Two years ago, I wrote about running an electric heated jacket during hunting season. They rebranded to Gobi, and I asked if I could try a set of their electric heated pants. These pants are a light baselayer that have heating zones on the glutes (ass cheeks) and thighs. Just like the jacket I reviewed, they use a battery that looks like it’s made of 4 powerful 18650 cells in a slim package.
I used the pants during both the cool-ish bow hunting season as well as in the frigid November general rifle season. In bow season, it was rainy and just above freezing everytime I was out hunting. Sitting high up in a treestand, the rain just murdered my knees and legs, even with water resistant pants overtop: so it was nice to be able to turn on heat. When hunting from a treestand, you still have to keep movement to a minimum and I find a hard time doing that when I’m cold or uncomfortable.
In the bow hunting season with lighter clothing, I could access the selector button from the outside just by feel. I’d feel around for the square-ish button, press and hold for about 2 seconds, and know that it was on minimum heat. I could then press once more for medium and once more for max.
In rifle season when I was wearing thicker snow pants overtop, it was more tricky to work the button. Snow pants that have a zippered side pocket that grants access to your pants would be key here.
How much of a difference does it make? This year I hunted with a buddy of mine who has some really nice winter gear including some good quality base layers and midlayers. I was able to outlast him on the particularly cold mornings or evenings and having heated gear was really the key here.
CONS
- It’s hard to press the button from the outside with heavy clothes on
- You have to remember to charge your pants between hunts
If the utility of these gadgets wasn’t good enough, I would stop using them, but I keep using that heated jacket from 2 years ago. You could say that I’m getting old and soft, or you could say that I appreciate some creature comforts where I can get them. In any case, I keep using the heated pants on longer outdoor excursions because it’s really nice to just crank on the heat and not screw around with a disposable chemical heating insert. If you’re looking for a set, check out Gobi Heat.
