SCOTTeVEST (SeV)

Product Review

ABOVE: An X-ray view of a long-sleeved SeV reveals electronic devices and the PAN (Personal Area Network). INSET BELOW: Your author field-tests the SeV Classic Vest on a Parisian rooftop. See page 2 for a list of what's crammed into the hidden pockets.

by Durant Imboden

SCOTTeVEST, a.k.a. the SeV, has become a cult item among the Geek Chic crowd since Scott Jordan introduced his "Technology Enabled Clothing" in 2001. Jordan's idea was simple: to provide a sleek, stylish garment with a built in "Personal Area Network" (PAN) for the cellular phones, PDAs, portable CD players, digital cameras, and other electronic gadgets that technophiles and mobile professionals carry around with them. By happy coincidence, many of the vest's design features are also useful for travelers--especially in cities, where vests designed for photography or fly fishing are attractive only to pickpockets.

Unlike traditional vests, the SeV has a smooth outer shell (not unlike a windbreaker or golf jacket) with dozens of synthetic mesh pockets on the inside. For example, the SeV Classic Vest in the inset photo has 28 hidden pockets within its cotton-blend shell. In fact, it has so many pockets that the vest comes with a card in each pocket with suggestions on what to carry where. Some of the pockets are extremely well-hidden: I lost a carnet of Paris Métro tickets inside my borrowed SeV for several days until I felt the tickets through the lining and found my way to the well-concealed zipper.

The SeV's design is a nightmare for pickpockets, for several reasons:

• With so many pockets, a pickpocket doesn't know where to start picking.

• Only a few of the SeV's pockets are accessible from the outside.

• Most of the SeV's zippers require two hands for opening: one to hold the garment, and the other to tug. Unless a pickpocket has you in a bear hug, he's unlikely to reach your wallet, passport, or cell phone.

For more details on the vest's design and my field test of the SeV in Europe, continue to page 2.

Next page: Putting the vest to the test

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