Ever wished that you could put in just a bit more insulation in your jacket? That’s the idea behind the really stylish and cool looking Gatherer Jacket by Merrell. The translucent jacket comes as a shell with no insulation, but is equipped with a number of zippers throughout its body where the wearer stuff the jacket with whatever insulation material is on hand. Shredded paper, pine needles, fallen leaves or yesterday’s newspaper – the Gatherer offers endless ways to keep warm with some creative recycling of found objects.
The translucent Nylon fabric allows the wearer to showcase his insulation material, making the jacket customizable in terms of insulation levels, but also as a method of self expression where you can show off your choice of insulation to the world. Another benefit comes from the modularity: you can adjust the location of the insulation, so if you need a bit more warmth in your chest area, and less in your arms it’s just a matter of adjusting the stuffed materials.
This jacket seems like an excellent idea for camping enthusiasts – it won’t take too much space to pack, it’s waterproof and will allow you to keep warm wherever you go. The Gatherer is available now for both men and women at $99.
Top photo via Popular Mechanics
I wonder how easy it is to clean the inside
Interesting… a new way to spend ungodly sums of money to look like a homeless person. This is the best idea since dyed to look filthy and artificially worn out jeans.
Ridiculous! Just make a eco friendly stylish jacket that I will want to keep in my closet and wear for multiple seasons. Not a jacket that I will want to throw away after a couple of days like a full garbage bag.
Taxi, an ad agency in Toronto already did this idea last year as a project to help the homeless:
http://15belowproject.org
Taxi’s jacket is wayyyyy better looking than this Merrell one.
“Stuffed, the 15 Below jacket can be worn as a winter coat.
Stuffing removed, it can be worn as a raincoat.
When not being worn, the jacket can be folded into a backpack for easy transportation, or used as a pillow.”
Damn, I know i put my keys in here somewhere!
This is oh so similar to a 1993 design by Tsumura (Japan) too: http://www.finalhome.com/finalhome/FINALHOME.html
(see archives)
definitely has a purpose for certain situations… unfortunately they’re situations where you’re probably not thinking about what type of jacket you’re wearing. Maybe these jackets will make their way into ‘emergency kits’ or something…
Would these send compulsive hoarder types right over the edge?