps your arms and core productive in the cold, this one earns a spot on the hook by the door.