We’ll admit: the MOW Isola26 is far from the most stylish jacket you can rock during wet, chilly weather. It is, however, one of the most utilitarian, vowing to not just keep you dry, but offer all the gear storage you will need for a day out and about.
Billed as a “waterproof adventure jacket,” the outerwear garment vows to keep you dry all year round with its water-shedding shell and adaptable design that lets you wear it in different ways. Even better, it offers a ridiculous amount of storage similar to those multi-pocket travel jackets, making it an even more utilitarian option.
The MOW Isola26 is a rain jacket that can be worn as a long jacket that drops down to the thighs to shield you from heavy rains. However, it has a design that can be folded at the hem and secured in place using snaps, giving it a shorter, higher-mobility fit for lighter days out. It’s got all the elements you want in a well-made rain jacket, from the four-way stretch nylon shell and the Thermocloud insulated inner layer to the recycled Polydown insulation and the integrated air vents to the waterproof zippers and detachable hood.
More than a jacket, it’s meant to serve as a waterproof backpack replacement, since the darn thing comes with a whopping 26 pockets to handle all your gear storage needs. That’s right, this thing has over two dozen storage slots. Around the back, for instance, you get a large pocket that’s meant to act like an integrated backpack, while large flaps on both the left and right sides out front offer access to multiple pockets of varying sizes. These pockets include one for a laptop, one for a tablet, one for a passport and other small valuables, and all sorts of other slots.
The MOW Isola26 also comes with a chest pocket sized to hold your phone that can unzip and flap down, allowing you to use your phone without removing it from the storage, which they call a “3D Touch-View Desk.” Alternatively, you can also put your phone on a clear sleeve at the forearm section, which also lets you use the phone without taking it off. It even has a “silent pocket” that’s supposedly made from a radiation-shielding material, giving you a pocket that’s essentially a miniature Faraday cage. Heck, they even threw in a MOLLE patch on the left chest area for organizing cables and similar items.
Aside from wearing as a jacket, the garment can also be carried as a minimalist laptop backpack with a 10L capacity. Sure, that’s not a lot, but it lets you carry a jacket without wearing it, just in case you’ll need one. Lastly, it can even be used as a giant sling bag. Granted, it doesn’t look comfortable at all as a sling bag, but it’s an option if you have a lot of stuff to transport an don’t want to wear the jacket during a hot day out.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the MOW Isola26. You can reserve a unit that includes the rain jacket and the insulated inner layer for pledges starting at $278.
