Fashion & Beauty

Smart Parka

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  • Oct 28th, 2016 1:40 pm
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Deal Expert
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Nov 15, 2004
21786 posts
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Toronto
What's so special about it? Lots of jackets have pockets
Deal Fanatic
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Nov 4, 2008
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Scarbs
The number of pockets on a piece of clothing is negatively correlated with observed sexiness
When given enough time, all threads on RFD can and will go off on a tangent.
Deal Guru
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Nov 6, 2010
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Piro21 wrote: What's so special about it? Lots of jackets have pockets
I think the "innovation" is that the pockets are tailored for the stuff in it so you don't have to cram 3rd party gloves, scarves and hat into the coat's usable pockets, all of these fit in specialized compartments (gloves fit in the sleeves, scarf is integrated, hat fits in the hood). Also I think the Kickstarter price was $300 so there was that.
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uber_shnitz wrote: I think the "innovation" is that the pockets are tailored for the stuff in it so you don't have to cram 3rd party gloves, scarves and hat into the coat's usable pockets, all of these fit in specialized compartments (gloves fit in the sleeves, scarf is integrated, hat fits in the hood). Also I think the Kickstarter price was $300 so there was that.
That actually seems worse than a regular jacket then. Pockets that are useless unless you buy their proprietary gloves that are most likely both terrible and overpriced? That's not a deal at all.
Deal Guru
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Nov 6, 2010
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Piro21 wrote: That actually seems worse than a regular jacket then. Pockets that are useless unless you buy their proprietary gloves that are most likely both terrible and overpriced? That's not a deal at all.
Well that's my understanding based on the Kickstarter video. I suppose from the looks of it the compartment for the hat could fit any hat, but yeah the gloves one looks like it would only work with really thin gloves. The integrated neck scarf thing I guess is neat, but not new and neither is a removable liner.
Sr. Member
Feb 1, 2014
802 posts
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Toronto
mebiuspower wrote: I'll stick with my dead bird jacket thanks.
+1 I don't really see the point in this jacket unless you really need all those extra pockets.
Deal Guru
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Aug 20, 2012
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Looks dumb and moronic. Seems like a "parka-by-numbers" for 9 yr olds who lose shizz. Next.
If the glove don't fit you must acquit! #WINNING
Deal Addict
Aug 1, 2008
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GTA
If you want to "integrate" your gloves with your jacket, there's always these..

Image
Member
Sep 10, 2006
336 posts
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Toronto
zyphere wrote: If you want to "integrate" your gloves with your jacket, there's always these..

Image
^ These were for cool kids.

The normal kids had a yarn attached to their gloves, and the yarn would feed through the inside of the jacket through the sleeves
Sr. Member
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Jun 18, 2008
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If you buy a Canada Goose you dont need all the hidden compartments for hats, gloves and scarf because the jacket is so warm all you need is a t-shirt underneath!

Also the logo is hideous on that smart parka.
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Dec 7, 2012
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DJ_Peanuts22 wrote: Would you buy one?

Smart Parka breaks Canadian KickStarter record, earning $3M
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/p ... -1.3509814
Toronto crowdfunded startup embroiled in controversy
http://www.blogto.com/tech/2016/10/toro ... ntroversy/

Smart Parka (or Smarka) by North Aware, as CBC reports, broke a site-wide Canadian record after raising nearly $3.5 million on Kickstarter. However, some backers are miffed because they haven't received their jackets yet.

Originally, the Smart Parkas were supposed to be manufactured in Canada and made with down filling and real fur. Production has, however, since switched to China, and the company's using a synthetic, microfibre filling as well as fake fur.
Deal Addict
Feb 17, 2007
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I like pockets.... However not to the point where I have a pocket designed for specific item...
Newbie
Oct 21, 2016
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tk1000 wrote: Toronto crowdfunded startup embroiled in controversy
http://www.blogto.com/tech/2016/10/toro ... ntroversy/

Smart Parka (or Smarka) by North Aware, as CBC reports, broke a site-wide Canadian record after raising nearly $3.5 million on Kickstarter. However, some backers are miffed because they haven't received their jackets yet.

Originally, the Smart Parkas were supposed to be manufactured in Canada and made with down filling and real fur. Production has, however, since switched to China, and the company's using a synthetic, microfibre filling as well as fake fur.
that is brutal. from what i can tell following the comments on the Kickstarter campaign, and the messages from the creator of the product, they caved to pressure from backers and/or would-be backers to swap out the real fur for faux. and i guess they moved overseas and to crappier insulation to cut costs. too bad because the jacket seemed to raise a lot of interest.

in terms of features..

i would rather have just the basic 2 pockets outside, 1 zippered pocket inside. and pay the rest for quality down insulation, elegant outer fabric, and a real fur ruff.
Deal Guru
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Nov 6, 2010
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Kickstarter isn't a shop, people need to remember that. Half the people posting projects on Kickstarter have no idea about running a business, or bringing a product to market, which is why delays, compromises and manufacturing/delivery issues are common.

That's why their terms & conditions aren't like that of a retailer.
Newbie
Oct 21, 2016
42 posts
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uber_shnitz wrote: Kickstarter isn't a shop, people need to remember that. Half the people posting projects on Kickstarter have no idea about running a business, or bringing a product to market, which is why delays, compromises and manufacturing/delivery issues are common.

That's why their terms & conditions aren't like that of a retailer.
agreed. technically they could have taken the $3M and just disappeared. there would likely be no legal recourse for backers to get the money back. backing a project is a type of "investment' in an idea. you have no guarantees really of what you'll get back in return.

but it's still surprising to see such significant compromises being made in the salient features of the product.
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Nov 6, 2010
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csdesign wrote: agreed. technically they could have taken the $3M and just disappeared. there would likely be no legal recourse for backers to get the money back. backing a project is a type of "investment' in an idea. you have no guarantees really of what you'll get back in return.

but it's still surprising to see such significant compromises being made in the salient features of the product.
Like I said, it's usually because some of the campaigners have no or very little experience running a business, let along bringing a product to market. Large companies hire dozens if not hundreds of people to do this kind of work, so should we realistically expect <5 guys on a weekend job to fulfill +$1M of orders smoothly?

Half the time, the project has barely anything beyond a proof of concept model (aka they've not approached or at least seriously talked with a manufacturer for production & distribution) and the other half of the time, they get overwhelmed either by the scale their project took, or by obstacles not foreseen by people who aren't in the business of delivering products (ex: holidays in Asia that affect the manufacturing sector).

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