I should have known I was in trouble as soon as I was told, "It's easy to assemble. Even a child can do it!"

Maybe that was the problem: I'm not a child.

As frequent readers of my drivel know, I'm addicted to geek clothing, most of which comes from Scott eVest, which has perfected the art of designing what has become known as Technology Enabled Clothing.

A glance at my closet shows off my addiction, displaying everything from their cargo pants to sport jackets, all with umpteen pockets and places to store everything geekish.

But their new offering has me baffled.

Scott Jordan, who is the genius behind all of these designs, has developed solar panels ($225) that can be attached to the back of his jackets --- with a few modifications --- and charge your electronic devices as you trudge, tramp or tromp through your daily life.

The concept is awesome. What electronics freak wouldn't want to be able to keep his Palm, MP3 player or digital phone charged while out shopping with the wife and kids or hiking through the woods?

But attaching the panels to the jacket is another matter: loop here, fasten there, use chewing gum here ... it was a nightmare. It didn't look right. Then it didn't feel right. I was baffled.

But then I had an idea: If a child can do it, why not slip a neighbor's kid a buck and have him do it! How embarrassing. It took him five minutes.

I'm now happily trudging and charging my way through my day.

Now for a few finer points:

• The solar panels charge a battery (about the size of a deck of cards) in about 2-3 hours in direct sunlight.
• The battery will charge most devices that are "USB compatible." You simply plug one end of the USB cable into the device and the other end into the battery.
• It can take from 2 to 5 hours to charge a device.
• The solar panels can be used to charge devices without being attached to the eVest.
• You can use any pocket connected to the jacket's PAN (personal area network) to store the battery.
• Only one device can be charged at a time.

For more information, check out the company's Web site at www.scottevest.com.

---

 

To comment on this article, contact me here.