exo2 StormWalker 2 Heated Jacket (used by Special Forces) with Power Pack

Purchased this jacket 4 months ago, and used it quite extensively over the bad winter weather that we in the UK have experienced. The idea of this jacket, to have heat when required but with low weight was appealing to me. Unfortunately the problems that I have found with this jacket are as follows.
The material of the jacket is so easily damaged it beggers belief, you can drag it quite easily with a ragged finger nail. I have never owned any jacket that can be damaged so easily. Within a few months it will look like you've worn it for years, honestly I can not think of a worse material that the manufacturer could have picked.
The jacket is also very short and has no cord or draw string to pull in at the waist. This allows cold air to enter and the jacket does not fit close round the waist area. The manufacturer also states that there is an insulation layer on the outer of the jacket, if so where is it! You really need to wear a layer over this jacket, as the heat loss experenced due to lack of insulation will run the battery down very quickly ( I am using the latest battery with LED readout). There is also very little heat generated in the front pocket area, as compaired to the lower back. If your looking for a jacket in the £150-200 range then I would look elsewhere. A light weight synthetic jacket or soft shell would be a better buy.
You live and learn.

I had stumbled across the Exo2 Stormwalker Jacket while just browsing through the AMP3 website. My interest was immediately piqued with the products tag line "Used by Special Forces". As I read through the description I found myself thinking, that this would be just the job for cold January mornings in Edinburgh (after all if it's good enough for the Royal Marines who am I to turn my nose up at it).

One order and a quick delivery later the Stormwalker Jacket was in my grubby little mitts. The first thing to mention is how warm the jacket is without using the heating element. The material does an excellent job of keeping body heat in.

I wasted no time in charging the battery pack and preparing the Stormwalker for my trip to work the following day (incidentally, the LED on the charger changes from "red" to "green" once the battery id fully charged, nice touch).

The following morning presented the StormWalker with ideal testing conditions, a typical cold, dark, frosty Edinburgh morning. I noticed the elements heating up a few moments of switching the battery on, if you switch the battery pack on five minutes before you leave the house, you'll be guarenteed to stay lovely and warm all the way to work! The jacket worked an absolute treat and had me wearing a self satisfied smug grin on my face all the way to work as I basked in the glorious warmth that the back and pocket heating panels provided me with!

I've been so pleased with my StormWalker that I'm very rarely seen with out it. Even on the coldest of days the jacket can be worn under a larger outer coat to ensure toasty warmth, without looking like the Michelin Man!

In short I'm really happy with the StormWalker! Okay, at £169.00 it's not the cheapest of jackets, and it could do to have a couple of extra pockets on the inside but for the sheer brilliance of it and the effective manner that it keeps your core warm, I don't regret the spend at all. Plus the bragging rights that it endows the wearer with (my jacket's used by Special Forces all over the world, what's so special about yours?) and the unforseen benfit that my girlfriend has taken to "koala-ing" me, or cuddling in to the back of me on nights out have to be worth something!