What do you carry when you wander around? Check out this review by @MichaelW_Bklyn #Travel

see full article: http://michaelwtravels.blogspot.com/2012/05/product-review-scottevest-fleece-50.html

 

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Product Review: ScotteVest Fleece 5.0 Jacket

I was asked by travel clothing company SCOTTEVEST/ SeV to write a review of one of their products for their weekly Pocket Guide newsletter. I am happy to announce that this post will be featured there!

I'm always on the lookout for new gear to make traveling easier.

While wandering around, I like to take a lot of stuff with me. I usually have my cell phone, camera, gorilla pod, passport, wallet, keys, a half liter of water and various other items. If I don't want to walk around with a backpack, my problem usually is -where do I store all of these things? There are only so many pockets in a pair of jeans or the average coat!

Making great use of my ScotteVest in Beacon, NY

I think I may have come across a great solution to my problem- ScotteVest.

ScotteVest is a company that designs a line of clothing which uses TEC- Technology Enabled Clothing. A patented system of pockets, wire management and specialized features for clothing.

I first came across ScotteVest while reading one of my favorite blogs, Everything Everywhere  written by Gary Arndt. Gary has been traveling around the world for the last 5 years and is a big fan of the brand which got me interested.

Seeing ScotteVest founder Scott Jordan on the ABC show Shark Tank made me more curious. (Scott was trying to raise $500,000 for TEC, not ScotteVest.)

About a month ago I decided to reach out to ScotteVest to find out some more about their products. I was offered a product to test and review and selected the Fleece 5.0 Jacket.

Fleece 5.0

The Fleece 5.0 has many nice features:

• 24 pockets so it can hold a lot of gear
• It's Convertible- zip-off sleeves convert it from a jacket to a vest
• Personal Area Network (PAN) for wiring headphones through jacket to avoid getting tangled in loose wires
• The material is a soft, mid-weight micro-fleece with anti-static treatment
• Many pockets have small picture-tabs to show what is intended to go inside
• Reflective Accents

I was impressed with the 5.0 from the moment I opened the package. It is a really good looking jacket that fit me perfectly and is also very comfortable. It really is amazing how much this jacket can hold. There are pockets for a cell phone, camera, passport, sunglasses, ID, two pen pockets and it can even hold an iPad.

Here's what I love about the jacket- the amount of pockets! Even if you don't use them all for the intended items, there is plenty of room for just about everything you might want to carry with you. The ones I appreciated the most were the keyring clip and cord, the eyeglass pocket, the camera pocket and the front chest pocket.

Keyring Clip & Cord
A really smart touch with added protection from losing your keys

Eyeglass Pocket
One of my favorite pockets. I do not wear glasses but this pocket is perfect for my sunglasses when I don't want to carry a case. Also, I don't like wearing my sunglasses on top of my head when inside, so this solves that problem. An added bonus in the pocket is the cleaning cloth attached to the pocket on an elastic cord.
  
Camera Pocket 
Perfect size and easy access for compact cameras. There is also a small pocket with a velcro closure within it for storing an extra memory card.

Chest Pocket

I actually liked this pocket to hold my phone. I found that it was easier to access my phone then when in the Clear Touch Pocket. More on that later

I was curious to see what the jacket would look like with all my stuff in it. I read the that the pockets are designed so that you can't see anything sticking out (ScotteVest calls this NoBulge engineering). First I tested a small water bottle in the water bottle loop located in the front pocket of the jacket. While it did add some bulk you couldn't really tell what was in there.

Next I tested the fleece with my iPad inside. It fit nicely and was pretty much unnoticeable with the jacket open or closed. However, it was clear that something was there when the jacket was zipped up and I was sitting down. The tablet also made it a bit uncomfortable due to the weight in the jacket pulling on that side. However, I'd definitely use the tablet pocket at the airport or when going out for a short walk. 

X-Ray View

Inside the chest area are two Clear Touch Fabric Pockets. They are intended to be used for your cell phone,  music player or other similar device. The idea of the pockets to me are better than their actual function. I tried my iPhone inside the pocket a few times and found that it fit very well. However, I found it hard to get the phone in and out due to the velcro closure on top and half zipper on the side. I like how you can use the touch screen of the phone through the pocket but I found it hard to read the phone's display through the Clear Touch. If I plan to just use my phone to listen to music, then this pocket is perfect when wired to the PAN.

I prefer keeping my cell phone in the outside, vertical chest pockets. They are roomy, provide easy access to my phone and have a small pocket within it if I want my phone more secure inside the pocket. 

Overall, the Fleece 5.0 is a well thought out jacket that is a great addition to my wardrobe for travel or for day to day use. I especially look forward to wearing it in the airport. I think it will make getting through security a much easier process. Try filling the pockets with ScotteVest's intended use (refer to the included Pocket Map) or customize it to suit your needs!

The ScotteVest Fleece 5.0 retails for $140.
Find out about the fleece and all of the other products offered at ScotteVest.com.

**Check back in the upcoming weeks for my wife Kim's first blog post: A review of the ScotteVest Molly Jacket.

****Disclaimer- The item reviewed in this post was given to me for the purpose of a fair & honest review but it in no way has any bearing on my views****