Pocket Geeking :: SCOTTEVEST interview

A good pocket has well thought out placement so it is efficient and easy to access, engineered specifically for the contents it is intended to carry, doesn’t bulge or show the contents of the pocket, and most importantly – keeps the items IN the pocket!

How does gravity play a part?

Gravity helps keep items in a pocket – sometimes! We have designed pockets with special angles and stitching to keep your change in your pocket when you sit, or are active and shaking up those pockets. Many of our pockets also have magnetic closures – so if you forgot to zip the pocket, you will still be safe if the pocket gets tilted. We design our pockets to keep your contents safe, no matter what direction gravity is playing towards.

How do you stop items falling out?

See gravity answer! In addition to pockets with angles that thwart gravity, magnets for those who forget to zip, and special stitching to keep your stuff secure, we also have pockets within pockets! For example, the pocket we suggest for camera use has a sealed hidden pocket for your memory card within it so smaller items kept in pockets have their own dedicated, closed-off pocket so they won’t fall out.

How do you stop things bunching up down the bottom?

Since SCOTTEVEST products have so many pockets, you won’t encounter this problem because you aren’t trying to cram everything into your one available pocket! Our pockets are dispersed throughout each product so no one area becomes bunched up. This is part of our No-Bulge™ pocket design that allows you to load up each pocket in their various locations and they stay looking smooth on the outside.

Can you talk a bit about materials for pocket lining? Longevity vs lightweightness?

Our pocket materials vary depending on the product, but we always focus on longevity as well as lightweight as our main factors to determine our fabric selection. Additionally, we choose materials that pair well together, such as mesh to be lightweight on the Tropiformer jacket and high-quality satin-smooth synthetic for our exclusive leather ALT-10M jacket which is a heavier, premium product. To ensure longevity in every product, we do fabric testing to ensure the fabric will not blow out and we choose specific seams for high-use areas so that there will be added stability.

How about tactile feel of pockets?

A great example of the tactile feel of a pocket is the Quick Draw pocket which has a soft shell tunnel for your cell phone so you can access/view your phone while it stays in the pocket. The pocket designed for your glasses comes with a high-quality chamois that’s attached inside the pocket with an elastic band so you don’t lose it. The ID card pockets are see-through so you don’t always need to remove your ID. We even use different size, shape or material zipper pulls for different pockets as an added tactile cue.

How do you decide on internal vs external access?

We keep the majority of our pockets as internally accessed pockets since hidden pockets is what we are famous for, and they are by far the safest to prevent pickpocketing. Anything important (credit cards, phone, passport) will always have a dedicated internal pocket to keep your valuables out of sight and thwart pickpocketing. Occasionally we design products with external pockets designed for very specific purposes, like with the Brad Thor Alpha jacket. This product was designed for concealed carry purposes, so the external pockets were designed to be rapidly accessible for defensive purposes.

Do you look at protection for pocket contents?

Protection is one of our biggest concerns because we ensure your stuff is safe in our pockets and even offer a $1,000 pickpocket reimbursement guarantee on our products. One of the biggest protection issues facing us in this digital age is remote hacking/skimming and data collection. Chips found in credit cards, passports, metro cards and more can be hacked using remote devices that skim the RFID signals and your phone is constantly being monitored and data-sucked by the NSA. We have added a layer of RFID signal blocking material to our new products so that when you’re wearing SCOTTEVEST your stuff is hidden from pickpockets as well as virtually protected too! Most of our products have a water-resistant treatment (if the material isn’t already water resistant) because water and valuable electronics don’t mix.

Have you solved how to carry a ripe banana?

We eat them too fast to find out. 🙂

How many is too many pockets?

No such thing – millions of pockets is our dream for the world!

What if you have to check 32 pockets to find your keys?

Well you will only need to check one pocket – the key pocket! We have an extendable and detachable keychain engineered into our jacket pockets so you can keep your keys stored safely in one place, and they won’t fall out if you forget to close the pocket because they’re attached. We even provide tiny pocket icons with suggested items by pocket to help you get organized and find your stuff, and many products have a quick reference pocket map printed on the eyeglass chamois.

How do you stop irregular shaped objects showing through?

It is a secret (kinda)! Our No-Bulge Pockets™/HangingPocket™ design is what makes us unique for keeping your pocket contents from showing. Our pockets are designed to hide the shape of whatever is inside and redistribute the weight and imprint, so from the outside you’d never know what is inside.

What are the strangest things you’ve seen carried in a SCOTTEVEST?

We love the look on people’s faces when somebody wearing a SCOTTEVEST pulls out a full size iPad or an entire laptop – in its case – from their SeV jacket. This is actually a really common thing for people to carry in a SeV, so it isn’t strange to us, but sure is for others. Another one would be when we challenged our employees to carry all their gear in their SCOTTEVEST clothes and our technical designer Lauren Bertelson fit a clothing iron in the SCOTTEVEST Women’s Trench coat!