Review on SCOTTeVEST RFID Blocking Vest: Ultimate Travel Companion for Men with 26 Concealed Pockets by Chad Delgado

Bought this vest (Scottevest RFID Travel Vest, Large) for a trip to Alaska. It fit well enough when it arrived, but I had such trouble with the zippers that I sent it back. Instead I bought a Scottevest RFID 2 way zip travel vest which is identical to this vest except it has a 2 way front zip instead of a one way zip. I was afraid to order another disposable zip vest because of the very sticky zippers, so I ordered the two-way zip version and it arrived just before I left for Alaska. I wore the one-way zip version for 2 or 3 days around the house and yard and the two-way zip version for about 14 days on a trip to Alaska. Because the design, construction, pockets, website features, and fit of the one-way-zip RFID vest is identical to the two-way-zip RFID vest, my comments apply to both vests. I wore the vest every day for several hours a day on a recent trip to Alaska in early July that included two 7 hour flights, three 1 hour flights, a 7 day cruise and about ten easy hikes on forest trails and walks in the streets of the city (without backpacks or camping). Daytime temperatures outside ranged from 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun, clouds and rain (of course the vest only covers the torso, not the arms, so you'll need to wear a raincoat or use an umbrella if it's raining). Summary: This durable, rainproof SEV road vest has plenty of pockets to store a variety of useful items. After several tries I managed to find the right size. The zippers were sticky throughout the trip and some even needed pliers to free them. The vest was quite heavy and warm, which wasn't a problem on cold days, on the plane, in the car or walking on the ship. When I was hot on hikes and walks outdoors, I could vent the front by unzipping the main vest, but the back of the vest would not breathe, causing the back of my shirt to get hot and sweaty in temperatures over 70 degrees Fahrenheit (similar problem to the one I had with the SEV on a trip to China). When the sweating problem got too bad, I had to take off my vest; if I had a small backpack to fit, I'd probably switch to it instead of a vest for hiking or long walks. The two phone pockets accommodated my iPhone 7, but the clear rubber inserts in the phone pockets made it difficult to slide the phone in and out, which was a good fit. Although the vest has many advantages, the sticky zippers, non-breathable back, and sticky phone pockets made me return it. I was glad I bought the SEV vest through Revain Prime who have a fair returns policy because a while back I bought a convertible jacket direct from SEV which had an obvious defect in the stitching and I couldn't return it or replace. Detailed Review: (for those who enjoy reading long reviews)1. Durability. After 14 days and over 60 hours of use, this vest showed no signs of wear; Although it didn't look like new, it still had creases from the original delivery. There were several protruding threads in some places that I was afraid to pull or cut for fear that some stitching might come undone. 2. Utility. It took me a day or two of experimentation to figure out which bags worked best for storing different items, and another day to remember where I kept everything, but I quickly found good uses for almost all of the bags . The composition of the items in the bags will vary, of course, depending on whether the person is on an airplane, on a ship, in a car, traveling through a rainforest, or walking down a boulevard. I always carried my wallet, cell phone, camera, sunglasses, and keys in my vest, and at various times I wore headphones, earplugs, an air bag, a sleep mask, gloves, a water bottle, boarding pass, passport, pen, sanitary lipstick, etc. iPad, mini umbrella and knitted hat (not all at the same time, of course).3. Water and dirt repellent. The vest does a good job of keeping the rain out, but being a vest it obviously can't keep hands dry, necessitating the addition of an umbrella, raincoat or poncho. I've worn the vest to many meals but haven't spilled anything on it so I can't rate its stain resistance.4. fit. I'm 6ft 190lbs, I wear L for shirts and sweaters and L or XL for jackets. The XL vest was too big and loose for me, even with lots of pockets full of stuff. Size L sat comfortably when all pockets were empty and quite tight, half the pockets were filled with things like cell phone, camera, wallet, sunglasses etc. I could wear a large vest over a shirt, sweater or hoodie with a t-shirt as a base layer. I wore an XL raincoat over an L.5 vest on rainy days and an XL zip-up sweatshirt over an L.5 vest on colder days. Outlook. In travelwear ads, vests and jackets look sleek, streamlined and fit well because there's almost nothing in the pockets. However, once you put stuff in at least half of the pockets, bulges and bulges form in the upper body, although not as much as in old safari jackets and fishing vests with all pockets and flaps on the outside. On the other hand, if you buy travel vests or jackets with many pockets, you probably value utility more than style. Wearing this vest may not make you look like a model or blend in with the locals, but you'll enjoy deterring pickpockets and keeping important items close at hand. questions.a. Sticky Lightning. Almost all vest pockets have zippers and most got stuck in one place or another during my 14 day trip. Some zippers got stuck every day which was very frustrating. There were even a few zippers that I had to open with mini Leatherman pliers. The really sticky zippers were mostly on the outside and had metal bars; internal zippers with rubber or plastic pulls usually worked flawlessly from day one. While the zipper sticking problem went away after two weeks of heavy use and assistance from my pliers, there is no need to use pliers to move or adjust zippers on new clothing items, especially very expensive ones. I don't think finding and using good zippers is the ultimate math; I have several old under $25 zippered hoodies and fleeces with nameless zippers and none of them have ever been sticky. One way to significantly improve this vest would be to upgrade to YKK or other high quality zippers. [I have encountered a serious problem with zippers getting stuck on both the vest with one-way RFID zipper and the vest with two-way RFID zipper.] b. breathability. Several hikes and walks in a vest left the back of the shirt soaked with sweat while the front stayed dry. These were 2-5 mile walks over slightly hilly terrain or city streets, daytime ambient temperatures of 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit, mixed sun/cloud/rain, no backpacking. As I began warming up, I was able to ventilate the front of my torso by partially or fully opening the front of the vest. However, the back of the vest didn't breathe and there was no way to ventilate the back so the moisture didn't escape and as a result the back of my shirt was soaked with sweat. After I got back from my trip, I wore a vest over my shirt while walking through the hills in the 81 degrees Fahrenheit, and after a few blocks my back was sweaty. (I had a similar issue with an SEV windbreaker on a trip to China; it's fine up to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, tends to overheat and sweat above 70 degrees.) While removing the vest solved the sweating problem, it would have to an alternative exist carry a small backpack instead of a vest when hiking outdoors. Possible design solutions to this problem could be adding ventilation in the back or using breathable fabric. (I've had the same breathability issue with both single and double sided RFID vests.) c. phone cases. My iPhone 7 in the slim case fits comfortably in the two internal cell phone pockets. However, the cases have a transparent rubber panel that hugs the phone, so getting the phone in and out of the case required both hands and a lot of fiddling. This issue even occurred when I took the phone out of the case and tried to put the phone in my pocket myself. A possible solution to this problem could be to replace the rubber sheets with a durable and slippery transparent mesh material. (This problem has been encountered with both single-sided and double-sided RFID zipper vests.) 7. Summary of advantages - The vest has many pockets that can store many things, which is convenient to have on hand when traveling. wear them at the airport, put them in the tray and send them through the scanner. - The vest looks elegant and quite attractive when the pockets are empty. - The front of the vest can be ventilated to control moisture and temperature, partial or full opening of a very convenient two-way front zipper. (One-way zip ventilation is possible, but the two-way zip version of this vest is more versatile.) The vest is water-repellent. The inner phone pockets hold an iPhone 7 with a slim case. Inside An RFID pocket, a desirable security measure, holds a wallet and passport. A small inner ID pocket holds your driver's license and hotel room key, so you don't have to dig them out of your wallet and into an RFID pocket in another pocket when you need them.8. Shortcomings Summary: Some zippers got stuck or snagged, and some even required pliers to free them. The back of the vest is not breathable or ventilated, which made for hot and sweaty conditions when walking or hiking in temperatures hovering around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. - Vest will show bulges and bulges when half pockets are full, even if vest is a size larger - Rubber inserts on cellphone pockets "grab" cellphone, allowing for ambidextrous and two-handed insertion and removal. uncomfortable process.9. bottom line. The vest is very functional and has many benefits, but for me the above issues outweighed it, so I returned it through Revain Prime. (I ended up returning RFID vests with one-way and two-way zips for the above reasons.)