The Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket with Jacquard arrives this Wednesday for $350, and while that may be a steep price to pay for a jacket, the interactive nature of this smart piece of clothing coming out of the collaboration between Google’s ATAP division and Levi’s might justify the price a little bit for some. Levi’s Commuter series of cycling-focused clothing aren’t exactly super cheap to begin with – a pair of the Levi’s 511 Slim Fit Commuter series jeans typically costs $98, and those are just a regular pair of jeans with no smart technology built-in. With that said it shouldn’t be too surprising that the cost is a little higher for something like the Commuter Trucker jacket with Jacquard.
Despite having interactive technology the Commuter Trucker jacket can be worn and washed just like any other piece of clothing, you just have to remember to unhook the the smart tag before you toss it in the washing machine and you’re good to go. Even the smart fibers that are woven right into the jacket’s left sleeve will be fine, and because this is a Levi’s jacket you can expect the denim to durable and long-lasting, meaning that your $350 should be a worthwhile investment if you’re someone who does ride a bike and wants a little gesture control that can cut down on the need to interact with your smartphone during a ride.
While this does launch on Wednesday, the jacket will only be available in a few select physical stores to begin with, but it will also be on sale at the Levi’s website, so if you aren’t against ordering online you can still pick one up you just won’t be able to see the jacket in person before you purchase it. For those who live in the city and commute to work or school, or really live anywhere and just want an easy way to interact with their device while on the bike, this jacket has a small but useful list of features, such as double-tapping to start music playback, a swipe down the sleeve to reject an incoming call, or even a double tap to get the next direction if you have navigation going. With the connected companion app and a pair of headphones, you’ll even get spoken voice interaction from the jacket, which can even read off your text messages. The gestures are configurable too, so you can set them to do what you want from within the app. The smart tag has an LED light to notify you of incoming calls and text messages as well. If you’ve been waiting to grab one of these since it was first announced, the wait is almost over.
