Jon Westfall
09-06-2006, 04:00 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-scottevest1-tshirt.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Clothing<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.scottevest.com">SCOTTEVEST</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.scottevest.com">SCOTTEVEST’s Site</a><br /><b>Price:</b> $49.99 USD (Shorts), $29.99 USD (T-Shirt), $19.99 USD (Hat)<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Body, Ranging from S - XXL Size in shirt and 28 - 46 Waist. <br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Professional appearance;<br /><li>Pockets: hidden, visible, in other pockets: all superbly crafted;<br /><li>Secure storage of electronic devices.<b>Cons:</b><li>Cooling abilities provide varied results in testing;<br /><li>Lack of included "owners" manual;<br /><li>Pockets may be a bit too small for monstrous hands!<b>Summary:</b><br />Summer is the time for a plethora of wonderful outdoor activities. Unfortunately for some of us, that includes yard work, outdoor exercising, and outdoor social events that require us to roast in the sun while still wearing some form of clothing. Making things worse, summer clothing is not exactly made to be friendly to our beloved Pocket PCs. So do we swelter or do we leave our PPC at home? Or do we beat the heat and stay connected with SCOTTeVEST products? <br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>The Stats</b></span><br />The "stats" on the three items that I reviewed simply do not describe them fully in the least. To know them well is to actually see them and wear them. But if that isn't an option for you, here is a brief description of each item!<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/hiddencargoshorts.shtml#">SCOTTeVEST Hidden Cargo Shorts</a> look like normal dress shorts (if such a thing exists, and if it doesn't, it should), however they pack quite a punch with 11 pockets and a unique No Bulge system to keep your gear well placed and avoid the gawks of curious onlookers. <br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevreview-2.jpg><br /><i>Figure 1: Subtle accents on the clothing serve to remind the user of their origin, yet are unobtrusive (Unlike some manufacturers that have to fling their logo everywhere). I particularly liked the button on the cargo shorts, for no particular reason.</i><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/sev_blk_tshirt.shtml">SCOTTeVEST Performance T-Shirt</a> comes in two varieties: Short and Long sleeved. The short sleeved version is the one reviewed here. Utilizing performance fabric by 3M, the shirt promises to help keep the wearer dry and to wash well in regular home laundry. The pocket on this t-shirt is unlike any I've seen before - a vertical, zippered opening that can hold a portable music player and route the headphone wires up to the neck where an ear bud loop will keep them in check! This is definitely a step up from your standard T!<br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevreview-4.jpg><br /><i>Figure 2: The zippered pocket on the T-shirt is not standard - it's flipped! But in this orientation, it actually makes much more sense for an iPod or Pocket PC.</i><br /><br />Finally, the <a href="http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/40tec_hat.shtml">TEC Hat</a> features storage space on a baseball cap like you've never known. A zippered pocket on the side of the hat opens to allow just about enough space for a pair of sunglasses (although I wouldn't recommend wearing the hat with them in there!) and a Velcro-ed pocket under the bill allows enough space for, well, a bill! The hat also includes CoolMax lining and two ear bud loops!<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Torture Test 1: Lawn Wars</b></span><br />Anyone who has ever read my blog in the summer (very very few people, I know) would notice that I occasionally post about "Lawn Wars" (a.k.a. cutting my grass). If there is one thing I <i>hate</i> in this world, it's cutting grass. Because of this hatred, I always have either a Pocket PC or an iPod along to provide music or downloaded podcasts and talk radio while I cut. It makes the hour(s) go by quicker and lets me catch up on news that I've missed during the week or check out an album that I just downloaded off of <a href="http://www.urge.com">URGE</a> to my trusty K-JAM.<br /><br />Normally I wear a T-shirt and shorts plus my faithful University of Akron hat while cutting the grass. The problem here is that I'm not completely comfortable putting my $300 - $700 devices in a flimsy pocket on the front of the shirt. Dumping the bag out can give me nightmares of falling devices! So I resort to elastic-Velcro armbands and holsters (which occasionally cut off circulation, but at least give me a protected device) or clipping a belt clip onto the chain around my neck (nothing says "religious" like a cross next to a Pocket PC!). Neither of these solutions work well, and even with Bluetooth headphones, I'm still worried about losing things while I cut.<br /><br />But back to the clothing: A normal cotton T-shirt can quickly turn into a masochistic endeavor when out in 85 degree heat. My brow quickly turns wet with sweat, and so the bill of my hat must soak up much of it. In short, clothing can really stink as far as cutting the grass goes, and wearing nothing isn't that good an option when neighbors are around and you're working next to a giant rotating blade. Because of my frustrations, the SCOTTeVEST Performance T-Shirt and TEC Hat sounded like a good upgrade to my current grass cutting attire.<br /><br />First impressions of the T-Shirt blew me away. The material was a drastic change from cotton, the 3M Quick Dry fabric felt slightly rougher than silk in between fingers, and was a far cry from the roughness of cotton. The pattern on the material and the single vertical zipper on the front added nice accents to the shirt that easily make it stand out among stock Ts. The pocket in the shirt has a small hole that allows you to easily route headphones up to the headphone loop in the left side of the collar, however the routing process is something I'd encourage users to do before they put the shirt on - it's a lot easier when you can use both hands and hold the shirt in front of you. No worries though - after putting the headphones through and zipping up my device into the pocket, I didn't have that moment of fear when putting the shirt on that my device would go flying out of that pocket - the zipper kept it nice and secure, and the pocket didn't flap around too much on the inside either.<br /><br />Next came the hat. The TEC Hat has a wide leather band encircling the cap under the bill, designed to fit up against your forehead and the sides of your head. The bill contains a pocket (leading many to joke about having a bill within the bill) which amazingly isn't visible when looking at someone wearing the hat (I had assumed you'd see some sort of bulge, but you don't! The hat features two ear bud loops on the sides to keep your ear buds secure, however when the loop built into the shirt, I found these unnecessary. I'm sure that if I hadn't worn a SCOTTeVEST shirt, those would have been nice additions. Additional to the bill pocket, the hat includes a zippered pouch on the right side of the hat, perfect for a small item. I immediately thought of things like hotel keys or a single house key for these pockets - perfect for lounging around a hotel pool and taking the occasional dip. Simply don't submerge your head, and you can just take your key & money with you, no sweat.<br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevreview-3.jpg><br /><i>Figure 3: The bill in the front of the hat may look obvious in this shot, but when worn, it isn't noticable by those looking at you straight on. The interior lining and leather band are also shown.</i><br /><br />With hat + shirt + music + pants (just regular jean shorts) + appropriate undergarments + shoes, I confidently walked out to my garage to get the big hulking Toro and begin cutting.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-scottevest1-hat.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 4: The SCOTTeVEST TEC Hat, in all its different color glory.</i><br /><br />So the cutting began, and I began to sweat as usual. The headphones (I normally use Bluetooth headphones, but since I was reviewing the shirt I figured I'd dig out stock headphones to see if they were annoying) stayed exactly where I put them, and aside from having to pull out a bit more slack from the short from time to time, were hardly noticeable. The fabric of the shirt had a rather interesting effect when it came to sweat. By trapping the sweat away from my body, the water cooled slightly and whenever a stiff breeze came by (a breeze of warm air, it was 85 degrees the day I cut) I got a cooling breeze inside the shirt. All I can figure was that the design had been done such that I wasn't getting a hot breeze on sweaty skin, but a breeze filtered through water hitting dry skin. I don't know if that's what scientifically happened, but I know the result: no sweat under the shirt! Aside from when I was standing in direct sunlight, I really felt no extreme heat, something that the sweat on my skin normally provides in a regular T-shirt.<br /><br />While the shirt kept my cool, the hat really didn't provide as much relief as I had hoped. Even now as I sit writing this about an hour later, the shirt is bone dry but the hat still has sweat stains and the leather lining is soaked. The top of the hat, where the mesh material is, is dry and I was cool up there. Overall, the hat held up just as well as any other hat I use, but I would recommend not buying the hat for cooling power as much as buying it for (a) hidden pockets and, (b) the cool SCOTTeVEST logo. I did notice that the hat was much more comfortable than my stock college logo hat, which justifies the very small difference in price between the two hats. In a sense, the pockets are free if you've got an uncomfortable baseball cap and just want a comfort "upgrade"!<br /><br />Concluding Lawn Wars today, I've decided that I plan on making sure that my performance T-shirt is ready for all additional grass cuttings in the future, just based on the fact that it aired me out a lot better than a regular T would. The hat was a bit underwhelming, as it saturated with sweat pretty quickly. Then again, using the hat under normal conditions would have garnered no complaints.<br /><br />With the Hat and T-shirt out of the way, it's time for the Hidden Cargo Shorts!<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Torture Test 2: Server Build & Install</b></span><br />The week after I had the Lawn Wars T-Shirt & Hat test, I decided to test the cargos out on a road trip from my home in Marblehead to Cleveland to install a server. My friends and I built the server, and the stop in Cleveland would serve many purposes - from configuring the new box and mounting it at a data center, to running errands and catching up with family. I left my house on Wednesday morning ready to go, and made a quick stop up at work. <br /><br />The first thing I did was to wash the hidden cargo shorts. A small note accompanying them stated that some pairs had been overlooked when the factory did its "pre-washing", so it advised a first wear wash. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that SCOTTeVEST enjoys placing little tags inside many of the pockets with suggested usages for that pocket (a nice touch) and washed many of those! In retrospect, I think that the SCOTTeVEST products reviewed would have benefited from an "owner's" manual of sorts. Nothing fancy, but perhaps something that included the "X-Ray" image of the item and a walk-through of the various pockets. It would have allowed me to find all of the little slips before Mr. Washer did, and it would have been a fun experience to put on the shorts and eagerly place my hand in each pocket step-by-step, to find usages!<br /><br />In packing my "gear" that morning, I slipped my phone, keys, wallet, and pen into the front pockets of my cargo shorts. Because of the deep pockets feature, as well as the divider that keeps an otherwise very large pocket sectioned off into 2 or even 3 smaller pockets, I was able to keep the objects from bumping together (a great thing since my K-JAM's faceplate is already scratched up!)<br /><br />Upon arriving at work, I noticed the first problem with the cargo shorts - my hands! My hands are a bit bigger than most, and at times I really had to squeeze them into the pockets. While it wasn't very annoying, it certainly required me to stop and think about where I wanted to put my hands before placing them in the pocket - to make sure I got my hand into the correct pocket to dig up what I had put there. This issue, I'm sure, would be lessened if my hands didn't so much resemble those of King Kong.<br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevreview-1.jpg><br /><i>Figure 5: The pockets of the SCOTTeVEST Hidden Cargos contain a flap (with one side under my hand, the other side above) that one slides their hand in to access the "shallow" and "deep" pocket (s).</i><br /><br />Somewhat of a side note to the issue above, not too annoying but way too quirky not to mention, was an interesting issue I had with remembering which pockets I had placed my gear in! Pretty quick I realized I had to pick a pocket and keep my item in that pocket all day lest I forget and dig in the wrong pocket. The experience of not remembering which pocket I put something in isn't new, but with hidden cargo shorts, just remembering that it's in the "left" pocket isn't enough! Quite an odd experience!<br /><br /><span><b>The Drive</b></span><br />My office is in Toledo, and I was heading to Cleveland. If you're not familiar with Ohio geography, that meant I was going to drive approximately 100 miles on the Ohio Turnpike (I-80) - a two hour trip. It was during the drive that I realized one of the downsides of <i>hidden</i> cargo shorts. Namely, you can't easily reach into various pockets along your legs as you can with normal cargos. While standing and walking definitely put you at a disadvantage reaching those pockets on normal cargo pants or shorts, to sit is to realize their true value. My advice to anyone that keeps their phone, toll card, wallet, headset, etc., in their cargos while driving - stick with regular cargos and save your SCOTTeVEST Cargos for a day involving less driving.<br /><br /><span><b>The Configuration</b></span><br />Configuring a 1U server isn't too intensive a sport, but it does require a lot of sitting. The Cargo Shorts were extremely comfortable to sit in for long periods of time. The magnetic closures on the back pockets (and on the inside of the front pockets) made sure that my hastily written notes weren't lost out of my back pockets! <br /><br />In the world of "Configuring a server with friends", the shorts didn't necessarily need one feature that the world of "configuring a server at work" does, but it was still nice to have. I'm referring to the professional look of the shorts. Cargo pants are nice when you want to appear ready-to-action, but the svelte lines of dress pants or dress shorts are needed in a corporate environment. The hidden feature of these hidden cargo shorts provides that, and while I didn't need it on this adventure, I can see it coming in handy in future scenarios!<br /><br /><span><b>The Install</b></span><br />Finally the time came to mount and install the 1U system at our data center. The shorts moved well with me as I made a bunch of disjointed movements trying to convince the rails to snap into place and slide my pizza box back into its new home. Of course extra pockets come in handy when keeping a plethora of screws, brackets, and other miscellaneous things with you during an install! Overall the shorts held up well under the frequent squatting, standing, pushing, pulling, holding-in-place, passing-the-screwdriver, and cursing-the-metal that went on!<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />Overall, summer is a great time. But it can leave you without your nifty clothing that nicely contains your beloved gadgets. Worse yet, it can take its toll on you when out working in the sun or kneeling in shorts at a frigid data center. The performance T-shirt and hidden cargo pants I reviewed lived up to any claim their manufacturer wanted to make. While the TEC Hat didn't provide me with any super-amazing cooling ability, it did draw sweat away from my forehead and was extremely comfortable. Once again, SCOTTeVEST has provided solid clothing with a solid purpose - keeping you connected, whatever the weather or situation.<br /><br />[i]Jon Westfall does a whole heck of a lot, at least he thinks so. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his new wife, Karey, reading, swimming, and updating Pocket PC Thoughts and <a href="http://www.jonwestfall.com">JonWestfall.Com</a>.