Prolimit Heater Vest 2011
Reviews / Mens Wetsuits
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At A Glance
Heated wetsuits have been around for a little while now, and when we tested the C3 from Prolimit last issue we notice it had a hole in the arm and the words Heater Vest written around it… Needless to say we had to check it out for ourselves! The vest is designed to be worn under your wetsuit; there is a square patch in the back of the vest which contain the heating elements. The vest then connects via a cable to the battery pack, which is worn on the outside of your suit. The battery takes about 6 hours to fully charge and has several heat settings. On full power the vest should stay hot for 2 hours.
On the Water
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a hot water bottle that never cools down inside your suit? Wonder no more, that’s the best way to describe this clever set up. It gets so hot you actually have to turn it down to stop it from becoming uncomfortable. The idea is that by warming your body’s core the blood will circulate further around your body, and this is certainly true with this addition to the C3 wetsuit. We lasted 2 hours on the water in freezing conditions and only came in when the battery ran out! There is a downside though; getting the cabling connected up is no easy task in the car park. We really struggled to get connected as you end up with the wires very close to your left arm and only one hand to screw up the connection. Equally taking the suit off was tricky as the cable needs to be disconnected before you can remove the arm of the suit. With practice it gets easier and there is a technique that makes it less hassle. Be sure to have a few practice runs before you try it for real so you don’t end up like us half naked in the car park wrestling the suit off the vest!
For
Amazingly warm, really makes a difference to the coldest of sessions.
Against
Tricky to get on and off and connect up through the suit.
Overall
Once mastered you’ll get over the connection procedure, and then you’ll be as warm as toast, quite literally like having a hot water bottle in the back of your wetsuit!
This review was in Issue 25 of IKSURFMAG.
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By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
