Blanc Flare Heated Shirt – Battery Powered and Washable

The Flare shirt from Blanc is a battery-powered, heated shirt.  Yet it is machine washable.  The Engearment crew was curious about this so we had to test it out!

Heated Shirt?

Yep, this shirt has three zones of heating elements sewn in.  Using a carbon fiber system, the shirt heats up quickly using a 5000ma power bank.  The power bank plugs into a USB cable in the shirt and gets to work heating up the zones.  One zone on the abdomen and two zones on the back (upper and lower back areas).

At first, we were confused about how the shirt could be washed. With all the electronics involved, it seemed like it would be a delicate cleaning process.  The good folks at Blanc assured us that the Flare is machine washable.

What is the shirt made of?

This is much like a lot of base layer shirts.  Made of Polyester and a bit of Spandex. The real secret is in the carbon fiber heating elements.  Add in the 5000ma battery pack and you have the Flare heated shirt.  There is also a zippered pocket on the lower back, making it good for runners and bikers.  The battery pack fits in another zippered pocket on the side.  This can also hold some small items like a set of keys.

How does it work?

There are three heating settings. High lasts 2 hours and hits 150 degrees.  Medium runs for 3.5 hours and hits 135 degrees.  Low runs for 5 hours at 112 degrees. If your phone is running low on juice, you can charge it from the battery pack too.

I tested the shirt out at home first.  I put it on low and kept the windows open to cool our home down to 55 degrees.  I used just the shirt on top, no other jackets or blankets.  It was a gentle heat, nothing too warm at all.  I was kind of concerned with the possibility of 112 degrees hitting my body, but it was actually very subtle. I decided to crank it up to medium just to see how hot it would get.  Honesty, it was not as hot as I thought it might be.  Kind of relieved on that!

I took the shirt up to the mountains to do some camping with our dogs.  Temps were in the 30s and I used the shirt on high.  It did a good job of bringing the heat.  The sun would be setting soon, so I grabbed my puffy jacket and got ready for the lower temps (got down to 15 or so).  I can see how this shirt could help individuals who run cold, or who need some added warmth during some downtime.  Like waiting for your buddy to catch up to you on the slope.

The shirt fits slim.  I am 6’1″ 205lb, 45″ chest, and the XL was a bit snug.  Though, you do want your baselayers to be snug.  That is how they keep you warm and wick sweat away.  So keep that in mind when ordering.  Speaking of ordering, check out the Kickstarter and back them.