Honest Review of BauBax Travel Jackets

We each have a travel jacket from BauBax and have been using them for the past several months.  Brent has the BauBax Bomber Jacket, and Mallory is using the Sweatshirt.  These are designed and touted as the ultimate travel jackets.    There has been a ton of thought put into these jackets.  They are packed to the brim with features that are ideal for traveling.  They also maintains a very stylish appearance.  All told, we have enjoyed using them for the many features when we travel, but there are some issues with the fit and comfort that prevent them from being everyday jackets for us.

 

Build quality

The Bomber Jacket is made of breathable, water-resistant fabric.  Brent really likes the look of the material.  It performs great in the rain and looks like it would take quite a bit to tear.  The stitching is all done well and there shouldn’t be a worry of anything coming undone or loose anytime soon.

The same can be said of the Sweatshirt, except the water-resistant part.  The Sweatshirt fabric feels nice and is what you would expect from a high-quality sweatshirt. It is also substantial fabric that will actually keep you warm.

Comfort

The comfort is where we both have some issues.  While the fabrics are good, there are some issues we have with the fit and the cuffs.  We both are pretty tall with long legs and torsos.  While the body of the jackets fit well, the sleeves are a little short for us.

This issue is amplified by the design of the cuff.  The cuffs themselves are very thick, even before adding the Velcro glove attachments, discussed below.  These cuffs may be nice in keeping the warmth in, but they are by far the worst part of the jackets in our opinion.  As we move around and use our arms, the sleeves come up and stay there due to the cuffs.  This means we are always having to adjust the sleeves and pull them back down.  The thickness of the cuffs can also be annoying as it hits about 3-4 inches from the edge of the sleeve so it constantly feels like the sleeve is only coming halfway down your forearm.

 

If we had our druthers, we would have both preferred a more traditional sleeve where the fabric extended all the way to end with no defined cuff that cinches the sleeve to your wrist/forearm.    It would have also gone a long way if the gloves were just sewn in like most jackets do.  While it is cool that they are removable, it is really unnecessary and the Velcro is really annoying.

Since we are both fairly tall with longer arms, I am not sure how much of an impact this would have on shorter people with not-so-long arms.  It may make the jackets a lot more comfortable as the sleeve cuffs are really our only major complaints about the comfort.

Features

Built-in inflatable pillow

While Brent had hopes that the pillow was actually built into the jacket where it could be inflated without removal, that wasn’t the case.  Even so, it is great to have a nice inflatable pillow that is in a pocket in the hood.  You don’t notice that it is there at all, but it is easy to remove and inflate in just seconds.  Definitely a really cool perk for anyone that travels often or sleeps in weird areas.  This jacket would have been awesome during our college years when we slept in any hallway we could find throughout the day!

Eye Cover

They eye cover easily comes out of the hood and is a comfortable materials that falls over your eyes like an eye mask.  This is really cool and one of our favorite features.  Once again, it adds no bulk to the jacket and you don’t even know it is there until you need it.  It does a great job of blocking out the light and really helps you sleep during the day or on a plane.  A big bonus feature in our minds.

Detachable Gloves

The jacket comes with detachable “gloves,” which are really just thin fabric that covers your hands, but not fingers.  Surprisingly, they actually do a pretty good job at helping to keep your hands warm when the air has a little bite to it.

The big problem we have with the gloves is they attach inside the sleeves with velcro strips.  Unless you manage to line them up perfectly, the velcro itches and scratches at your skin.  They are also thick and just uncomfortable.   We found them to feel much better detached.  Mallory ditched hers altogether, but Brent just keeps them stashed in one of the interior pockets and then just puts them on when he wants them.  The velco is still a bit annoying, but 90% better with the gloves detached.

Passport Pocket

The Passport pocket is on the outside chest of the jacket and provides an easy place where you can get access to your passport without having to worry about pickpockets.  Once you get to your destination and have your passport in the hotel safe, this pocket is really useful for storing maps, travel plans, transportation passes or your wallet if you want that in a safer location.

Drink Pocket

Opposite the passport pocket is a drink pocket.  It is designed to hold a can of soda.  We were a little confused at this pocket at first, but it makes a lot of sense for flying.  It is an easy way to have easy access to a drink without it getting in the way on the plane.   The pocket is even insulated so that is cool. While it may be useful for that, we most often just use it as a normal pocket for much the same uses as discussed above for the passport pocket.

Bottle Opener/Whistle

Inside one of the hand pockets is a bottle opener/whistle.  The design on this is pretty cool as it is attached to the jacket, but is on a cord that you can pull out for easy use and then it retracts back into the pocket.  The downside is it takes up a decent part of the pocket.  Since we don’t have much use for a whistle or bottle opener when we travel, we would rather remove it (which you can) and just have the additional pocket space.  For those that have a greater use for a whistle (such as solo travelers) or bottle opener (we don’t drink), this is a cool feature.

Hand-Warming Pockets

These don’t have electric warmers or anything, but they are lined with warm material that do a really good job at keeping your hands warm.  These jackets aren’t meant to be worn in freezing temperatures so the pockets are going to be plenty warm for whatever weather you would be wearing this jacket.  Our only complaint is we wish the pockets were a bit deeper, but we imagine there is no extra room given all the other pockets in the jacket.  This issue was more prevalent in Mallory’s Sweatshirt than Brent’s Bomber Jacket.

Sunglasses Pocket

I’m (Brent) going to be honest, I don’t travel with sunglasses and I have never used this pocket, which is just on the inside chest of the jacket.  It is really conveniently placed and would be perfect for sunglasses or anything similar that you want protected, but accessible.  On the other hand, Mallory does travel with sunglasses and this pocket is great at helping her from misplacing those pesky sunglasses.

Microfiber Cloth

This cloth is attached to the jacket and is inside the Sunglasses Pocket.  We think this is really cool, especially Brent.  I (Brent) hate smudges on my glasses and it is super convenient to always have a microfiber cloth easy to access.  Even more useful for me is when I am with my camera (pretty much always when traveling).  It works great to clean smudges off my camera lens.  I have also used it to clean off my phone screen, where smudges can make it tough to read in the bright sunlight.

IPad Pocket

Inside the jacket, there is a large pocket perfect for carrying a tablet.  Once again, this is a great feature for airplane travel.  It is really nice having the tablet right inside the jacket so you don’t have to dig in and out of your backpack.  We usually like keeping my floor space open on the plane so it is even nicer not having to get into the overhead compartment to get the tablet out or put it back.  We wouldn’t necessarily want to carry a tablet around in the jacket all the time, but it is great for easy access when traveling, plus it frees up some bag space, which is becoming more and more valuable when flying.

Apple Pencil Pocket

This is another feature we have never used since we don’t have an Apple Pencil.  We probably should use if for keeping just a pen, but I imagine it would be desirable for those with an Apple Pencil.

Secret Pocket

If you are really worried about pick pockets or just want to keep something extra safe, a secret pocket is great.

Phone Pocket

The phone pocket is a nice zippered pocket inside the chest.  It is really easy to access, which is perfect for carrying a phone.  It is also perfect for a wallet or anything else you want safe and easily accessible.

Earplugs Pocket

Inside the jacket is a small pocket that comes with a set of earplugs in a plastic case.  Earplugs are one of those travel essentials that we forget too often, and it can be a big deal when we don’t have them.  Dead tired after two weeks in Europe, we found ourselves in a hotel off Las Ramblas in Barcelona, where the noise made it hard to sleep, leading to even more exhaustion.  We, especially Brent, have used these earplugs many times and they work pretty well.  The coolest thing we have noticed is that we have used them in many situations where we wouldn’t normally have had earplugs with us.

Airpods Pocket

We don’t use it for Airpods, but we love having a dedicated pocket for our headphones.  We hate having them jumbled together in a pocket with our keys and other things, so it is nice to keep them isolated in their own pocket.

Powerbank Pocket

Another useful tool when traveling.  Having a dedicated pocket to keep a powerbank is a great way to always have extra power for your phone.

Blanket Pocket

Another pocket we don’t have much use for, but could be useful for someone that gets cold on flights.  Now that a lot of airlines don’t offer blankets, a small blanket is a must for many travelers that get cold on the plane, but don’t want to pack a big winter jacket.

Blanket

The jackets come with a small blanket that folds up really small to fit in the blanket pocket.  Unfortunately, the blanket is so small, it doesn’t do much in the way of keeping you warm.  It is great if you just want a blanket to sit on though.  Personally, we have a couple travel blankets that are almost as small, and still fit in the blanket pocket, but are much nicer.

Zipper Pen and Stylus

The zipper of the jacket has a telescoping pen/stylus.  We thought we would be annoyed at how big it is on the zipper, but we actually found it quite nice feeling, easy to use and convenient.  We even agree it looks pretty cool as something unique you won’t see on a normal bomber jacket or sweatshirt.  The only issue with Brent’s was he must not have screwed it in tight enough as it is out in the desert somewhere having fallen off without him noticing.

Airpod Straps

We don’t have a use for these so we never used them.  On the contrary, Brent found them getting in the way so he took them out of the jacket.

Headphone Holder

A simple loop on each side of the jacket’s collar is ingenious.  We find we have to take my headphones in and out a lot when we travel, especially at the airport.  Sometimes we have looped them up through our shirts, which is annoying in its own right, but better than having them constantly in the way.

Footrest

As mentioned above, we are both quite tall and have never used a footrest on a plane.  Because of that we don’t really use the footrests at all.  For the sake of testing, Brent did inflate the footrest and used it at home.  It was quite comfortable and easy to use.  We have heard complaints from people before about not being able to rest their shorter legs on planes so this would be a really cool feature for them.

Travel Bottle

The jacket comes with travel bottle, which is a flat pouch that can fill with water.  We have seen these before and were always tempted to buy one because they are great for airport use as they take up almost no space, but let you fill up on water once you have been past security.

Conclusion

In truth, this has been a difficult product to review.  There are so many features we were excited about that delivered, and some additional features that were more awesome than we expected.  The downfall for us both was really just the cuffs on the sleeves.  They were both really uncomfortable for us and were a real downer to what otherwise would have been really exciting jackets.  Hopefully, this is just due to having longer arms, but we can’t say. Maybe we will have to order one of the vests to be able to use all the cool parts of the jacket, without having to deal with the sleeves.

If you think any of the jackets or vests, or just want to see more, check them out at BauBax.