If you ask around, there still is a possibility that people don’t know about the existence of heated clothing. Yet heated clothing has been around for ages. In ancient times, it had a different form from what we are used to today. Back then, heat sources like heated stones were placed inside the clothing to keep the body at temperature.
World War II
British crew members of the Hampden AE122 wore heated clothing at the time of World War II.
These aircrafts were not yet equipped with heating and given the cold temperatures at high altitude (30,000 feet), crew members were given electrically heated suits.
The flight suit pictured here is one found after the aircraft crashed at Besselinkschans (Zieuwent, Netherlands).
"On 28 January 1942, Bernard Nijland cycled to Beneman in Vragender at 7 in the evening. He goes there to get salt to cure a freshly slaughtered pig. It is viciously cold and storming with 'jachsnee' (drifting snow), making it almost impossible to see ahead. It was indeed unbelievably cold. At the K.N.M.l. (Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute) Winterswijk weather station that night, the thermometer read -27.4° C, still the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Netherlands.
A twin-engine Hampden bomber of the R.A.F. targeting Munster, Germany, runs into trouble over the Achterhoek region. The plane, part of the 106th Bomber Squadron with the tail number AT 122, will not make it back to its home port.
By now, Bernard Nijland has been home from his trip to Vragender for some time when he and his wife hear a plane flying low overhead. Almost at the same moment, they hear a violent crackling in the pine forest behind their house. The next day he discovers a crashed plane at the edge of the pine forest beyond his farm1."
Recent developments
For several years now, the demand for heated products has exploded. Whereas decades ago, it was mostly used by well to do winter sports enthusiasts, it is now applied to more and more facets of daily life. A large part of the target group has one shared passion: the outdoors. From cyclists to hikers, from police officers to world champions and from people with illnesses to winter sports enthusiasts. BERTSCHAT®'s heated products are worn by all parts of society. Technologies and innovations are also rapidly succeeding each other. Previously, only a limited part of the product was heated, for example the fingertips. Thanks to BERTSCHAT®, there are now products on the market where every piece of fabric of the product is heated, allowing you to really go on an excursion to the North Pole without suffering from the cold.
BERTSCHAT® leading in technology and innovation
One of BERTSCHAT®'s strength is listening to market demands. This is also how the unique Dual Heating system was designed, following a customer demand. This technique has since been applied to numerous other products. As a result, optimal wearing comfort, maximum heating surface, performance and durability are always taken into account.
Check out our range of heated clothing here: heated vests, heated bodywarmer or heated jackets.
