It is known that snowboarders have been targeted by the consumer electronics industry. We’ve seen helmets with integrated speakers but Kenpo has something much more practical: a Jacket with iPod controls that will let one send commands to the MP3 player without having to remove your gloves or open your jacket. We’ve tried one for a few weeks and here are our thoughts: The jacket by itself is a high quality jacket and not some random piece of cloth on which a remote was added on.
With the iPod safely inside the pocket, it’s time to use the remote-control on the left sleeve. All the buttons are integrated into the fabric and are very discreet (we tested the black jacket without white stripes).
It takes a minute to connect the iPod to the Jacket. Don’t forget to put the ipod in “lock” position to let the jacket controls take over. To use the sleeve buttons, one has to press the “forward” button for 3 seconds to unlock the controls. After 7 seconds of inactivity, the jacket will lock the iPod controls automatically to avoid accidental commands.
Overall, we really like this jacket. It is warm, elegant (it actually look better in real life than in the photos) and practical. If you don’t want to pull your iPod from your Jacket all the time (especially with ski gloves) and get a nice Jacket at the same time, it is really worth considering. Although not present on most product photos, our review jacket had a hood.
This Jacket costs $275, but that’s the price to pay to get a jacket with the Elektex smart fabric, I guess.
*This Jacket does not work with all iPod model (ex: The iPod Video or iPod Shuffle) as it requires the 9-pin connector. Make sure that your iPod is compatible first.
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