Whether you're a casual Treo user or a gadget freak, you're bound to accumulate some accessories over time. There are all kinds of extras that you might need to carry with you. I know some people who carry more than one phone at a time. (raises hand) Some people still carry a cell phone plus a Palm handheld device. I used to carry a cell phone and my Palm TX in my handbag, but when I got my first Treo, I no longer needed to carry both devices because the Treo was a combination of the two and fit the bill perfectly. And then there's the other stuff that comes in handy like SD cards, earphones, Bluetooth headsets, extra batteries, GPS receivers, foldable keyboards, car chargers, digital cameras and more.

I doubt that everyone would want to tote that much stuff around with them, but there are some who like to have all or at least some of their gear with them just in case they need it. But who wants to carry all that stuff in their jeans pockets or stuffed in a jacket pocket? Imagine all the bulges and how stuff would be bumping and scraping against each other. Ugh! Not good if you have your phone next to some of that in the same pocket. You can carry all your gear in a gadget bag, but if you're a guy, that's just something extra you'll be lugging around. And for us girls, it's pretty hard trying to cram a lot of gadget gear into a medium sized handbag. I know!

Well, lucky for us, a very smart guy named Scott Jordan (pictured here) came up with the perfect solution for carrying a little bit or a lot of gear. Scott Jordan was a corporate lawyer with a love for gadgets. He battled with trying to carry all his favorite gear with him, and many times would end up leaving some of his gear at home because he had no way to carry all of it. At the time, Scott's favorite gear consisted of his iPod, PocketPC/Palm Pilot, cell phone, car/remote keys, digital camera, water bottle, and a magazine. LOL, that sounds familiar! I bet it does to all of you other gadget freaks out there too. I've carried all that stuff except for a magazine. If I want to read something, I usually read some online news on my Treo or read in an ebook.

Scott realized that clothes weren't designed to hold so much gear, and he soon needed a bag just to carry his gadgets. He believed that defeated the purpose of being mobile and he never could find the perfect "man-purse". Scott decided to solve the problem himself in 2001, and the idea of designing clothing as a Gear Management Solution™ came to him. After quitting his day job of practicing law, SCOTTEVEST/SeV® and the Technology Enabled Clothing-TEC® system were born.

All our clothes are first and foremost attractive. We don’t believe that you have to look like a geek by having wires dangling all over you with unsightly bulges from your devices or belt clips. Our mantra here is simple: Make great looking, functional clothes.

I remember the first time I heard of the SCOTTEVEST/SeV line of clothing. I was reading gadget news on my favorite tech sites and came across an add for a jacket from SCOTTEVEST/SeV. I thought that was the coolest jacket I'd ever seen. It had all kinds of pockets inside and out to carry gadgets and accessories in. The sleeves could be removed leaving a cool vest. I'd never seen anything like that before and was very impressed that someone had come up with such a great idea! I checked out Scott's website and saw that there were other cool clothing items besides just jackets. There are pants, shorts, shirts, fleece pullovers, hoodies, and more.

Design

I'm reviewing Scott's latest piece of clothing, the TEC Shirt. I really appreciate Scott sending the shirt out to me! The TEC Shirt was inspired by Scott’s favorite travel shirt, one he picked up at an open air market in Rhodes. Scott found himself throwing it on over everything; t-shirts, polos, etc., but was always frustrated by the lack of carrying space. So of course he came up with the perfect shirt by doing his gear management magic.

A lot of people like to layer their clothing when the cooler weather comes around, myself included. I practically live in fleece zip-ups and pullovers during the colder months. But of course you don't see a long-sleeved shirt with collar that has more than a couple of pockets on the front. Well, Scott Jordan took a nice looking shirt and turned it into another one of his quality gear management products.

The TEC Shirt is made of a lightweight poly/rayon blend. The shell is 58% rayon/42% polyester and the lining is 100% polyester. The TEC Shirt is "Ooooh, so soft" to the touch. I love it! It's very comfortable and can be worn by itself or over another shirt. The TEC Shirt has 8 pockets and compartments, including a special secure pocket for travel documents, iPod and cell phone pockets, pen pockets, a secret pocket and a memory card pocket. This shirt fits in with the times too since airport security is so strict now. At airport security, you can just remove the TEC Shirt and send it through the xray. I like that the shirt is machine washable too.

The TEC Shirt comes in two colors, Charcoal Gray and Khaki. I'm reviewing the Charcoal Gray, which is a very nice color. There are metal snaps on the front of the shirt instead of buttons. The snaps are nicely concealed inside the material so that when you snap the shirt up, the front of the shirt has a nice, clean design. There are also hidden snaps in the snap down collar. The sleeves have adjustable snap cuffs. The TEC Shirt has a front and back yoke and a back center pleat for ease of movement.

The TEC Shirt, along with other items like jackets and vests, has The Weight Management System, in which a special design and/or fabrics are used in the shoulder area which evenly distribute the added weight from your devices.

Usability

The TEC Shirt has a slash pocket on the lower right front. This pocket is actually two pockets because there's a small dividing seam between the two, at the bottom. There is a zipper that keeps the two pockets separate and also keeps items in the pockets from bumping together and from falling out. This special pocket is called a ZIP-PIP™, (Zipper-Pocket-in-Pocket). The pocket is also referred to as a "Secret Pocket". I can put my hand in the pocket and slip my hand forward and that's one pocket. Then if I slip my hand back, there's the other pocket. So for example, I put my iPod with video in the forward pocket and have an SD card holder in the other pocket. You can't tell that either of the items is in the pockets just by looking at the shirt. What's so cool is that the two items don't even touch each other because of the small dividing seam and zipper. Ingenious! The photo on the right shows the inside view of the ZIP-PIP pocket. That's my husband Barry modeling the shirt for me in some of the pics. Thanks Barry! He's camera shy but I was able to talk him into "headless" shots.teehee!

There is a flap pocket on the left sleeve which is held closed by Velcro. One of the coolest things about the SCOTTEVEST/SeV line of clothing is the Personal Area Network (PAN), which is a patented system allowing you to channel your wires through the lining so you can wire and connect your various devices. The hidden conduits conceal and manage the wires connecting your devices to your earbuds or headphones. Collar Loops and BudBuckets™ (earbud pockets) keep earbuds and small headphones easily accessible. This sleeve pocket has one of the small holes in it for a wire to go through. There's a small tag just underneath the flap that has a picture of an MP3 player on it. My iPhone fits perfectly in the sleeve pocket. My iPod with video fits in the pocket also. So I can use either device and have the wire go through the small hole and then thread it through the collar loops. If I get a call on my iPhone, I can simply mash the Send/End button on the microphone capsule on the iPhone Stereo Headset and start talking. I can put my iPod with video in the pocket and listen to music too. You can control your iPod through the fabric of the shirt without having to take it out of the pocket. Cool! This sleeve pocket also has an elastic band inside it so I can hold something like an extra phone battery. In one of the pics above, my husband Barry is putting one of his favorite tools, a multi-tool with blades and mini screwdriver bits, into the pocket rather than a phone or MP3 player.

There is a chest pocket on the left side of the shirt that snaps down on the inside. Since that snap is there, you can lean over and not have to worry about the item in your pocket falling out. Well, unless of course it's something small like a marble or something long and thin like an inkpen that isn't clipped to the pocket. The chest pocket also has a small hole in which to put a wire. I really like the PAN system in Scott's clothing. If there's one thing that I can't stand, it's wires dangling or getting all tangled up. The PAN system keeps your wires out of the way, concealed, and at the ready for whenever you need to make a call or answer the phone. Anyone who owns an iPod knows how easily those earbud wires get tangled up. I kid you not; I can lay the earbuds down on my desk and not touch them. Then the next time I pick them up, they're tangled in a stupid knot! It's unbelievable! I have a nice pair of Koss headphones and they tangle up the very same way. Anyway, the chest pocket is nice and roomy and any of my Palm handhelds (in case) fit in the pocket with ease. Of course I wouldn't be able to snap the pocket shut with a larger device in there. Well, actually, the pocket won't snap shut with my Treo inside it, but that's okay, because there are larger pockets inside the shirt that also have the PAN system if I want to put my phone in them. But as you can see in the photo, I do have my Treo 680 in the chest pocket, and it's hooked up to the very nice PAN system. You can see the Treo sticking out of the top of the pocket and you can see the end of the earbuds, but the rest of the wire is hidden.

There are more pockets on the inside of the TEC Shirt! On the inside left and right edges of the shirt are two pockets for a Pen or extra Stylus. On the inside right of the shirt is a large pocket that is divided into two pockets. The pocket on the left is larger and can hold items like documents, handheld devices, or a digital camera. The pocket on the right is more narrow and comes in handy for a small flashlight or something like the original Apple nano. In this photo, I have my checkbook and Treo 680 in the larger pocket and a small Scorpion flashlight in the smaller pocket. There are many more types of items that you could put in the pockets and this is just one example. This pocket also has a zipper. The pocket has a small hole for your headphone wires too.

On the inside left of the shirt is another large pocket. This pocket is larger than the one on the inside right. This pocket is also a double pocket that's divided by a small seam and it has a zipper. The smaller pocket is for sunglasses and has a small tag to identify it. The larger pocket can hold several different types of items like phones, MP3 players, cameras, documents, cigarette packs, GPS receivers or whatever. You can walk around like James Bond with this shirt on and nobody could ever guess what you have hidden away inside. The SCOTTEVEST/SeV line of clothing has the "no bulge" pockets. I love it! And of course there is a small hole for your earbud wires in this pocket also.

Below the inside left pocket is a cute little pocket called "My Memory" pocket. You can of course put an SD memory card into this tiny pocket. There is a small tag identifying this pocket also.

Product Features:

• 8 Pockets
• Ability to control iPod® through fabric
• Earbud Loops
• Weight Management System
• Personal Area Network (PAN)
• secure pocket for travel documents
• cell phone pocket
• Pen Pockets
• Secret Pocket
• Memory Card Pocket
• iPod®/MP3 player pocket
• Free Hanging Pockets

Who ever would have thought of a shirt having all those cool features? Take a look at the gadgets and other items that I had in the pockets. That's a lot of stuff to go in a shirt.

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