Gobi Heat Ibex review: the brand that publishes watt-hours, and the claim that undoes it
Five zones, 380g duck cotton, and a maker honest enough to print 36.5 Wh on the battery page. Then it gives this vest exactly the same runtime as the three-zone one, which is where the arithmetic stops cooperating.
By Scooter M. · Published October 3, 2026
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The Ibex is Gobi's workwear vest: five heating zones — two chest, two abdomen, one large back — under a 380g duck cotton shell, running a pack Gobi publishes as 36.5 Wh. It is the most zone coverage per pack on this site. It is also quoted at the same 10 hours low, 8 medium, 5 high as Gobi's three-zone Dune vest on the identical battery, which means either the Ibex's elements run cooler or one of those numbers is a line-wide figure rather than a measurement.
What Gobi gets right first
Before the criticism, the credit, because it is substantial. Gobi publishes watt-hours on its own battery pages: 36.5 Wh for the 5,000 mAh PD pack that ships with this vest, and 48.1 Wh for the 6,500 mAh hard-shell upgrade. Multiply 6.5 Ah by the 7.4 V Gobi also states and you get 48.1 exactly — its numbers agree with each other.
Among apparel-first brands only Gobi, Venustas and ororo print a watt-hour figure at all. Fieldsheer publishes none for eight packs; Lenz publishes no voltage whatsoever. On the single number that makes cross-brand comparison possible, Gobi is near the top of the category.
The specification, converted
| Setting | Gobi's claim | Implied draw | Per zone (5 zones) |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 5 hours | ~7.3 W | ~1.5 W |
| Medium | 8 hours | ~4.6 W | ~0.9 W |
| Low | 10 hours | ~3.7 W | ~0.7 W |
Energy is Gobi's own published 36.5 Wh. The per-zone column is the implied draw divided by Gobi's own stated zone count.
Quick picks
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up below. The energy column is the pack’s capacity times its voltage — the number this category does not print.
| # | Product | Best for | Energy | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gobi Heat Ibex Men's 5-Zone Heated Workwear VestFive zones and a 380g duck cotton shell make this the most substantial vest Gobi builds — but it claims exactly the sa… | The most heating zones per watt-hour on this site | 36.5 Wh | $199.00View on Amazon |
| 2 |  Gobi Heat Dune Women's Heated VestThree zones on a 36.5 Wh pack is a combination that actually works out — about 2.4 W per zone on high, which is a beli… | The most honest energy budget in Gobi's women's line | 36.5 Wh | $189.00View on Amazon |
| 3 |  Gerbing 7V Men's Torrid Softshell Heated Vest 2.0Four settings expressed as percentages of power with a runtime against each, a published 25.16 Wh pack, 135°F stated, … | The most internally consistent runtime ladder on this site | 25.2 Wh | $196.54View on Amazon |
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Gobi Heat Ibex Men's 5-Zone Heated Workwear Vest
Five zones and a 380g duck cotton shell make this the most substantial vest Gobi builds — but it claims exactly the same runtime as Gobi's three-zone vest off exactly the same pack, and both cannot be right.
#ad Price as of October 17, 2026. How we are funded.
The numbers
- Energy
- 36.5 Wh
- Maker's stated energy
- 5,000 mAh, published by Gobi as 36.5 Wh
- Shell
- 380g duck cotton, wind and water resistant
- Upgrade pack
- 6,500 mAh / 48.1 Wh hard shell, same fit
- Claims
- All three settings, no temperatures on this model's page
- Heat zones
- Two in the chest, two in the abdomen and one large zone in the back, per Gobi
- Settings
- Three — low, medium and high
- Care
- Machine washable on a gentle cycle with the battery removed, per Gobi
On wattage: No wattage is published. Gobi's own figures invert to about 7.3 W on high (36.5 Wh over 5 hours), which spread across five zones is roughly 1.5 W per zone — against about 2.4 W per zone on the three-zone Dune, which claims an identical 5 hours off an identical pack. Either the Ibex runs cooler per zone or the runtime figure is line-wide rather than measured. We would not assume five zones means more heat.
On the pack: Ships with Gobi's 5,000 mAh PD pack, which Gobi itself publishes as 36.5 Wh — a rarity worth crediting. The 6,500 mAh hard-shell pack (48.1 Wh) fits the same vest and is the single most effective upgrade you can make to it.
What we like
- Gobi publishes watt-hours on its battery pages — almost nobody else in this category does
- Five zones including two in the abdomen, which is more coverage than most vests attempt
- 380g duck cotton is genuinely workwear-weight rather than a shell pretending to be one
- A larger 48.1 Wh pack fits without changing anything else
What we do not
- Claims the same 10/8/5 hours as Gobi's three-zone vest off the same pack, which cannot be true of both
- No temperature figures published for this model
- 36.5 Wh in the box is mid-pack energy for a five-zone garment
- Duck cotton is heavy and slow to dry compared with a nylon shell
Who this suits
Someone working outdoors who wants abdominal coverage and a shell that survives a work site.
Who should skip it
You are buying it because five zones sounds warmer than three. Gobi's own runtime figures give you no reason to believe that.
Spec sources: Gobi Heat — Ibex Men's 5-Zone Heated Workwear Vest (5 heating zones: chest, stomach, back; low up to 10 hrs / medium up to 8 hrs / high up to 5 hrs; 5,000 mAh battery; 380g duck cotton; machine washable; 1 year warranty) · Gobi Heat — 5,000 mAh PD Fast-Charge Battery ("5V-20V", "12V, 9V, and 7.4V compatible"; published as "36.5 Wh"; USB-C PD, USB-C, USB-A and barrel ports; 2-3 hour charge; fits heated vests, jackets, parkas and base layers, excluding hats, socks and gloves) · Gobi Heat — Replacement Jacket/Chair Battery, 6,500 mAh, 7.4v, Hard Shell (published as "48.1 Wh"; USB-C, barrel plug and USB-A; 5-6 hour charge; works with all Gobi Heat jackets, hoodies and vests)
Gobi Heat Dune Women's Heated Vest
Three zones on a 36.5 Wh pack is a combination that actually works out — about 2.4 W per zone on high, which is a believable number rather than a marketing one.
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The numbers
- Energy
- 36.5 Wh
- Maker's stated energy
- 5,000 mAh, published by Gobi as 36.5 Wh
- Shell
- Wind and water resistant nylon
- Implied draw
- About 7.3 W on high, our arithmetic from Gobi's figures
- Charge time
- 2-3 hours on the PD pack
- Heat zones
- Chest and back, per Gobi
- Settings
- Three — low, medium and high
- Care
- Machine washable: remove the battery, tuck the charging cable back into its pocket, then wash and dry on gentle cycles, per Gobi
On wattage: Not published. Inverting Gobi's own numbers gives about 7.3 W on high across three zones — roughly 2.4 W per zone, which is in the right range for a garment that claims to reach the low 140s Fahrenheit. This is the Gobi garment whose arithmetic we trust most.
On the pack: The same 5,000 mAh / 36.5 Wh PD pack that powers the rest of the Gobi line, with USB-C PD fast charging and a 2-3 hour charge time. The 6,500 mAh hard-shell pack fits too.
What we like
- Three zones over 36.5 Wh is an energy budget that adds up rather than one that has to be excused
- Gobi publishes the watt-hours, so no guesswork is needed to compare it with anything else here
- Nylon shell is lighter and faster-drying than the duck cotton on the workwear models
- Washing instructions are specific rather than a vague "machine washable"
What we do not
- The 10/8/5 hour claim is identical across Gobi's whole garment line regardless of zone count
- No temperature figures on this model's page, though Gobi publishes them for the Sahara II
- Three zones means no abdominal coverage
- 36.5 Wh is below the 48.1 Wh pack Gobi sells separately — the better battery costs extra
Who this suits
A woman who wants a vest whose published numbers survive being multiplied out, and a light shell rather than a work jacket.
Who should skip it
You want heat on your stomach or lower back. Three zones here means chest and back only.
Spec sources: Gobi Heat — Dune Women's Heated Vest (3 heating zones: chest, back; low up to 10 hrs / medium up to 8 hrs / high up to 5 hrs; 5,000 mAh battery; wind and water resistant nylon; 1-year warranty, full coverage) · Gobi Heat — 5,000 mAh PD Fast-Charge Battery ("5V-20V", "12V, 9V, and 7.4V compatible"; published as "36.5 Wh"; USB-C PD, USB-C, USB-A and barrel ports; 2-3 hour charge; fits heated vests, jackets, parkas and base layers, excluding hats, socks and gloves)
Gerbing 7V Men's Torrid Softshell Heated Vest 2.0
Four settings expressed as percentages of power with a runtime against each, a published 25.16 Wh pack, 135°F stated, and a lifetime warranty — and when you invert the numbers the endpoints land exactly where the physics says they should.
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The numbers
- Energy
- 25.2 Wh
- Maker's stated energy
- 3,400 mAh — published by Gerbing as 25.16 Wh
- Implied draw
- 12.58 W at 100%, 3.15 W at 25% — our arithmetic
- Published temperature
- 135°F maximum
- Warranty
- Lifetime
- Heat zones
- Two chest, one back and one neck, in Gerbing's words "Chest (2), Back (1) & Neck (1)"
- Settings
- Four, labeled as power percentages — 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% — with "135° F Maximum heat" published
- Care
- Not published by Gerbing on this listing
On wattage: No wattage is published, but this is the rare case where we can derive it with confidence, because Gerbing labels its settings as PERCENTAGES of power rather than vague steps. 25.16 Wh over the stated 2 hours at 100% is **12.58 W**; over the stated 8 hours at 25% it is **3.15 W**. Those two are in an exact 4:1 ratio, which is precisely what 100% against 25% should give. The 75% and 50% claims are then 11% and 20% MORE conservative than a linear model predicts. A maker whose endpoints are exact and whose middle steps understate is not guessing.
On the pack: A battery IS included here, which on a Gerbing product is the thing to check first: this is the 7V line. Gerbing's 12V line — jacket liners, pant liners, glove liners — ships no battery and expects a motorcycle. Same brand, same website, completely different purchase.
What we like
- Settings given as percentages of power with a runtime for each — nobody else on this site does that
- The endpoints invert to an exact 4:1 ratio, and the middle two steps are conservative rather than flattering
- Gerbing publishes the watt-hours on the listing and they match the capacity exactly
- A neck zone, which is where a still body loses heat and which most vests skip
- Lifetime warranty, against the one year most of this category offers
What we do not
- 25.16 Wh is a small pack — well under a standard 7.4 V apparel battery at 38.5 Wh
- Two hours at full power is short, and that is Gerbing's own figure
- No washing instructions published on the listing
- Easy to confuse with Gerbing's 12V line, which ships no battery at all
Who this suits
Someone who wants to know exactly what each setting costs them in hours, and will accept a small pack to get that honesty.
Who should skip it
You need a long day. 25.16 Wh is among the smallest torso packs here, and Gerbing is upfront that full power empties it in two hours.
What the vest is
A genuine workwear garment rather than a shell pretending to be one. 380g duck cotton, wind and water resistant, with conductive-thread elements rather than printed panels. Gobi states machine washable on a gentle cycle with the battery removed, and a one year warranty.
The zone layout is the Ibex's actual argument: two in the chest, two in the abdomen, one large panel across the back. Abdominal coverage is unusual — most vests heat chest and back and stop. If your complaint about heated vests is that your midsection stays cold, this is the one that addresses it.
The upgrade nobody mentions on the product page
The Ibex ships the 36.5 Wh pack. Gobi also sells a 6,500 mAh hard-shell pack at a published 48.1 Wh that fits every Gobi jacket, hoodie and vest including this one. That is 32% more energy, and at the same draw, 32% more time — the 5-hour high setting becomes about 6.6 hours.
The trade is charge time: Gobi states 2-3 hours for the 36.5 Wh PD pack against 5-6 hours for the 48.1 Wh one. If you charge overnight and work a full shift, the bigger pack is plainly the better buy, and it is the single highest-value accessory purchase an Ibex owner can make.
The energy, converted
Watt-hours, and what they buy
Energy is capacity times nominal voltage. The ceiling draw is the pack’s own published output current times its voltage. The implied draw runs the maker’s advertised hours backwards. Nothing here is measured — check our working.
| Product | Capacity | Volts | Energy | Ceiling draw | Shortest runtime | Implied draw at the claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gobi Heat Ibex Men's 5-Zone Heated Workwear Vest | 5,000 mAh | 7.3 V | 36.5 Wh | Not published | Not derivable | 7.3 Wat 5 h high |
| Gobi Heat Dune Women's Heated Vest | 5,000 mAh | 7.3 V | 36.5 Wh | Not published | Not derivable | 7.3 Wat 5 h high |
| Gerbing 7V Men's Torrid Softshell Heated Vest 2.0 | 3,400 mAh | 7.4 V | 25.2 Wh | Not published | Not derivable | 12.6 Wat 2 h 100% power |
“Not derivable” means the manufacturer does not publish the figure the sum needs. We leave it blank rather than estimating it, borrowing a number from a similar model, or rounding one into existence. These are ceilings, not promises: cold, wind, movement and pack age all push real runtime below them. Run your own numbers.
Gobi Heat Ibex Men's 5-Zone Heated Workwear Vest
- Energy in the pack
- (5,000 mAh ÷ 1000) × 7.3 V = 36.5 Wh
- Most the pack can deliver
- Not published — no output current stated, so the ceiling cannot be computed.
- And the draw the maker’s own claim assumes
- 36.5 Wh ÷ 10 h = 3.6 W — which is the low figure.
Source for the pack figures: Gobi Heat — 5,000 mAh PD Fast-Charge Battery ("5V-20V", "12V, 9V, and 7.4V compatible"; published as "36.5 Wh"; USB-C PD, USB-C, USB-A and barrel ports; 2-3 hour charge; fits heated vests, jackets, parkas and base layers, excluding hats, socks and gloves).
Who it suits
- Outdoor workers. 380g duck cotton survives a job site in a way a nylon softshell does not.
- Anyone whose midsection is the cold part. Two abdominal zones is coverage almost nothing else here offers.
- Buyers who want the maker's own watt-hours. Gobi prints 36.5 Wh rather than leaving you to convert a milliamp-hour figure.
- People who will buy the 48.1 Wh pack too. That is where this vest becomes a full working day.
Who should skip it
- Anyone buying it because five zones sounds warmer than three. Gobi's own figures give you no reason to believe that.
- Anyone who needs temperatures. Gobi publishes 113°F / 131°F / 140°F for its Sahara II jacket and for no other model, including this one.
- Fast-and-light users. Duck cotton is heavy and slow to dry; a nylon shell is the better call if weight matters.
- Anyone expecting a long day on the included pack. 36.5 Wh at about 7.3 W is five hours, and that is Gobi's own number.
The alternatives worth weighing
Against the Gobi Dune: three zones on the identical pack and identical claimed runtime, which by Gobi's own arithmetic means roughly 2.4 W per zone instead of 1.5. If you want the energy concentrated rather than spread, and you do not need abdominal coverage, the Dune is arguably the better-engineered garment of the two.
Against the [Gerbing 7V Torrid vest](/heated-jackets/gerbing): a smaller pack at a published 25.16 Wh, but four settings expressed as percentages of power with a runtime against each — and those claims invert to exact endpoints. Gerbing tells you less about the garment and far more about what each setting costs. It also carries a lifetime warranty on the elements against Gobi's one year.
Against ororo's vests: similar energy, more size and style choice, and the same caution applies — check which ororo pack is in the box, because ororo's range runs from 35.4 Wh to 75.1 Wh depending on the garment.
The verdict
The Ibex is a good workwear vest and Gobi is a better-than-average brand on disclosure — the published watt-hours are a real service and we have given the brand credit for them more than once. Buy it for the shell, for the abdominal zones, and because you can compare its energy honestly against anything else on this site.
Do not buy it for the zone count. Gobi quotes this five-zone vest the same hours as its three-zone one on the same battery, and that single fact tells you the runtime figure is not measuring this garment. Treat 36.5 watt-hours as the specification, treat five zones as a coverage map rather than a warmth rating, and price the 48.1 Wh pack at the same time.
Our criteria, and what we did not do
- Watt-hours taken from Gobi, which publishes them on both its battery pages rather than leaving the conversion to us.
- Runtime claims inverted into watts, then divided by Gobi's own published zone count.
- Cross-checked against Gobi's three-zone Dune on the identical pack, which is what exposed the line-wide runtime.
- Upgrade path priced, because on this garment the second pack changes the answer more than the vest does.
- We have not worn this vest. How we work.
We have not worn, tested or owned any of these products, and we say so on every page rather than in a footer. What we do instead is compile the published specifications and do the arithmetic. The full method.
Frequently asked
- How long does the Gobi Heat Ibex vest last on a charge?
- Gobi claims up to 10 hours on low, 8 on medium and 5 on high from the 5,000 mAh pack it publishes as 36.5 Wh. Treat that as a line-wide figure rather than a measurement of this vest - Gobi quotes identical hours for its three-zone Dune vest on the same battery.
- Is the five-zone Ibex warmer than Gobi's three-zone vest?
- Gobi's own numbers give no reason to think so. Both claim 5 hours on high from the same 36.5 Wh pack, which means the same roughly 7.3 watts spread across five elements instead of three - about 1.5 W per zone on the Ibex against 2.4 W on the Dune. More zones is better distribution, not more heat.
- How many watt-hours is the Gobi Ibex battery?
- 36.5 Wh, and that is Gobi's own published figure rather than our conversion. Gobi also sells a 6,500 mAh hard-shell pack it publishes as 48.1 Wh which fits the same vest - about 32% more energy, turning the 5-hour high setting into roughly 6.6 hours.
- Does the Gobi Ibex publish heat temperatures?
- No. Gobi publishes 113°F, 131°F and 140°F for its Sahara II jacket and for no other model we checked, including this one. You get three unlabeled steps.
- Is duck cotton better than a softshell for a heated vest?
- For work, generally yes - 380g duck cotton takes abrasion a nylon softshell does not, and this is a job-site garment. The costs are weight and drying time, so for anything fast-moving or wet a lighter shell is the better choice.
- Can you wash the Gobi Ibex?
- Yes - Gobi says to remove the battery, tuck the charging cable back into its pocket, then wash and dry on gentle cycles. Washing heated clothing covers what those ratings survive.
Sources
- Gobi Heat — Ibex Men's 5-Zone Heated Workwear Vest (5 zones across chest, stomach and back; low up to 10 hrs, medium up to 8 hrs, high up to 5 hrs; 5,000 mAh battery; 380g duck cotton, wind and water resistant; conductive thread; machine washable on gentle with the battery removed; 1 year warranty)
- Gobi Heat — Dune Women's Heated Vest (3 zones, chest and back; identical low 10 hrs / medium 8 hrs / high 5 hrs claim on the same 5,000 mAh pack)
- Gobi Heat — 5,000 mAh PD Fast-Charge Battery, published as "36.5 Wh", "5V-20V", 2-3 hour charge
- Gobi Heat — Replacement Jacket/Chair Battery, 6,500 mAh, 7.4v, published as "48.1 Wh", 5-6 hour charge, fits all Gobi jackets, hoodies and vests
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