One of the realities of living in Toronto, Canada, about a two-hour drive from the nearest American city when traffic cooperates, is experiencing a distinctly four-season climate. Winter lives up to the stereotype of being bitterly cold, before giving way to a mild and rainy spring and finally a hot and humid summer. The warmth doesn’t last more than three to four months, but before the leaves turn orange in October and Starbucks brings out the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Over the past three months, I’ve been testing the AyeGear J25 jacket to see how it holds up to Canadian extremes, from a sub-freezing, snowy day in early April to a relatively 90º day in mid-July. In addition to wearing the jacket around Toronto, I brought it with me on a recent trip to San Francisco, which allowed me to test airport security and the convenience of being away from home in general. Ahead, find out if the jacket lives up to the task.
Fashion and functionality
The jacket has more than 25 separate compartments for storing portable devices, valuables, travel essentials and general items, including six credit card and ID holders, two hand pockets, two chest pockets, two sleeve pockets, two smartphone pockets, two tablet pockets, two Pen holder, two coin holders, two memory stick holders, two SD card holders, a rear laptop pocket and a passport holder.
There’s a Velcro-based earphone routing system along the neck of the jacket, an elastic strap that can hold a drink bottle, and an in-pocket retractable reel to secure your keys – or something with a carabiner clip.
On my trip to San Francisco, I packed several items in the jacket, including a 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, two iPhones, two SD cards, EarPods, Lightning-to-USB cable, wall charger, pack. Chewing gum, car keys, sunglasses, passport, boarding pass, charging case, portable battery pack, wallet, and loose change. Apart from these, the jacket can hold two iPads.
My immediate reaction after putting the jacket on was that, perhaps as expected, it was rather heavy. It almost feels like wearing a lead apron at the dentist’s office while taking dental x-rays. Carrying around all your electronics and personal belongings strapped to your body is definitely a bit frustrating, and this jacket can be rather uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.
While the weight may be a worthwhile tradeoff for frequent flyers, the jacket makes going through airport security a much less frustrating experience. Anyone who’s stood in line at a TSA checkpoint knows it can be a tedious, albeit important, process: Take off your shoes, take your laptop out of its bag, and put all your personal belongings in the bin before proceeding through the metal detector.
However, when wearing the jacket, all you have to do is quickly take it off with your shoes, much to the delight of the people waiting behind you.
AyeGear’s J25 jacket is built to last in all weather conditions. It’s made from a blend of cotton (67 percent) and nylon (33 percent) that’s proven to be waterproof — water droplets bead off — and wrinkle-free. The jacket features an adjustable rollaway zipped hood, a breathable lining and removable sleeves to turn the jacket into a vest, making it useful for hiking trips or similar activities in warm weather.
In terms of fashion, the AyeGear J25 isn’t an incredibly stylish jacket — but it’s not ugly either. As a 20-something who usually wears skinny jeans and a slim v-neck crew shirt, the jacket felt baggier than what I usually wear. To be fair, the jacket serves a specific purpose which naturally prevents it from being a more formfitting jacket than I might buy from a fashion retailer like H&M.
It also looks great as a vest in my opinion, so go without the sleeves and hood if possible, or consider the cheaper V26 Vest instead.
value
A knock against the AyeGear J25 is its price: £149.99, which is $198.75 in the US or about $260 in Canada and Australia based on current exchange rates — and that’s after the British pound’s recent post-Brexit vote fall. The jacket is certainly convenient, but whether it’s worth throwing two bills at is debatable.
As is often the case, a better deal can be found on Amazon, where the jacket sells for between $149.99 and $190. Prices vary depending on size selected.
bottom line
AyeGear’s J25 jacket is a convenient, versatile jacket that fills a niche, especially for expats or frequent flyers, but its drawbacks of being somewhat heavy and expensive should be considered. For most people, it might be wiser to save your money and stick with a traditional jacket and backpack combo.
How to buy
The J25 jacket can be purchased on AyeGear’s website (~$198) or Amazon ($149.99-$190) in small, medium, large, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, or 5XL. Free delivery is offered within the UK, while worldwide shipping is available.
Note: AyeGear provided MacRumors with a free J5 jacket for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
