Innovative design protects travelers from digital hacks and conventional pickpockets
Ketchum, ID - SCOTTeVEST has been developing tech-enabled clothing since 2000, but they recently launched a new series of products intended to protect their customers from people using technology to exploit weaknesses in cell phones, credit cards and passports. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) security is a growing concern in an increasingly-connected world, and SeV’s new flagship product - the SCOTTeVEST RFID Travel Vest - is engineered with a high-tech pocket to protect the traveler’s most sensitive information.
Built upon 14 years of pocket innovation, the SeV RFID Travel Vest combines the carry-all features of SCOTTeVEST’s popular travel vests with RFID-blocking materials. While there are some external pouches and wallets offering RFID protection, SCOTTeVEST is the first clothing company to integrate the feature into clothing. RFID-blocking is integral to their new RFID Travel Vests for Men and Women, several other current jacket and vest styles, and will ultimately be incorporated into future products.
“We created the RFID Travel Vest,” said SCOTTeVEST CEO Scott Jordan, “because RFID security is a growing concern to travelers, particularly when traveling abroad. Identity theft is no laughing matter, and RFID tags on passports and credit cards make it ridiculously easy to be digitally pickpocketed without even realizing your information has been hacked. The special pocket in the RFID Vest stops this from happening to you.”
RFID security has been a growing issue over the past decade since all U.S. passports issued in 2006 and on use this technology (along with most credit cards and cell phones), making anyone’s personal information easily attainable by electronic thieves. Symantec first reported that mobile hacking incidents had doubled in 2011, and now according to a 2013 study by Consumer Reports, 7.1 Million Americans had their smartphone hacked last year. SeV is the first clothing line to integrate protection from these threats directly into garments, making RFID protection as simple as using a pocket.
The RFID Travel Vest - the flagship in the SeV RFID-blocking clothing line - is available in both men’s (26 pockets) and women’s styles (18 pockets), and is available in four colors in each style. Men’s options are Black, Khaki, Navy, Olive. Women’s options: Black, Khaki, Grey, Red. Both are available for $135 from www.SCOTTeVEST.com.
In addition to the RFID blocking pocket, SeV has incorporated its most evolved features into these new vests:
- Ergonomic Weight Management System - SeV consulted with a chiropractic professional to ensure the latest iteration of its Weight Management System properly balances the weight of pocket contents for added comfort during travel.
- Hotel Key Card Protector - hotel key cards and metro tickets are not on friendly terms with magnets or even cell phones, both of which can easily demagnetize them. SeV provides a clever key card sleeve to help keep magnetic strips from being damaged.
- Designed for Wearables - travelers love gadgets, and wearable gadgets like Google Glass are becoming available all over the world. The biggest problem? Battery life. SeV solves the issue by making it easy to recharge devices in one pocket with a battery pack in another pocket through the patented Personal Area Network (PAN) connecting them invisibly in the vest’s lining.
- Two-Way Ergonomic Zippers - when a product has 18-26 pockets, the quality and efficiency of zipper is key, and that’s why SCOTTeVEST invests in quality construction. The RFID Vest zipper pulls have been updated for performance and ergonomic grip, and the main zipper is now configured as a “two-way” zipper that can be opened from the top or the bottom. Some interior pockets now feature locking zippers.
- Improved Clear Touch Pockets are now fully transparent, to make seeing and operating a touch screen phone while it’s still in the pocket easier than ever before.
- Updated CollarConnectTM System - SeV clothing integrates patented technology for the incorporation of wires into clothing. CollarConnectTM is a design feature that routes headphone wires where they need to go, without any scratchiness around the collar.
- Longer Length in Women’s Style adds approximately 2 inches to each vest.
- Pocket Icons Label Each Pocket and provide a quick reference for their intended purpose.