If you buy something through our links, ToolGuyd might earn an affiliate commission.
A couple of years ago, Makita came out with a long-sleeved cooling jacket, which featured fans that draw hear away from the wearer. Now, they’ve come out a new cooling vest, model FV214DZ.
Not much information is available right now, but enough to pique my interest.
To start off, this is not Makita’s first expansion since their first cordless cooling jacket, there are other models, including full vests. This model is a more lightweight vest, for lack of a better way of putting it. It’s sleeveless, and with cutouts in the front panels as well.
The new Makita cooling vest secures via two plastic buckles. There are zippered pockets on both sides, top and bottom – up near the shoulders and down by the mid-torso.
At the rear, two low-profile fans draw air at a flow rate of (up to?) 2.7 cubic meters per minute. The noise level is said to be 40 dB(A). The fans are both powered by brushless motors.
There are two colors right now, a light grey and blue.
It looks like there are mesh panels up around the neck collar and below the armpits, with air pushed through by the fans positioned at the wearer’s lower back on both sides.
I would assume the fan works in a similar manner as the inflating cooling vest, where it pushes air throughout the inner panels, rather than pulling it out.
Aside from the interesting design and shape of the vest, I found myself impressed with all the different power options. It appears that the vest can be powered using a proprietary Li-ion battery pack, a 10.8V (12V Max) battery adapter and power source, as well as a 14.4V/18V adapter. At this time, it doesn’t look like there is any 40V Max XGT power source (yet?).
The slim Li-ion battery pack has a USB C port and can also be used as a power bank to charge electronic devices.
When I’ve seen images or videos of Makita’s cooling jacket over the years, it was always nothing short of amusing. With the full-sleeved jacket inflated during use, wearers comically look a lot like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
his isn’t Makita’s first cooling vest – they also have a full vest option. But compared to their cordless fan jackets and full-body cooling vest, this new model is much closer to what I would imagine cordless battery-powered cooling workwear looks like.
Would you use a cooling vest to combat summertime back sweat?
I have never seen any Makita heating or cooling workwear products in person. Here in the USA they are way behind competitors with respect to heated gear, and it’s unclear what types of users the new cooling vest was designed for, but this still seems like an interesting concept.
