The original review is available as PDF if you're about that life. Available here. (Dropbox)
SCOTTeVEST Performance T-Shirt Review
SCOTTeVEST is a brand you may or may not be familiar with. Prior to taking on this review, I’ve frankly never heard of the company before. But they’re certainly on to something.
The crux of what makes SCOTTeVEST apparel tick isn't particularly complicated. Technology’s only gotten more portable and advanced over the years and it’s high time that the clothing we wear get some upgrades to better accommodate that tech. And that’s what SCOTTeVEST has done. They essentially took clothing and added more pockets.
It’s like they've released Human Clothing v. 2.0.
It may sound like an idea straight out of One Sentence Startup Pitches, but boy is it useful. Welcome to the future.
This time around I am reviewing one of SCOTTeVEST’s less pocket-endowed offerings.
This is the “Performance T-Shirt.”
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The product arrived in a non-descript grey bag through UPS, nothing remarkable there. Inside that was a coupon, a typical paper detailing the order, and another plastic bag containing the shirt.
Inside that plastic bag was the T-Shirt with some tags attached.
I broke out the scissors to cut them off but the tags were attached to a zipper using a safety pin which was easily removed. A small gesture, but one that was appreciated.
This specific Performance T-Shirt is the short-sleeve version in size Large and color White.
There is a long-sleeve variant as well – both are available in various colors and sizes ranging from S to XXXL.
(It’s worth noting that the short-sleeve in white I received wasn’t available in M as of this writing.)
(For some context, I typically wear shirts in sizes adult Medium or Large. My somewhat lanky 6-foot build can sometimes be a bit awkward when trying to fit into one of the standard sizes.)
When worn, the Performance T-Shirt didn’t immediately feel much different than other sport-oriented shirts in my wardrobe. The material is 100% polyester and is soft and comfortable. Definitely high-quality material and the stitching is excellent. The shirt is tagless if you didn’t already notice from the image up top. There’s a conventional tag down below with wash information though. (Delicate cycle, cold with like colors. Don’t machine dry, remove electronics, etc.)
POCKETS NOW
The point of SCOTTeVEST gear as mentioned earlier are the extra pockets. Literally none of my other t-shirts have any pockets!
The Performance T-Shirt has two zippered compartments.
Initial conclusions are that the smaller the phone, the better it feels when in action. When running, there is indeed some bouncing but due to placement it is much less distracting than say, running with a phone swinging around in the pockets of basketball shorts. The zipper does wonders for peace of mind.
The photos show the pocket containing the Microsoft Lumia 640 and the Apple iPhone 5c.
The widest (but not tallest) device I have on hand is a Palm m505 PDA at 3.1 inches (~7.9 cm) across and about 4.5 inches (~11.4 cm) tall. It appears to be just about the largest width the pocket can take and if it was maybe an inch taller I don’t think it would’ve stood a chance of fitting.
For additional reference, I was unable to squeeze my U.S. Passport into the pocket.
(which doesn't bode well for owners of the Blackberry Passport and other large phones.)
The lower-right seam compartment is counted as two in the promotional material, but it’s more like one large pocket that’s bent in the center where the seam and zipper is, dividing it. The line’s a bit blurred here. For simplicity's sake I'll refer to it as two pockets from now on. My Passport did indeed fit easily in these pockets, both the front and the back. (So that’s good news for Passport owners!)
With dimensions spanning approximately 4” x 6.5” (~10.2 cm x ~16.5 cm) per subpocket not counting potential depth, this pocket duo is definitely the heavy lifter on this garment. Both even have their own red headphone eyelet although I was hard pressed to use either. I imagine in the future these would become more invaluable in routing my headphones as I get used to using them.
IN ACTION
I spent a day (and counting over time) using this shirt as my only means of storage. It’s summer so a shirt like this isn't a problem. (Unlike say, a hoodie in Texas weather this time of year.)
My wallet and some paperwork fit into the lower pocket and I slipped my current daily driver, an iPhone 5c, into the top pocket. It took a few tries to get used to slipping my phone in and out of the top pocket, but I got the hang of it and was soon taking it out and putting it back with reasonable fluidity and ease. Operating the lower pocket wasn’t as quick or smooth, especially operating the zipper one-handed, but it was still perfectly workable for the larger objects.
Although I can safely say that neither of these pockets will be completely replacing the ones on your cargo shorts or jeans anytime soon for normal use. This is a shirt for performance however! And these kinds of shirts are often paired with pocketless gym shorts, where this shirt realizes its full potential. And that alone is a big draw.
Exercising with the shirt has been as comfortable as I would expect (quite), although I will admit the bouncing of a phone in the upper-left pocket was odd at first. It's just not something that I was used to. However, it is a vast improvement to leaving your phone in an unzippered basketball shorts pocket flopping around your thigh at higher speeds than a kindergartner on a rocket-powered swing. I would usually prefer to run with the phone in hand and not have to deal with its awkward in-pants movement and the risk of it taking flight like with the aforementioned kindergartner. But if you're someone whose fingers are slipperier than mine, this shirt is definitely a suitable alternative to an armband.
Sweat-wicking appears to work well, although I am not as sweaty as some when working out. One thing to note though, like other similar exercise-oriented shirts, is the potential for snags. Mine has already developed a small loop on the left sleeve. Not a big deal, but something to beware of.
LAST WORDS (for now)
I’m going to rip a page from the playbook of Regular Car Reviews and say that the SCOTTeVEST Performance T-Shirt is the Official T-Shirt of Techies Who Don't Like Compromise. Your clothes might tell you something is impossible, but you're going to say no. And you're going to go get clothes that take that "impossible," and make it "possimpible." And SCOTTeVEST is in the right position to provide those clothes.
The Performance T-Shirt is an excellent addition if you want to remain connected and carry what you want when engaging in physical activity. The price can be high if you fall on the thriftier end of the spectrum but compared to similar caliber shirts it isn’t bad at all.
I like to spend my money on gadgets rather than apparel, but this piece of SCOTTeVEST gear makes a very compelling case.
TL;DR
SCOTTeVEST Performance T-Shirt Review
SCOTTeVEST is a brand you may or may not be familiar with. Prior to taking on this review, I’ve frankly never heard of the company before. But they’re certainly on to something.
The crux of what makes SCOTTeVEST apparel tick isn't particularly complicated. Technology’s only gotten more portable and advanced over the years and it’s high time that the clothing we wear get some upgrades to better accommodate that tech. And that’s what SCOTTeVEST has done. They essentially took clothing and added more pockets.
It’s like they've released Human Clothing v. 2.0.
It may sound like an idea straight out of One Sentence Startup Pitches, but boy is it useful. Welcome to the future.
This time around I am reviewing one of SCOTTeVEST’s less pocket-endowed offerings.
This is the “Performance T-Shirt.”
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The product arrived in a non-descript grey bag through UPS, nothing remarkable there. Inside that was a coupon, a typical paper detailing the order, and another plastic bag containing the shirt.
Inside that plastic bag was the T-Shirt with some tags attached.
I broke out the scissors to cut them off but the tags were attached to a zipper using a safety pin which was easily removed. A small gesture, but one that was appreciated.
This specific Performance T-Shirt is the short-sleeve version in size Large and color White.
There is a long-sleeve variant as well – both are available in various colors and sizes ranging from S to XXXL.
(It’s worth noting that the short-sleeve in white I received wasn’t available in M as of this writing.)
(For some context, I typically wear shirts in sizes adult Medium or Large. My somewhat lanky 6-foot build can sometimes be a bit awkward when trying to fit into one of the standard sizes.)
When worn, the Performance T-Shirt didn’t immediately feel much different than other sport-oriented shirts in my wardrobe. The material is 100% polyester and is soft and comfortable. Definitely high-quality material and the stitching is excellent. The shirt is tagless if you didn’t already notice from the image up top. There’s a conventional tag down below with wash information though. (Delicate cycle, cold with like colors. Don’t machine dry, remove electronics, etc.)
POCKETS NOW
The point of SCOTTeVEST gear as mentioned earlier are the extra pockets. Literally none of my other t-shirts have any pockets!
The Performance T-Shirt has two zippered compartments.
- One in the lower-right at the seam. (counted as two in official media)
- One in the upper-left over the left pectoral.
Initial conclusions are that the smaller the phone, the better it feels when in action. When running, there is indeed some bouncing but due to placement it is much less distracting than say, running with a phone swinging around in the pockets of basketball shorts. The zipper does wonders for peace of mind.
The photos show the pocket containing the Microsoft Lumia 640 and the Apple iPhone 5c.
The widest (but not tallest) device I have on hand is a Palm m505 PDA at 3.1 inches (~7.9 cm) across and about 4.5 inches (~11.4 cm) tall. It appears to be just about the largest width the pocket can take and if it was maybe an inch taller I don’t think it would’ve stood a chance of fitting.
For additional reference, I was unable to squeeze my U.S. Passport into the pocket.
(which doesn't bode well for owners of the Blackberry Passport and other large phones.)
The lower-right seam compartment is counted as two in the promotional material, but it’s more like one large pocket that’s bent in the center where the seam and zipper is, dividing it. The line’s a bit blurred here. For simplicity's sake I'll refer to it as two pockets from now on. My Passport did indeed fit easily in these pockets, both the front and the back. (So that’s good news for Passport owners!)
With dimensions spanning approximately 4” x 6.5” (~10.2 cm x ~16.5 cm) per subpocket not counting potential depth, this pocket duo is definitely the heavy lifter on this garment. Both even have their own red headphone eyelet although I was hard pressed to use either. I imagine in the future these would become more invaluable in routing my headphones as I get used to using them.
IN ACTION
I spent a day (and counting over time) using this shirt as my only means of storage. It’s summer so a shirt like this isn't a problem. (Unlike say, a hoodie in Texas weather this time of year.)
My wallet and some paperwork fit into the lower pocket and I slipped my current daily driver, an iPhone 5c, into the top pocket. It took a few tries to get used to slipping my phone in and out of the top pocket, but I got the hang of it and was soon taking it out and putting it back with reasonable fluidity and ease. Operating the lower pocket wasn’t as quick or smooth, especially operating the zipper one-handed, but it was still perfectly workable for the larger objects.
Although I can safely say that neither of these pockets will be completely replacing the ones on your cargo shorts or jeans anytime soon for normal use. This is a shirt for performance however! And these kinds of shirts are often paired with pocketless gym shorts, where this shirt realizes its full potential. And that alone is a big draw.
Exercising with the shirt has been as comfortable as I would expect (quite), although I will admit the bouncing of a phone in the upper-left pocket was odd at first. It's just not something that I was used to. However, it is a vast improvement to leaving your phone in an unzippered basketball shorts pocket flopping around your thigh at higher speeds than a kindergartner on a rocket-powered swing. I would usually prefer to run with the phone in hand and not have to deal with its awkward in-pants movement and the risk of it taking flight like with the aforementioned kindergartner. But if you're someone whose fingers are slipperier than mine, this shirt is definitely a suitable alternative to an armband.
Sweat-wicking appears to work well, although I am not as sweaty as some when working out. One thing to note though, like other similar exercise-oriented shirts, is the potential for snags. Mine has already developed a small loop on the left sleeve. Not a big deal, but something to beware of.
LAST WORDS (for now)
I’m going to rip a page from the playbook of Regular Car Reviews and say that the SCOTTeVEST Performance T-Shirt is the Official T-Shirt of Techies Who Don't Like Compromise. Your clothes might tell you something is impossible, but you're going to say no. And you're going to go get clothes that take that "impossible," and make it "possimpible." And SCOTTeVEST is in the right position to provide those clothes.
The Performance T-Shirt is an excellent addition if you want to remain connected and carry what you want when engaging in physical activity. The price can be high if you fall on the thriftier end of the spectrum but compared to similar caliber shirts it isn’t bad at all.
I like to spend my money on gadgets rather than apparel, but this piece of SCOTTeVEST gear makes a very compelling case.
TL;DR
- It’s got pockets.
- It isn’t that pricey and is high quality.
- Phablet owners should tread carefully.
- People who only take an iPod shuffle or Sansa Clip with them on runs would likely do fine without.
- Did I mention zippered pockets?
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