They Arrived

Okay, I have to admit this post is a long time coming. The jackets we ordered from Global Travel Clothing arrived a few weeks ago. Actually, they arrived when we were in Cyprus, but here is what happened.

I had them sent to my private student's store. He owns a health food store and is always getting packages from around the world without a problem. I used to have all of my packages sent to the university, but I cannot do that any longer. When the jackets arrived, he held off sending me an e-mail knowing we were out of the country. Then when we returned, he had to cancel the next lesson.

When I finally received them, it was the start of the nine days without gas: no hot water, no heat, and no stove. My mind was on other things, though the jackets would have been handy for warmth. 

The gas was finally turned back on by December 23rd, but when it went on, the furnace would not work. It took us two days to find a repairman to come out, but who then discovered there were some broken parts. By Christmas, we were all heated up again, but shortly thereafter, we had B and B guests. One thing after another, I had forgotten to get Ron to model the jacket for a photo. 

Finally, it happened. See above? 

The first thing I did was see if my Galaxy Tablet would fit in the inner pocket. It does. There are pockets within pockets. Excellent security. Unlike the other coats that I have read about, this one does not have dozens of pockets. However, the reviews of those jackets with too many pockets fault this as so many of them are so small, they are useless.

I love the material of the jackets with the added plus that they are machine washable. Though the black color will hide dirt, it is a bonus they will not require dry cleaning, yet that is a choice.

So far, we are as pleased as punch with these jackets even if we had not taken them for a test spin in a pickpocket infested city yet. 

Visit the site here.

For full disclosure if you go to the site, you can earn a $10 discount for answering a short questionnaire. However, Glenn Cope, the owner gave me $20 off each jacket in exchange for one blog post. There were no conditions set on what the post should include, but he was secure enough in his product to trust what I would write. As a thanks and to give readers the full story,  I offered 3 posts. This is number 2. The third one will be from Ecuador.

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Double Duty Jacket - Global Travel Clothing

It wasn’t too long ago when thoughts of going to the airport flying off to another destination filled me with anticipation and overwhelming excitement. Now, it fills me with dread and negative anticipation, created by visions of the airline check-in counter. Having to weigh my luggage and then trying to squeeze it into a metal template that I swear has been reduced by centimeters from the published dimensions of the airlines’ websites, all increases my agitata, which is followed by a sour stomach and heart palpitations. Agitata is from my Italian background.

Airlines today, utilize their marketing skills trying to convince us they are doing us the favor by limiting what we can carry-on or store in the hold. For a couple of years now, I have been looking at proposed solutions. One solution was to compact my packing to a carry-on only. A year after I paid a hefty price for the perfect carry-on that met many airline requirements; the airlines reduced the acceptable size one after the other like a row of dominoes.

Next to consider were clothes with multiple pockets. Multi-pocket pants seemed to be a viable alternative, filling up the pockets with cords, phone, and tablet, whatever can be stuffed in them. However, when it is your turn at the security line, you have to basically strip to get through the machinery. Then it takes forever to retrieve everything and hope you have not left something behind.

These pants are also a viable pickpocket risk. I had a credit card stolen from pants with a knee pocket that had a Velcro tab so efficient; it took me two hands to open. On an overcrowded trolley bus in Quito, some magician managed to extract my goods without arousing one nerve cell in my leg. Genius!

Various coats have passed through my browsing history and I have disregarded them one by one for various reasons. Those with too many pockets means many of the pockets are so small, they are useless. Some are so overpriced; you may as well pay the excess luggage fee for the next 2 years and call it quits. Just by chance, I had read a reader’s comment on a travel forum that mentioned Global Travel Clothing, so I took a look with a firm attitude that I would yet be disappointed again.

I looked at the jacket’s style and found its classic flair easy on the eyes. There was nothing about it that shouted “I am hiding the goodies under here.” There are no unsightly bulges. The number of pockets was a reasonable amount to be advantageous, yet not overwhelming. I liked the fact that it has an elastic waist band draw, which is another pickpocket deterrent. A bonus is the optional RFID protection sleeve, keeping your credit cards and/or your passport safe from being scanned from afar. This is a common tech trick for theft.

Perhaps the greatest selling point is the materials: cotton and polyester, which keeps it wrinkle free and is machine washable. No expensive trips to the dry cleaner for this jacket; this in itself is exciting. Jackets are custom made based on your measurements. Come January 2015, they will also be available in dark blue. It is too late for our needs, but perfect for others who don’t have an immediate need.

We are ordering one for Ron and me, so stay tuned for a report when they go come and then a third post of the jackets in action during our time in Ecuador.

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