SCOTTeVest (SeV) Enforcer Jacket review


Since 2000, the SCOTTeVEST (SeV) designers have been producing their patented TEC (Technology Enabled Clothing) for those tech-heads who want to inconspicuously transport their EDC gear without the need for a bag, backpack, or briefcase. For this review, SeV has sent me their new 30-pocketed Enforcer jacket designed specifically with law enforcement, military, and gun enthusiasts in mind. While I am none of those things (at least anymore), I do like the sleek, stealthy look of the jacket…it’s all blacked-out style is definitely me. It will be interesting to see how well it fairs against a wet and damp spring here in the Pacific Northwest. 

Note: Click the images to see a larger view.

According to their website, the SeV Enforcer jacket is a new, improved version of the popular Alpha jacket. As I mentioned above, it is designed with law enforcement, military, and gun enthusiasts in mind. That said, the Enforcer still has all of the functional engineering of other SCOTTeVEST garments, including a wide assortment of pockets of all different shapes and sizes to securely store/transport all your gear. 

Features:

  • 30 Pockets are perfect for transporting your EDC gear
  • Insulation quilted to the lining
  • Removable sleeves
  • Water-resistant and breathable material
  • 100% polyester shell and lining
  • Patented Personal Area Network (PAN) for wire management
  • Ergonomic zippers
  • Includes the Travel Smart System™, Weight Management System™, NoBulge™, clear touch pockets, etc.
  • Can hold iPad/small laptop/firearm
  • Machine Washable

The SeV Enforcer jacket is very well made with high-quality materials, excellent construction/workmanship, and capacity to carry a ton of stuff.  The zippers, seams, and stitching are all precise and nicely done. The 100% polyester exterior is finely woven and looks like a stylish softshell jacket on the outside. Functionally, the shell does a good job of beading off water though I have not had the opportunity to use it in the dumping Seattle rain yet. Even though it’s black, the shell does not pick up/show dirt much at all. The jacket is machine washable.

Many of the 30 pockets are sized and engineered for a specific type of function like a sidearm, holding keys, sunglasses, tablet, pens or even small laptop (as shown below).

There are also other niceties hidden within the jacket like bungee clip for keys, soft cleaning cloth for cleaning your sunglasses, and RFID blocking pocket (red zippered pocket, inner lining shown above) to protect your electronic footprint from snoopers. As I have mentioned in other SeV reviews, the most challenging part of owning a TEC garment is remembering/finding where you stashed a particular item.

Though SeV helps you keep track of everything by embroidering icons that tell you what each of the pockets has been designed to hold.

The two front-positioned “Rapid Access panels”  are huge and contain built-in sub-pockets for extra magazine clips or anything really. The main front pockets are so big they easily accommodate my 12″ MacBook or full sized tablet. When fully loaded down with all my gear the jacket does get relatively heavy. I doubt in a real-world scenario I would carry my laptop in the jacket…maybe an iPad but that is about as heavy/bulky as I’d go.

Since I got the iPhone 7+, I use wireless earbuds 99% of the time. But thought it worth mentioning that the Enforcer has SCOTTeVEST’s patented Personal Area Network (PAN) for wire management. Here you can see my pair of JHAudio JH|5 Pro earphones I reviewed years ago installed in the Revolution Plus jacket (for illustration). As I mentioned in that review: “It took me just a few minutes to figure out the system and string the wires throughout the interior of the jacket. I would suggest to those who have a spare pair of earbuds laying around, to dedicate a pair to the jacket so you do not have to take the time installing and removing them”. The SeV wire management system is excellent for keeping your earbuds in order and always dialed in.

I’m 6’1″ and 180 lbs — the large Enforcer SCOTTeVEST sent me fits well and even when fully loaded the jacket rides nicely on my shoulders/frame.

Like many of their other jackets, SeV designers engineer removable, zip-off sleeves to transform the Enforcer into a vest. The Gadgeteer Kid said it reminded him of Marty McFly in Back to the Future.

The SeV Enforcer Jacket is available in 8 sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL, XXL-tall, XXXL-tall. And any color you want as long as that color is black…

I have been wearing the SCOTTeVEST Enforcer jacket for nearly two months. During that time, we have had all types of weather conditions transitioning from late winter to early summer. I really like the jacket both in terms of looks/style and TEC functionality. The Enforcer is a very well made tech-enabled jacket, designed specifically for law enforcement, military, and gun enthusiasts. Like all their garments, SeV has invested much thought and excellent engineering into its design. With 30 pockets of all shapes and sizes, the Enforcer is able to carry your firearm, tech, and misc gear from your smartphone to laptop, potentially eliminating the near to bring an EDC gear bag.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by SCOTTeVEST. Please visit their site for more info and you can find them on Amazon too.

 

Product Information

Price: $200
Manufacturer: SCOTTeVest
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • Well made
  • Quality materials
  • Stylish
  • Comfortable
  • 30 pockets to carry your gear
  • Excellent design
  • PAN system works well
  • Conceal carry
Cons:
  • No removable hood option

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SCOTTeVest (SeV) Enforcer Jacket review originally appeared on on June 18, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities – New book from Fox Chapel Publishing


New from Fox Chapel Publishing: Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities by Australian technology blogger David King. Instead of fidgeting, you can read about fidgeting. This 80-page book full-color paperback book features instructions for a variety of fun tricks that you can do with the latest toy craze – fidget spinners no matter if you’re a newbie or you are already a master of fidgetology. 

Spinners can learn how to master tricks such as spinning on a hat or stacking spinners on top of each other to create mesmerizing whirling towers of color! Spinners can also track their progress and tricks with a handy workbook. Plus, the book provides backstory into the health benefits of spinning.

Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities will be available on June 30th from Fox Chapel Publishing but you can pre-ordered a copy of the book now for $5.50 on Amazon.

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Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities – New book from Fox Chapel Publishing originally appeared on on June 18, 2017 at 9:05 am.

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Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities – New book from Fox Chapel Publishing


New from Fox Chapel Publishing: Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities by Australian technology blogger David King. Instead of fidgeting, you can read about fidgeting. This 80-page book full-color paperback book features instructions for a variety of fun tricks that you can do with the latest toy craze – fidget spinners no matter if you’re a newbie or you are already a master of fidgetology. 

Spinners can learn how to master tricks such as spinning on a hat or stacking spinners on top of each other to create mesmerizing whirling towers of color! Spinners can also track their progress and tricks with a handy workbook. Plus, the book provides backstory into the health benefits of spinning.

Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities will be available on June 30th from Fox Chapel Publishing but you can pre-ordered a copy of the book now for $5.50 on Amazon.

Filed in categories: News

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Fun with Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks and Activities – New book from Fox Chapel Publishing originally appeared on on June 18, 2017 at 9:05 am.

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iPad Pro 10.5 accessory ideas, Saddleback Leather bag, Trayvax wallet, and more – Weekly roundup


Here’s a list of everything we that posted on The Gadgeteeer in the last seven days. Click through and browse the list to make sure you didn’t miss something important.

Reviews

Articles

News

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iPad Pro 10.5 accessory ideas, Saddleback Leather bag, Trayvax wallet, and more – Weekly roundup originally appeared on on June 17, 2017 at 5:51 pm.

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Eachine E55 Mini WiFi FPV Foldable Pocket Drone review


We’ve reviewed a variety of drones over the years, from the high-end Chroma 4K drone to the teeny tiny Axis Vidius drone. But this is the Eachine E55 is the first folding pocket drone that we’ve had the opportunity to review. And after my experience with this one, it might be the last… Let’s take a look.

What is it?

The Eachine E55 is a folding pocket drone that can be controlled with an iOS or Android device or the included handheld remote control.

What’s in the box?

Eachine E55 drone
Remote control with phone bracket
Extra propellers
Screwdriver
USB charging stick
USB charging cable
Drone battery
User manual

Design and features

This drone doesn’t even look like a drone at first glance. I’m not sure what it looks like. Maybe a small backup battery, or something like that.

The Eachine E55 is made of plastic with a power button on the top.

 

On the bottom, you will find the battery compartment.

A thin fragile feeling door opens to allow access to the battery.

That battery has to be removed and charged using the included USB charging stick. Charging this way is inconvenient and the inconvenience gets worse when you find out that it takes about 40 minutes to fully charge the battery. That wouldn’t be a deal breaker if a charge allowed you a long fight time, but unfortunately, you will only get 6-8 minutes of flying time per charge.

Notice the glowing LED on the USB charging stick and notice that the stick isn’t plugged into anything… That LED is supposed to be a charging status LED. I found that the LED would sometimes turn off when I plugged the stick (and battery) into a USB power adapter. And sometimes it remained on – forever so that I never could tell when the battery was finished charging.

At only 2.56 x 2.56 x 0.98 inches, it is very pocket-friendly compared the majority of other drones on the market. But the real magic happens when you unfold the four legs (arms?) to reveal the propellers.

Nifty huh?

Let’s fly!

You can fly the Eachine E55 drone using your smartphone or the included handheld controller. I loaded the app and tried to pair my Nexus 6P with the drone but had no luck. So I decided to try the handheld controller because the instructions claimed that it had a one button take off and one button landing feature.

The controller looks and feels like an inexpensive video game controller. It has two thumb-style joysticks with a D-pad below each one.

The controller also comes with an attachment that will let you attach your smartphone to the controller. Since I was unable to pair the drone with my phone, I didn’t test using both together. I actually didn’t get much time at all to test the Eachine E55 as you will see in the video below.

See it in action (sorta)

As you can tell from the video, I didn’t have much luck or time flying the E55 drone before it flew off into my woods to be lost forever. It’s so small that I couldn’t find it.

Final thoughts

The instructions that come with the drone fail to provide the most important info on how to fly the drone. You have to turn on the drone, turn on the handheld controller. Press the left throttle up, press the left throttle down, and then press the take off button. Sounds easy right? It is IF you know that you’re supposed to do that. As you can tell from my video, I kept trying to fly just using the take off button. And after minutes of trying that, I started pressing combinations of buttons until the drone finally lifted into the air. To say it was frustrating is an understatement.

It’s a shame that I never got a chance to really get used to flying this little drone or to test the camera and other features.

The Eachine E55 could be fun but I can’t say one way or another. I will say that having to remove the battery from the drone to charge it is annoying and not knowing when the battery is fully charged is also annoying. You also have to supply your own batteries (3 AAAs) for the handheld remote control.

When it’s all said and done, the Eachine E55 Mini WiFi FPV Foldable Pocket Drone annoyed me and for that reason, I can’t recommend buying one.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Eachine. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $46.99
Manufacturer: Eachine
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • Tiny pocket-sized drone
  • Comes with a handheld remote control
Cons:
  • Hard to control
  • Have to remove battery to charge
  • USB charging stick status LED is inconsistent
  • Short flight time
  • Batteries not included for handheld remote

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Eachine E55 Mini WiFi FPV Foldable Pocket Drone review originally appeared on on June 17, 2017 at 4:06 pm.

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