By Bryan Wall
Product Test Journalist | Kaipūrongo Whakamātautau Hautaonga
As temperatures drop, everyone’s favourite budget bazaar, Kmart, wants to help keep you warm. They’re selling personal heating products including a wearable heated blanket, a shoulder warmer, a lumbar cushion, and even a comically giant heated foot pouch.
But are any of these really a clever way to cosy heaven? And could they help cut those heating costs by letting you run your heater less?
We tried them all and, to our surprise, found the funniest-looking one was the one we liked the most.
Wearable heated blanket, $52
Vanessa liked the wearable blanket.
This Oodie-style quilted wearable heated blanket gives off Star Wars Jawa vibes if you pop on the hood.
It uses a USB-C connection for heating, but you’ll need to find a USB charger to supply power as there isn’t one included.
With a plush lining, the heated blanket feels warm and snuggly even before it’s plugged in.
But, sadly, plugging it in and firing it up to the hottest setting doesn’t make all that much difference to the warmth level. With only a max supply of 5V 2A (equating to a paltry 10W of power), you can’t really expect much, but we do wonder why Kmart didn’t go for a mains power supply like some of the other heated products so it could deliver more heat. We also found the heating distribution to be a bit patchy, with some areas warmer than others – for example, around the back of the shoulders.
The other downside of the Kmart heated blanket is you can’t really wander around the house without first disconnecting from the power, and the blanket doesn’t retain warmth for long once it’s unplugged. So why not just buy an Oodie in the first place?
You could chuck a portable power bank in one of the pockets and use that for power, though.
Heated shoulder warmer, $32
If you’ve been getting the “cold shoulder”, then this Kmart heated shoulder warmer might be for you. Another USB-heated product, it has a single press stud to hold it around your neck. It’s lovely and soft, quite weighty and fits snugly. You feel the warmth a lot more with this one – we guess the smaller size means more concentrated heating elements. But it is a very localised heat so doesn’t make your whole body feel warm.
You feel full-on Game of Thrones Jon Snow wearing it, though, but you won’t be heading “to the wall” unless you’ve got a very long extension lead.
Move over Jon Snow, the real "Wall" is here.
Heated lumbar cushion, $32
This one plugs into the mains with an electric blanket–style controller and kicks out 100W of heating power. It’s a smallish plush cushion with the biggest info/warning label you’ve ever seen. A random plastic disc is prominent on the front side – this is where the cable attaches to the heating element internally.
Thankfully, you can’t really feel it when in use.
This cushion gets proper hot on level 6 and does help soothe a little if you’ve a bad back like I do. It’s also nice just to cuddle up with it under a blanket. Be warned, though, there is a timed auto-off. Consumer NZ investigative journalist Vanessa Pratley informed us: “This b**tard pillow only stays on for 40 minutes.”
Heated foot warmer, $32
Quite possibly the funniest-looking product we’ve seen all year, resembling a one-legged giant’s modernist slipper. Our market researcher, Kirsty, told us her feet were “tingling with anticipation” at the prospect. Journalist Vanessa, on the other hand, said, “Just get some socks.”
The Kmart heated foot warmer is large so will accommodate all feet sizes. It has a removeable inner fake sheepskin liner for washing out the toe jam and uses an electric blanket–style controller to supply three levels of heat from its 50W supply. I suffer from Raynaud’s disease (where poor circulation in the fingers and toes means I often end up with white fingers and a lack of sensation), so I was quite excited to try this one out. But oh how I wish Kmart had put the 100W heater from the lumbar cushion into this foot warmer! The 50W just isn’t warm enough for me. I was hoping for a feeling akin to plunging my feet into a basin of warm water at the perfect temperature, but it’s far from that – more a pleasant mild heat. Taking your feet out does make you want to quickly return them. But you do look very silly using it!
Should you buy any of these Kmart heated products?
We weren’t convinced by any of these Kmart products. We wanted to love the wearable blanket, but the USB-powered products just don’t get hot enough. Despite its hilarity, I liked the heated foot warmer the most, although I wished it had been twice as hot.
None of them are really going to help you cut back on heating costs, though – they’re no match for a regular space heater. You’d be better off investing in some thicker socks and a decent blanket, snuggling up on the sofa and checking our heater and heat pump reviews.
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