Totally Frenched Out

From the blogger formerly known as Samdebretagne

Friday, August 12, 2016

The Ultimate Travel Jacket?

A while back, I blogged about some cool travel items, including the Baubax travel jacket. I ended up seeing it on sale on one of my favorite luggage sites, and decided to do some more research before purchasing it, and I came across their competitor - Scottevest.

I couldn't decide between which one I wanted, and they both had certain features the other didn't (and both were on sale), so I decided to purchase them both and see which one I like best. 

Baubax travel jacket:  The main idea of the Baubax jacket is that it has a million pockets so that you can stuff everything you'd need on the plane into it, which makes going through security easy since you just place the jacket & everything in it into the bin.  It can also be handy for flights where carry-ons aren't free.

Positives:
  • Integrated eye mask - this was one of the major selling points for me
  • Zipper includes a hidden pen for filling out customs forms
  • The sleeves were extra-long with half-gloves - great for staying warm on the plane
Negatives:
  • There are only 4 styles on-line and all are quite casual, except for the blazer - but the women's blazer had poor reviews.
  • All comments on line bring up sizing issues, and it was really stressful to figure out which size to order. I normally wear a size S or M in the US, but commenters online recommended buying an L or XL due to the China sizing.  I ended up getting an XL, thinking I would need the extra room if I filled up the pockets, but the jacket is actually much too big and exchanging it was a pain, so I'm stuck with the bigger size.
  • The look of the jacket is a little bit more 'sporty' than I would have liked - I'll probably literally only end up wearing it on the plane. 
  • The pockets seem a bit flimsy and like items would fall out if you bent over.
  • The free travel neck pillow is completely worthless. 
  • I was looking for a light-weight jacket I could wear in Asia when I didn't want to carry a purse, but this one would be too warm.
Scottevest Molly Jacket


Positives:
  • A lot more stylish than the Baubax jacket (plus many other style options are available)
  • Pockets are labeled and sturdy
  • Seems like a high-quality jacket
Negatives:
  • The integrated headphone holders won't fit my Bose headphone cable
  • There is no hood (and no eye mask!)
  • Also too hot for wearing in Asia
In the end, I decided to keep both jackets - the Baubax jacket eye mask has definitely helped me sleep better on long-haul flights, but it isn't one that I would wear around town.  The Scottevest jacket is on trend right now and one I have felt comfortable wearing around Paris. It also has enough pockets that I can get by without needing my purse, which is great for safety.

As far as price goes, the Baubax jackets range from $149-199 full price, which I think is a bit much. The Scottevest I purchased is normally $160 full price, but is currently on clearance for $72.00 - which is totally worth it in my opinion. (It also comes in black, but pretty much all of my jackets are black, so I went with the khaki).   I'm also really interested in their trench coats, and will probably check out their black Friday specials this fall...

**Both of these brands also have multiple men's versions available.
***This is not a sponsored post, I paid for both of these jackets with my hard-earned moola. :)

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1 Comments:

Blogger wonky73 said...

I'll add my uninformed 2 cents, since I have never owned either. I have a bunch of friends you travel a lot for work and they are techy people. So they always are carrying loads of things, an external harddrive a little fold up keyboard etc.. they all swear by Scott evests. I personally find my 4 pocket eddie bauer jacket is plenty. It's what I wore the last time I visited Paris.

August 15, 2016 at 12:51 AM  

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