I've been known to drool over gadgets on a regular basis. SCOTTEVEST has clothing that I drool over. I'm not one to go shopping a lot for shoes, handbags, jewelry and clothes. I get the neccessities and that's good enough. Now in the area of gadgets and accessories however, I can never seem to have enough. Give me a shiny, new device anyday rather than a new dress or diamond earrings. The dress might be pretty and comfy, but chances are, I'd hardly ever wear it, and it would probably need dry cleaning. The diamonds would sparkle and get attention, but what else can you do with them?

There is some gear management clothing though that is very useful. I recently reviewed the SCOTTEVEST TEC Shirt, bought the SCOTTEVEST Tactical Jacket and the Black Microfleece Pullover, and was very impressed with all of them.

Now SCOTTEVEST has come out with a new jacket for us gadget freaks; the Evolution Jacket.

Design

Before the Evolution Jacket, there was the Tactical 4.0 Jacket which had 35 pockets and was field-tested by Special Ops, Secret Service, and other agencies which require functionality and concealed carry performance. Now there's the The Evolution Jacket, and SCOTTEVEST says that it represents a true evolution in SCOTTEVESTS's design.

The Evolution is very lightweight and is also waterproof. I got the jacket in an XL so my husband could wear and model it. The jacket is most likely for men anyway, although I'm sure a woman could wear one if she chose to. The XL is way too big for me though. My fingertips barely poke out of the sleeves. But I did put it on and wear it around the house, and I have to say that the Evolution is very comfortable. And it is indeed lightweight. The Evolution is breathable/waterproof.

The Evolution looks very nice. You might think that a jacket that is intended to carry gear would look geeky or dorky. The Evolution doesn't. The Evolution is actually quite stylish. It isn't what you'd consider in the "Black Tie" category of dress, but it would fit nicely in several environments including a business casual environment or a college campus. The Evolution comes in Black and the sizes are from Medium to XX-Large. As I said, I got the X-Large size. My husband is six foot, six and a half inches tall and weighs maybe 220 lbs., and this size fits him very well. I'm five foot, eight inches tall and I weigh, ...WHAT? You didn't think I was actually going to tell you that did ya?teehee! Anyway, as big as the X-Large was on me, I guess an XX-Large would be like a circus tent on my frame. I might could do with a Medium size. But, guess what? SCOTTEVEST now has gear management clothing for us girls too, so gadget gals, be sure to check those out.

Back to the design. As already mentioned, the Evolution is made of a breathable/waterproof material that is very lightweight. The exterior is very soft and feels so good. It feels kind of like a suede material. The lining of the jacket is a silky material that is very shiny. The lining is a nice, smokey gray color that has the SCOTTEVEST logo imprinted all over it. The jacket zips up the front and has a snap at the bottom. One of the things I like about the Evolution is that it's machine washable. That's very convenient because I don't know of anyone who likes making trips to the dry cleaners.

Changes and Improvements

SCOTTEVEST made some changes with the EVolution jacket. Getting into the changes will also cover more of the overall design descriptions. There are more magnetic closures used for the Evolution. However, the company chose to move the magnet off of the chest area due to heart patients. Magnets can interfere with pace makers. SCOTTEVEST has a warning label sewn into the interior of the jacket warning of the magnet interference problems. The label is just inside, about half way down the left side, next to the zipper.

The Evolution has fewer, but more purposeful pockets compared to the Tactical Jacket, which had 35 pockets. The Evolution has 25 pockets. If you'll notice, some of the the inner pockets on the Evolution have red piping around them which is different from the Tactical Jacket. The red piping makes the pockets stand out as opposed to being so hidden. And I like how the company puts the little graphic lables on some of the pockets which show suggested uses of the pockets. Like sunglasses and MP3 player graphic labels. These labels can help you to remember where you put things.

SCOTTEVEST added sleeve pockets to the jacket because they had several requests for that. It's nice to know that a company listens to its customers and makes changes due to customer requests.

There is an alligator clip located on the left, inside the jacket which is for holding a straw for a camelback. The back pocket is designed to hold a water hydration system and a drinking tube can route through the Personal Area Network system.

Features

Here are some of the features of the Evolution Jacket:

• Personal Area Network
• The patended PAN system provides a network of hidden conduits and convenient quick-release Velcro tabs so you can easily manage your device wires. Special collar loops and BudBuckets (small storage pouches just inside front collar that keep earbuds from bouncing when you move around) keep your earbuds within easy reach.
• Removable Sleeves
• Get two great products for the price of one! Zip-off sleeves give you two great looks and provide year-round comfort and versatility.
• Removable Hood
• The hood on this jacket can be completely removed for maximum comfort and versatility.
• Weight Management System
• Special SeV designs and fabrics in the shoulder area evenly distribute the added weight of your devices, resulting in more comfort and less hassle.
• Magnetic Closure Windflap
• Integrated magnetic closures provide simple, secure storage and quick access to pockets and wind flaps. Safe for use with memory storage devices according to SanDisk (leading digital memory manufacturer).
• No-Bulge Pockets
• Special pocket designs and construction methods create a streamlined look, so items in your pockets do not create unsightly bulges.
• Deep Pockets
• These deep, roomy storage pockets are specially designed to keep items from falling out, even if you forget to zip them up tight.

Usability

Well, naturally I think that the Evolution has lots of usability with 25 pockets. Not only will you be carrying your gadgets and other stuff in style; you'll be carrying them pretty much unnoticed since it's hard to tell that you have anything in the pockets of the Evolution. The pockets are No-Bulge Pockets which are designed so that stuff in the pockets don't create unsightly bulges.

The biggest pocket on the Evolution is a special pocket called the "AllAccess" Back Pocket Access. And as mentioned earlier, the back pocket is designed to hold a water hydration system and a drinking tube can route through the Personal Area Network system. The AllAccess pocket is large enough to hold magazines and books, and even a small laptop. I bet you can't even tell that Barry has the Apple Powerbook in the back pocket.

One of the neatest things about the Evolution Jacket of course is SCOTTEVEST's Personal Area Network (PAN), which is a patented system that provides a network of hidden conduits and convenient new "QuickRelease" Velcro tabs so you can easily manage your device wires. There are special collar loops and BudBuckets that keep your earbuds within easy reach.

I like the PAN system because I can put any of my gadgets that have earbuds into one of the pockets that have the PAN wire slots in them and have my wires hidden. Just about all the pockets in the Evolution have a small slit for the PAN system so you can put an MP3 player in several different places.

The sunglasses pocket is pretty cool too. I'm always needing a place to put my sunglasses when I get to a business entrance. My purse is usually packed full of stuff so I end up hanging my sunglasses over the collar of my shirt. The Evolution has a special pocket inside on the upper left that will hold your sunglasses. The pocket is a slit type zipper pocket that is located directly behind the cell phone pocket. Both pockets have small graphic labels which suggest their use. Inside the sunglasses pocket is small alligator clip on a stretch cord that holds a cleaning cloth for your glasses. Pretty swift. By the way, my Treo 680 fits perfectly in the cell phone pocket

I like the magnets that are inside the front, lower side pockets. The magnets keep the pockets closed so that you really wouldn't even have to zip them up. You can open the pocket by sticking your hand inside and pulling the magnets apart, and then the pocket quickly closes as soon as you take your hand from the pocket. So there's no lining up metal snaps and having to snap anything shut; it just closes on its own due to the magnets.

There are also a couple of magnets on the front of the jacket that close the long and narrow flap that hides the zipper.

I like the two large warmer pockets on each side of the front of the jacket. They are deep pockets and are very roomy. The pocket on the right side has a detachable keyring lanyard inside it. It also has an elastic band that can hold a bottle. And there is an access route that runs all the way up from inside that pocket to the alligator clip on the other side where you can attach a long drinking tube.

The large pocket on the inside left has an airplane on the small graphic label. You can keep your travel documents, maps or magazines in this pocket.

I like that the sleeve cuffs are adjustable. There is a long strip of Velcro on each cuff that will allow you to adjust the size of the cuff. You can tighten it up to keep wind and rain out. The waistband is also adjustable as there is an elastic cord that runs all the way through the waistband that has two plastc adjusters on each side of the jacket.

All those pockets are my favorite feature of the Evolution. I could cram so many gadgets into those pockets that it's unbelievable. My Treos can fit into just about any pocket on the jacket. I have 4 smartphones and nobody would even know that I was carrying any of them with the Evolution's no bulge pockets. The Evolution is great for cold weather or breezy days. Even though the material is lightweight and breathable, it's still warm and comfy. And if you do get to feeling warm, you can easily unzip the sleeves and remove them, and then you have a cool looking vest! Sweet!

TreoCentral Viewer Coupon

SCOTTEVEST has made a special coupon for our TreoCentral readers and you can get 10% off the Evolution Jacket. Just use the code TreoCentral when you checkout.

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