The holidays are upon us, and for many of you, that means traveling back to the place where you were spawned. Or something like that.
Well, whether you're a frequent flyer or just making your yearly pilgrimage to visit the fam back in the 'burbs, airport security is a total drag at this time of year. I myself just flew out of JFK this morning at an ungodly hour, and the place was already totally bumpin'. Let's just say I'm glad I won't be there tomorrow. Or Friday. I'll stay put here in the sunny 'burbs of Los Angeles, listening to lawn mowers (like right now) for the first time in a decade, thank you very much.
As you know, the best thing to do while flying these days is to pack lightly, with the least number of bags as possible.
Enter the Scottevest SevFleece 5.0 Jacket.
From the exterior, it looks like any other sporty fleece jacket comparable to styles by Patagonia, Columbia, and the like. But don't let the unassuming outer appearance fool you: The SevFleece 5.0 comes with 24 specially designed interior pockets to keep everything with you ON you (even magazines!), possibly eliminating the need for a carry-on.
Imagine blowing through airport security simply by sending the jacket through the x-ray, then putting it back on. No more emptying anything — just take off the jacket, put it on the tray, and you're done. For your cell phone and/or iPod, there are 2 clear-touch interior chest pockets for not only screening calls or seeing what's on your playlist, but for actually operating the gadgets directly through the cloth. And for added convenience and efficiency, there's the patented Personal Area Network (PAN) that allows you to thread your earbud wires so they stay put and tangle-free.
And even with an entire bag's worth of stuff, this jacket is crafted with NoBulge™ engineering, which means that you won't be mistaken for a suicide bomber or a drug mule. And if you do get pulled aside for something weird you did (or stupid, like leaving your 'lil stash in one of the special pockets), you'll be able to easily and quickly comply with the authorities by providing your ID, passport and boarding pass straight from the Secure Travel Documents Pocket.
The SevFleece 5.0 Jacket ($140) is also built with removable sleeves so you can wear it as a vest. If you're not a fleece guy, the company also makes a cotton/nylon blend vest ($100) that comes with 2 less pockets and all the features of the fleece version.
Now, is this a fashionable jacket? No, not really. But having said that, it's also not bad looking either. It's just a regular, generic-looking no-nonsense fleece jacket with super efficient interior design — which is actually pretty damn cool for times when the need for functionality trumps aesthetics.
One last travel tip: While the Scottevest gear does a lot for you, you're still gonna need to take off your shoes at security point. So make sure you wear a decent pair of socks, or at least ones without any holes. I've seen countless otherwise respectable-looking, respectably dressed guys humiliating themselves with their naked big toe peeping out. As this tricked out jacket shows, it's not always about how exceptional you look on the outside, but rather, how well you're engineered on the inside. So come correct and wear some decent socks, will ya? That's just the right — and stylish — thing to do.
