Scott eVest

[1]

Scott eVest

by Adam Cochran

I love pockets. The more pockets I have in life the better. I use them too. At any given moment I have on my person a cell phone, an ear bud, car keys, a wallet, a business card holder, a portable keyboard for my Treo, a USB flash drive, and a CD-ROM containing common computer utilities.

"Is that all?" you may ask. Yes, the reason I don't carry more is because I have run out of pockets. My USB drive already gets tangled up with my ear bud in my front left pocket. My car keys are dangerous to my flash drive so they can't go in the same pocket. My wallet and business card holder take up both back pockets and my cell phone fits in a holster at my side. Currently I carry my portable keyboard in my coat pocket - but when the weather warms up I don't know what I am going to do with it.

When I am on vacation it gets worse. I carry bottled water, extra camera batteries, a digital camera, my car charger for the cell phone, an MP3 or portable CD player, a walkie talkie, lots of AA batteries for my flash and other electronics, a photo or computer magazine and anything my wife hands me to carry.

I own two photo vests with enough pockets to hold everything, but all the pockets are external and I get paranoid when going into crowded places. I also get tired of people asking me if I am going fishing.

Rick and I heard about Scott eVest [2]several years ago and we finally got our hands on one to check it out. We knew they were impressive because President Bush (the current president) is said to have one [3].

Scott eVests are (contrary to the name) jackets with zip-off sleeves. They are the perfect solution for anyone who just needs more pockets but doesn't want to look like a tourist. These vest are much more than just a jacket or vest with lots of pockets. They are mini entertainment centers [4].

The vest they sent us, like all of their jackets and vests, does not look like geek clothing [5]. The design is very traditional. Unless you know the Scott eVest logo on the vest - there are no obvious signs that this jacket is different than any other light weight coat.

Inside are at least 20 pockets large enough to hold anything you might want to carry with you (some vests have nearly 50 pockets). In fact, if I were to make one gripe, and it isn't really a gripe, I would say that there are too many large pockets. I placed my portable Treo keyboard in one of the pockets and it took me about two minutes to find it. But, if you are traveling and want to carry a magazine or bottled water with you, this is not a bad feature.

I need to again stress that these are not just coats and vests with lots of pockets. They are designed to become a shell for all your portable electronics. They include ear bud pockets, loops for harnessing wire throughout the vest and and built in key rings. It is obvious that Scott eVest spends a lot of time on research and design not to mention using great fabrics and materials to construct their clothing.

Scott eVest is constantly coming up with new styles and ideas. Just this year they released a sport coat [6] with 14 hidden pockets and they announced the first solar powered coat/vest [7] at CES in January.

In my opinion the vests are right, comparable with other nice coats on the market lacking as many great secret pockets. They come in mostly winter sport styles. I would like to see them design a few dress oriented styles such as a long coat or a driving coat for business dress.

In the end the Scott eVest one of those things that makes life easier for us tech guys. I rank its usefulness right up there with my Treo and my USB flash drive.

Photos courtesy of Scott eVest. The guy in the picture is me - ok not really, but he looks just like me.

Castellini on Computers Rating (1-5 mics)
Recommended Market:	Travelers, Business users, Gadget geeks
Approximate cost:	$120-$499
Company and Web Site:	Scott eVest [8]