SCOTTEVEST Signature System Review

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Last night, my friend Joel emailed to say that he thought I would be a perfect candidate for an upcoming geek/techie makeover edition of the Maury Show; I didn’t know whether to laugh or be insulted since he mentioned that I might get a new wardrobe out of the experience. I don’t think that I need a makeover (does anyone ever think that?), but I do know what the perfect wardrobe option should be for any stylish geek or techie – especially now that cold weather is fast approaching.

Fellow geeks and techies, I present to you the new SCOTTEVEST Signature System, a dual jacket solution that will keep you looking great and comfortably warm when the wind is biting, and it’s freaking cold outside.

The SeV Signature System comprises two brand new TEC garments, the Fleece 5.0 and the Quantum Snowboard Jacket. When worn together, these two jackets become one comfortable, toasty warm, water-resistant, and wind impervious garment with over 50 pockets…and no, you are not expected to fill them all.

The Quantum Snowboard jacket features a breathable, lightweight, and waterproof nylon shell. As we have all come to expect from SeV garments, there are pocket’s-a-plenty, but these seem to be even more purposely placed than usual. Two large sectioned handwarmer pockets on either side and two vertical chest pockets finish out the jacket’s front; there is a large zippered back pocket on the rear.

Of course, the jacket’s exterior is only part one of the story. Inside, an extensive pocket system incorporates the headset and earphone wiring access that we have come to expect from SeV. Because the pockets have been specially hung from the seams and supported by other pockets and hidden stitches, weight is distributed nicely when heavier gadgets are carried. One of the coolest features is the Clear Touch Fabric used in the two inner breast pockets; these allow you to control an iPhone, iPod, or Touch without removing the device from its pocket. There are a map and travel document pockets, an ID pocket, pen slots, and places to put just about everything electronic or otherwise; my favorite is the eyeglass chamois pocket, which even includes a glasses’ cleaning cloth on a clip.

I’ve never been skiing or snowboarding, although I am supposed to do the latter this spring. When I go, I suspect that I will better appreciate the hidden waist-cinch/powder skirt, which explains the odd snaps you see dangling from the bottom interior in the above photo. Snapping them together will help keep snow from getting under the jacket when the wearer wipes out…not that I’ll ever wipe out or anything, riiiight? 😉

The interior of the Quantum Jacket is lined in mesh, which is both comfortable and cooling. At the neck, polar fleece folds over wires running through the CollarConnect system, and there are red elastic loops and small mesh pockets to help manage earbuds. The mesh-lined hood is removable, and it can be stored in the huge rear pocket on the back of the jacket when it is not needed. I like to keep mine on because I never remember to bring along a stocking cap, and my ears get cold easily.

All zippers and cord pulls are finished so that they will be easily grabbed when wearing gloves.

There is a convenient sleeve pocket on each forearm that allows instant access to keys, cash, tickets, or other important items one might want to store there.

The sleeves have SEV branded Velcro tape, which I have to say looks sharp and is nicely done. Speaking of branding, it all seems to be discreetly and tastefully placed on this jacket, more so than others past.

Because the Quantum is meant to be worn over the Fleece 5.0 or other layering garments, it is generously sized and quite comfortable. When worn on its own, it makes an ideal windbreaker, without a lot of bulk and without being too heavy. This is the jacket I grab when I am headed to the ranch, where winds can reach 30 – 40 miles per hour on any given day.

The Fleece 5.0 is my new favorite layering garment, bar none. Since fall began and our days have gotten a bit nippier, I have depended upon it to keep me warm. Notice that there are two vertical chest pockets and two deeper handwarmer pockets, and a pocket on the left sleeve. My favorite happens to be the “secret side-seam pocket” on the right side, which is where I generally keep my iPhone tucked.

On a guy, using one of the Clear Touch Fabric inner pockets to carry an iPhone would probably make the most sense – and believe me, I tried it. Unfortunately, curvier females will find that unless they want to go up a jacket size, putting an iPhone in one of these chest pockets will make the front of their jacket lay improperly. Ah well, there are lots of other things that can be easily tucked in those spots. Other interior pockets are properly sized to hold digital cameras, navigation devices, IDs, pens, tickets, documents, a book…really anything that you might want to carry; the Fleece also has my favorite eyeglass and chamois pocket.

The Fleece 5.0 is one of the most comfortable I have ever owned, and as much as I liked the SeV 4.0 Fleece, I believe that this one is even better. To start, I like the shape of this one so much more; it has a longer tail, and there are no loops sewn onto the sleeves. There are newly refined connectors and cabling systems sewn into the jacket’s interior. Even though nylon is used for the interior pocket system, anything that will touch the skin is covered in soft polar fleece. Simply put, this jacket is snuggly.

All of the zippers have pulls so that they can be opened and shut when wearing gloves…

…and once again, exterior branding is minimal and very tastefully done.

The sleeve openings are not adjustable, and they are missing the old inner 4.0 system fastening loops; this greatly pleases me. The jacket is streamlined, fashionable, and very, very comfortable.

Okay, it’s time for some pictures of the system in use. This is me, at 5’10”, wearing a men’s medium. It fits me loosely, but not too loosely.

Both the Fleece 5.0 and the Quantum are available in XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, and XXXL; unless you are an abnormally petite woman or an abnormally large man, you should easily fit into one.

I really like how the fleece’s back is a bit longer than the front; that extra little bit of coverage when bending over is nice!

Putting the two jackets together…

…getting everything situated…

…and getting zipped up is easily one of the quickest ways to make sure that you’ll stay warm while keeping any biting winds at bay. This is exactly how I wear the jacket when riding the 4-wheeler; no chilly winds can get through, and other than my cold hands (because I have inevitably forgotten my gloves), I am quite comfortable.

The Quantum Jacket’s is also slightly longer than the front, which will hopefully help keep my butt from getting too wet when I wipe out snowboarding.

Scott Jordan is calling this set a Ski/Snowboarding Jacket, and I do not doubt that it will excel in that area, but those who will never go near the slopes shouldn’t dismiss this system just because they think it is only for winter sports. If you need a three-season jacket system that will safely and effectively manage your everyday gear while keeping you toasty warm and dry, then you need to look no further. The SCOTTEVEST Signature System is a set of layers that will allow geeks and techies to carry their gear, stay warm, and perhaps most importantly – look good…no appearance on a Maury makeover show necessary!

The SCOTTEVEST Signature System is available directly from the manufacturer.

MSRP: $340 (purchased separately, the Quantum Jacket is $250 and the 5.0 Fleece is $140)

What I Like: Very well thought out dual jacket system which keeps the wearer warm and dry through three seasons; extremely comfortable while managing the wearer’s daily gear; extensive pocket system; all of the goodies we have come to expect from SeV TEC clothing; minimal and tasteful branding

What Needs Improvement: I am hard-pressed to think of anything that needs improving; this is easily my favorite casual jacket set

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She started in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie is best known for her device-agnostic approach, deep-dive reviews, and enjoyment of exploring the latest tech, gadgets, and gear.

10 Comments on "SCOTTEVEST Signature System Review"

  1. If your electronics are next to your body and inside another coat, they should be very well insulated, indeed. That’s what you would be doing in the polarbearland, right? 😉

  2. “Abnormally petite”? That’s an interesting euphemism. I’ll see if I can use that in casual conversation with my coworkers. 😉

    No doubt about it, though, SeV makes some pretty slick gear. I was able to entertain my son with having him try to find all the pockets in my SeV jacket, and he got a kick out of finding the cards in each pocket and reading them off. I got a kick out of being able to store all my gear and have reasonable access to them.

    Out of idle curiosity, how well does the fleece jack insulate electronics? It gets a tad cold up here close to Joel McLaughlin-land in the winter.

  3. Ah, okay. I don’t think it would be insulated enough on its own, since the outer jacket is really more of a shell than an uber warm jacket. But when you wear the system together, putting devices in the Fleece pocket should definitely provide enough warmth when coupled with your body heat.

  4. Sorry, I should have been more specific. I was just curious about the outer pockets in the Snowboard (outer) jacket and how well they’d insulate.

  5. Joel McLaughlin | November 4, 2008 at 9:54 pm |

    I love Scottevests. I just wish I could try one on before ordering….

  6. Joel, they have a really good return system: if you don’t like it, let them know, get an RMA, and send it right back. 🙂

  7. I own a version 4.0 Stealth and it’s so-so, but these jackets could be made MUCH better. I just have a problem with some of the features:

    – I can’t stand the fact that the collar doesn’t fold down. What is it with these collars that just stick up all the time? The collars on every jacket you’d ever buy in a store fold down. Why not on this jacket? When I turn my head, I don’t want the collar in my face. It’s not as though I’m perpetually rubbing my hands together, saying, “Brrrrr!” and wanting to fold my collar up! Design that thing so it folds down!

    – I don’t like the net-like material on the inside. It’s scratchy to the skin and prevents the jacket from sliding off more easily when the jacket is being taken off, especially if you’ve been perspiring – then the netting really sticks to your skin.

    – The pockets on the outside are fine, but I don’t like how the pockets on the inside are arranged. It’s too complicated. I owned this jacket for months and was still finding pockets and figuring out how they were all inter-related with one another. It’s too complicated. I’d just like to have simple pockets on the inside. Six on one side, six on the other – lined up in a couple of simple columns and a few simple rows, with the pockets just a bit bigger than gadgets like a phone, iPod, etc. Some larger pen pockets on either side would be nice, too (big enough to hold thicker pens (like a rollerball pen), or a thicker laser pointer, etc.). A dedicated Bluetooth earpiece pocket would be nice, too.

    I like the idea of having several pockets, but arranging them in a simple fashion is sometimes all someone needs. The way it is now, the pockets have a strange arrangement – some of them are absolutely huge, but when you unzip them, the delicate mesh just flops down (giving you the idea of instability) revealing a pocket so big it could hold a watermelon, while a couple of the smaller pockets are in odd locations down very low on the inside of the jacket making them difficult to reach. It’s just a very strange arrangement and as far as I’m concerned, needs to be completely re-thought and redesigned.

    – I don’t like the Velcro on the sleeve cuffs. Velcro does not belong on any jacket, period. I just prefer barrel cuffs – no zippers, buttons, snaps, magnets, or Velcro. It’s not as if any of us are wearing this jacket in an arctic storm… so what do we need to tighten down the sleeve cuffs for? How many other jackets in existence have that? Oh yeah… none!

    Another reason I also don’t like the Velcro tabs on the sleeve cuffs, is that if you do adjust them, the black tabs don’t lay down flat at the ends – they stick out. This makes the tabs look like an afterthought, not to mention, I remember lifting my arm to scratch my face and the end of the tab that was sticking out actually poked me in the eye! Ridiculous, but this needs to be redesigned. I don’t like to be injured by my jacket. Get rid of the Velcro tabs – in fact, get rid of the Velcro all together.

    – The jacket doesn’t breathe enough. I know they tried to make it breathable, but even without the fleece, this jacket wears HOT! And when you’re perspiring, the scratchy material on the inside feels terrible.

    – I don’t like the zippered sleeves. They make no sense. They’re always coming unzippered which allows cold air and even rain to enter. And this is a strange design choice considering that they designed the collar to remain forever in an “up” position – glued to your neck, and the sleeve cuffs to yank tight around your sleeves… but then Scott-eVest allows for potentially big gaps in the shoulder area where the sleeves meet the rest of the jacket in the form of a zipper? Even when you have the shoulder zippers completely zipped shut, there’s still a small gap in the shoulder area there. It makes no sense! And they just serve as weak points in the overall design of the jacket.

    Even without the inner fleece, this jacket is simply too bulky and hot to wear as a vest, especially considering the collar that never folds down. Who wants to wear a black vest with a collar that hugs your neck the whole time as though you have it folded up? Cool in the arms, hot in the neck? This design makes no sense. If I want a vest, I’ll buy a vest. Just make a jacket a jacket, please. I didn’t buy the jacket for its vest features.

    – The white piping on the inner fleece needs to go. It’s a stealth jacket, remember? Please make the white piping near the pockets black.

    *******

    I realize this is a lot, but it’s what I think and the changes I’d impart. I’m speaking from experience as I own the Stealth 4.0. I like that it’s completely black and some other small features, but these changes I list are absolutely necessary, and I’m one who will speak my mind – I don’t just automatically join the “all praises, no faults” crowd just because the jackets may enjoy some popularity among the geek crowd.

    Frankly, I think I need to design my own jacket, as I believe that not one single thing I mentioned here will be incorporated or considered. I know I’m not the only one who thinks this way about the jacket.

  8. Oh, and one last thing… Scott, I saw you dancing to the song “Soulja Boy” on your site. Please take this as a valuable piece of business advice:

    Please don’t dance, LOL. This is NOT helping you sell jackets. TRUST ME. Just stick to designing and leave the dancing to people who know how to do it, WHITE-boy.

  9. @Orion – Let’s look at your 4.0 comments and how they might relate to the updated Quantum Jacket and the Fleece 5.0…

    I can’t stand the fact that the collar doesn’t fold down. What is it with these collars that just stick up all the time? The collars on every jacket you’d ever buy in a store fold down. Why not on this jacket?

    It’s obvious when you look at the SeV site which jackets have collars that stay up and which will lay flat.

    http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/subindex_jackets_vests.shtml

    I would imagine that if one style appealed to you over another, then you would order it instead of the other. If the features needed outweighed your dislike of a particular style collar, then you would have the choice of either buying a different jacket altogether, or accepting the compromise.

    I don’t like the net-like material on the inside. It’s scratchy to the skin and prevents the jacket from sliding off more easily when the jacket is being taken off, especially if you’ve been perspiring – then the netting really sticks to your skin.”

    There is no netting in the sleeves of the Quantum, nor is there any in the sleeves of the Fleece 5.0. Since you would presumably at least be wearing a short sleeved t-shirt under either garment, I am not sure how the jacket’s netting would stick to you, even if you managed to work up an aggressive sweat. I suppose if you weren’t wearing a shirt at all, then it might be an issue…but eww.

    The pockets on the outside are fine, but I don’t like how the pockets on the inside are arranged. It’s too complicated. I owned this jacket for months and was still finding pockets and figuring out how they were all inter-related with one another. It’s too complicated. I’d just like to have simple pockets on the inside. Six on one side, six on the other – lined up in a couple of simple columns and a few simple rows, with the pockets just a bit bigger than gadgets like a phone, iPod, etc. Some larger pen pockets on either side would be nice, too (big enough to hold thicker pens (like a rollerball pen), or a thicker laser pointer, etc.). A dedicated Bluetooth earpiece pocket would be nice, too.

    Nowhere is it written that you have to use all of the pockets, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard Scott advocate it. Yes, it would be complicated if you didn’t pick a few favorites and stick with them – which is what I think most wearer’s do. I have found that most of the pockets are placed in ways that seem to complement the male anatomy – smaller vertical pockets on the chest so that they don’t bulk things up, and larger horizontal pockets on the belly, where the bulky items carried can better be disguised. There are also new handy icon tags on the inner pockets which can act as suggestions for what goes where; maybe the labeled pockets will help people who can’t help but overpack remember where all their gear is stowed.

    As for pen holes, I guess it’s a personal preference. Thinner pens can go in the pen pockets, larger pens or lasers can go in either a vertical or horizontal pocket of your choice.

    I have found that smaller Bluetooth earpieces fit quite well in the little tiny velcro pocket (tagged for memory cards) inside the bottom horizontal inner pocket (tagged for iPods). That’s just where I like to stow mine; I am sure that others have their own favorite spots.

    I don’t like the Velcro on the sleeve cuffs. Velcro does not belong on any jacket, period. I just prefer barrel cuffs – no zippers, buttons, snaps, magnets, or Velcro. It’s not as if any of us are wearing this jacket in an arctic storm… so what do we need to tighten down the sleeve cuffs for? How many other jackets in existence have that? Oh yeah… none!

    The Quantum is listed as a Snowboarding / Skiing jacket, and Velcroed cuffs are very common on these type garments.

    http://www.altrec.com/roxy/juniors-blondie-snowboard-jacket

    http://www.altrec.com/the-north-face/mens-hustle-stripe-triclimate-jacket

    http://www.altrec.com/the-north-face/womens-milletan-triclimate-jacket

    The Velcro on the Quantum Jacket is a feature that makes it easy to clamp the sleeves on over my gloves, which is especially handy when I am riding 4-wheelers in the biting cold. No, these are not arctic conditions, but I appreciate the air-tightness. When I am not wearing gloves, I can loosen the sleeves and they look nice. The overlaying tab is tapered, and it offers 1/2″ of material to grasp for easy opening and closing of the Velcro.

    The Fleece 5.0 sleeves do not have Velcro; they are tapered with a 1″ finished hem.

    The jacket doesn’t breathe enough. I know they tried to make it breathable, but even without the fleece, this jacket wears HOT! And when you’re perspiring, the scratchy material on the inside feels terrible.”

    It has not gone below 35º here yet, and during the day it has not been colder than 50º. With the wind chill factor you can subtract a few degrees from that. I have worn the Quantum with the Fleece on days as warm as 70º and either the Fleece or the Quantum (depending upon whether I needed the windbreaker properties or not) on days as warm as almost 80º. Maybe I am more cold-natured than most (Yes, I have been told that), but I have never found the jacket to be too hot; if I did, then I took it off.

    I don’t like the zippered sleeves. They make no sense. They’re always coming unzippered which allows cold air and even rain to enter. And this is a strange design choice considering that they designed the collar to remain forever in an “up” position – glued to your neck, and the sleeve cuffs to yank tight around your sleeves… but then Scott-eVest allows for potentially big gaps in the shoulder area where the sleeves meet the rest of the jacket in the form of a zipper? Even when you have the shoulder zippers completely zipped shut, there’s still a small gap in the shoulder area there. It makes no sense! And they just serve as weak points in the overall design of the jacket.”

    The Quantum’s sleeve do not zip on or off, but they do zip open or closed to vent. There are also at least two other SeV designs without removable sleeves.

    The Fleece 5.0’s sleeves do come off, but the small (maybe 0.25″?) gap between the zipper’s start and its end is located in the arm pit area – perhaps the one place on any jacket that could use a bit of venting.

    The white piping on the inner fleece needs to go. It’s a stealth jacket, remember? Please make the white piping near the pockets black.”

    The Fleece 5.0 is not listed as a “Stealth” model, so no one should be offended that there are thin gray reflective piping stripes on each side of the chest and also by the handwarmer pockets. I see them as a safety feature, and I like them.

    Frankly, I think I need to design my own jacket, as I believe that not one single thing I mentioned here will be incorporated or considered.”

    Good thing you didn’t place money on that bet, is all I am going to say.

    One last thing: I’m not going to edit you, but the “WHITE-boy” comment? Totally unnecessary and classless; I’m disappointed.

Comments are closed.