Travel vest is like bonus carry-on
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Joseph may have had a coat of many colors.
Mark Hinds has a vest of many pockets.
So many pockets, that the Sioux City resident doesn't need a carry-on when he travels by plane.
Hinds is the owner of a Scottevest, a garment that was initiated in 2000 by Scott Jordan. The vest is designed with travelers in mind, with every one of its 25 concealed pockets having a purpose.
About three years ago, Hinds was in an airport and saw a man wearing the vest.
"What caught my eye was when he opened the vest and a clear pocket was visible," he said. "I asked him about it and he told me it was ideal to travel."
Hinds immediately logged on to the Web site, scottevest.com, and ordered one in a black lava color.
"It's the ease it provides," when asked of the vest's appeal. "You don't have to open a carry-on to display anything. You just take it off."
To demonstrate how the vest might replace a carry-on, Hinds unloaded the contents of the vest he was wearing. Out of the pockets came keys, passport, pens, camera, a writing pad, iPod, sunglasses, a complete Sioux City Journal and a bottle of hand sanitizer.
"Missing today is a bottle of water, my e-reader and a laptop," he apologized. "I typically have those as well."
If Hinds was actually traveling, he would include a toothbrush, razor and maybe some clothing necessities.
"Really, it's very comfortable," he said of the mico-fiber material. "And the weight is distributed quite well. It beats carrying a heavy bag on your shoulder."
Even looking at the outerwear, one would be hard-pressed to believe there was that much stuff crammed into the pockets of Hinds' vest.
"That's another plus," he said. "It doesn't look like you're carrying anything."
A self-professed geek/nerd whose background is accounting and information technology, Hinds also liked the ability to be plugged in.
"The ear-bud and head-set cable don’t come with the vest," he clarified while showing off the additions to the collar. "The vest just has a number of channels, openings and tabs that allow you to custom mount your own. In fact, at any given moment, I could have as many as three plug-ins."
Remember the transparent pocket that first caught Hinds' eye? There are actually two -- one on each side of the vest,
"That's another thing I really like," he said. "I use them for my BlackBerry/phone on one side, my iPod on the other. I can control my BlackBerry just by pushing the keys while it's still in the pocket."
But what about the water bottle and toiletries?
"There's an elastic band that will hold the bottle secure and a secure zip for the toiletries just in case they would leak," he said. "There are pockets within pockets in this."
Just like that original traveler, Hinds has been asked about his own garment.
"Every time I travel, someone asks about it, especially if I open it and they see those clear pockets," he said.
Going through airport security, Hinds has only been questioned once about the contents of the vest.
"I had bought a brass change tray as a souvenir and it showed up as something unusual," he said. "But I think airport security people are used to seeing this type of vest and in Europe, it's very popular."
Posted in Lifestyles on Sunday, March 28, 2010 12:00 am Updated: 3:10 pm. | Tags: Joanne Fox, Travel, Vest, Mark Hinds
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