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No-contact jacket is like a taser you can wear

by Brigitte Dale (Subscribe to Brigitte Dale's posts)
Posted Dec 11th 2006 at 8:47AM  
35 Comments
Share
Ever wanted your own electric force field? The no-contact jacket allows you to send 80,000 volts of low-amperage, non-lethal electric current just under the surface of your entire jacket. Anyone who touches the coat while you've got it activated will experience some serious pain, plus lose voluntary muscle movement, giving you time to run away. Inside the jacket, you're protected from the zap by the rubbery interior.

It's actually a somewhat cute casual jacket. It looks like the type of thing I'd wear jogging at night, but I wonder if that rubbery interior might not be the most breathable fabric. Sweating so close to an electrical current would make me a little nervous.

The no-contact jacket is available for $950 at no-contact.com.
Read All Comments
Filed under: Fashion, Best of the Season
Tags: jacket, no-contact, self-defense, taser
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READER COMMENTS

(35)Add A Comment

johnny, 12-14-2006, 6:39AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
johnny

Come on! What the hell! Do we need another devise for sick people to use against each other. Let put our minds to use for good things. Whoever thought this 1 up is a sick bastard.

Reply »

Wendy Martone, 12-14-2006, 7:37PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Wendy Martone

This jacket is sheer brilliance! It is a sick world we live in full of sick bastards out to hurt us, and whoever came up with this idea deserves some type of award. It would be nice if it were offered at a more affordable price, but when it comes to personal safety I suppose this would not be one of those times to look for a cheap knock-off. I love it! (Now if someone would only invent a jacket that shoots out hundreds of tiny knives like they show on that commercial on the SciFi channel...)

Reply »

Brooke Vivian, 12-14-2006, 7:13AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Brooke Vivian

How many volts does the jacket have? Because here, the voltage says 80, 0000 - with four (FOUR) zeros after the comma. That number doesn't exist. Is the number 80, 000 intended? Always double and triple check the facts.

Reply »

Ozzy, 12-14-2006, 7:24AM

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Ozzy

Great Idea actual add here is 80,000 typo at top.

The No-Contact Jacket is a wearable defensive jacket created to aid women in their struggle for protection from violence. When activated
by the wearer, 80,000 volts of low amperage electric current pulses just below the surface shell of the entire jacket. This exo-electric
armor prevents any person from unauthorized contact with the wearer's body. If an assailant were to grab hold of the wearer the high
voltage exterior would interrupt their neurological impulses which control voluntary muscle movement. The neuromuscular
system would be overwhelmed causing disorientation and loss of balance to occur and of course pain. The pain experienced is non-lethal
but is enough to effectively and immediately deter contact with the wearer and provide a critical life saving oppurtunity for escape.

The goal of the No-Contact Jacket is to call attention to violence against women and to offer an alternative response to the body's
vulnerable space and boundaries that society, culture and fashion have created.

Reply »

Ozzy, 12-14-2006, 7:24AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Ozzy

All the details
The goal of the No-Contact Jacket is to call attention to violence against women and to offer an alternative response to the body's
vulnerable space and boundaries that society, culture and fashion have created. The development of the No-Contact Jacket is to intervene
into the social condition of violence against women. This project enters a new realm of communication by expanding the borders between
technology, visual arts, culture, product and the mass market. These alliances create new vocalizations and encourage thoughtful
explorations into new social dialogues and new human/machine relationships.

Fashion  through out history has tended to place women in positions of vulnerability. Female clothing designs historically and
in modern times can be physically confining and limiting in mobility such as in corsetry, high heel shoes, dresses and tight clothing.
Clothing that prevents protection creates a space around the body which is vulnerable and powerless. We have reclaimed the use of
fashion to dramatically reidentify the female body and to protect her physical space and boundaries. Equally as important we are exploring
the use of the body as an instrument of disruption of powerlessness and of limiting social dress codes and conventions.

The No-Contact Jacket also challenges existing power landscapes between men and women and alters ideas of human space and
boundaries. Protecting and empowering the female body from unauthorized contact will allow for her to inhabit her environment in a
more confident way and thus redefine and renegotiate her physical space and identity. The No-Contact Jacket will begin to shift ideas of
perceived female vulnerabilities.

We intend to offer The No-Contact Jacket to the mass market place.

Reply »

kern, 12-14-2006, 7:53AM

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kern

What happens if the wearer touches this thing themselves? Is this the ultimate in feminist paranoyia? Does one wear this when walking one's Rotweilers?

Reply »

akahele, 12-14-2006, 8:20AM

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akahele

I would like on of these, As a male I would like to give women the same treatment. I'm sick of empowering women to hurt men. We need protection from todays white male bashing women. If a woman touches me, without my permission, I'd like to shock here across the room. I have had more crappy treatment from women in the last ten years. Women now think they have the right to make the first move, and that men like it, bullshit. I have as much right to my own empowerment as they do. I would seriously like to wear this jacket and let the women I know to back off.

Reply »

whitemalebasher, 12-14-2006, 8:53AM

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whitemalebasher

akahele is probably gay... empowering women shouldn't hurt your fragile ego, and certainly doesn't "hurt" men. Women have been dealing with crimes to their physical body since forever. I find it hard to believe that you think there's a comparison. Men don't typically get raped by a woman. If you seriously think that men don't like for a woman to make the first move then perhaps you should poll your buddies. I'd be willing to bet you're out numbered. Welcome to the 21st century. May you never find a good woman willing to put up with your crap.

Reply »

Brigitte Dale, 12-14-2006, 9:14AM

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Brigitte Dale

Note: Voltage typo has been fixed. Thanks to Brooke Vivian and Ozzy for calling it to our attention!

Reply »

sPenCer, 12-14-2006, 9:12AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
sPenCer

akahele is no doubt gay. What a loser. lol I want a jacket that pulls women in closer :) unless of course their a walking electric fence, jeez, just buy a freakin stun gun if you need protection. A good kick to the groin is very effective also, epecially if your wearing high heels.

Reply »

boss, 12-14-2006, 9:45AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
boss


Cool! What about turning it insided out and putting it on someone. That would be some awesome torture type stuff right there. Think of the possibilities...

Reply »

Tony, 12-14-2006, 10:01AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Tony

What if it starts to rain when your out? will it fry the person who's wearing it??

Reply »

carlton wilsonII, 12-14-2006, 10:34AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
carlton wilsonII

The jacket is useless for self defense in that anyone who is actually bent on harming you is very likely to use the jacket against the wearer. One example of a way to defeat the jacket is to use ones feet as weapons. My rubber sneakers can be used to great effect and provide insulation against the electric current. 80,000 volts, by the way, isn't much unless accompanied by strong amperage. Most stun weapons are restricted to .3 amps, which is only capable of interrupting the brains electronic impulse when applied to specific points on the body. This type of self defense strategy is as useless as the ladies defense classes that focus on kicking men in the crotch, which contrary to hollywood, is a faulty defense tactic that in most cases serves only to infuriate the attacker. Ladies, pay attention, go for the eyes. With a small amount of pressure, they'll squish like grapes. A guy whose eye has just been destroyed loses interest in everything else very quickly.

Reply »

LoyolaMan, 12-14-2006, 10:35AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
LoyolaMan

Shocking ! I agree Fashion , along with Film and more , has been used as a way to disenpower Women . More shocking is the prevalent attitude amongst most Men . I understand why a Woman would want such a device and more ! How do we change the Negatives to Positives ? Electrocution isn't the answer . How do I tell a Woman , spooked at a blind intersection , that I have only used my great size and strength to protect Women , Children , Elderly , Gays and others , and reassure her that I would never harm her in the microsecond before she shoots me ?

Reply »

Jim Regan, 12-14-2006, 10:45AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Jim Regan

My wife's got a pair or two of panties like this.

Reply »

wardo, 12-14-2006, 12:03PM

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wardo

after reading all the comments, i sat back and had a vision of a big reversal on use of the coat, and not a good one at that. what would happen if criminals started to use this item instead of the possible victims. lets just say a mugger or a rapist or carjacker ran up behind you in a car park or shopping mall parking lot and grabbed you. you would be suffering the same result that was intended for the mugger. also, how would the police be able to physically apprehend a criminal wearing such a "weapon" as this. im not saying this is a bad thing if used for the purpose it was intended, but as we all know the honest are always out numbered by the dishonest. just as the bad guys always have the superior firepower over our police officers im sure that they would be able to find a way to obtain such a usefull item that was intended to do good and turn it around and have more success with it then what it was intended for in the first place. for a pro carjacker, what is the price of $950.00 when i can carjack 4 mercedes and a couple of lexes's that can total about $200,000 a nite and not have to use a gun, just a 5 to 10 second hug? what would attract your attention more, someone pointing there arm and moving it in a gesturing way at someone, or 2 people hugging for a few seconds. i think its a good preventive means but common sense should always be first and this coat a backup. at $950.00, could any of us here really afford this coat? no. its just another toy for the rich and another tool for the criminals. what would happen if 2 people wearing the coats made contact with each other? would the universe as we know it cease to exist? all fun aside, its a good thought but not practable for the common every day people who would be in a situation to need such a device, maybe at a lower price us common folk could afford it . but once again, so could the criminals.

Reply »

Tony, 12-14-2006, 11:01AM

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Tony

Worse case scenario on this would be the person buying the jacket for safety happens to get hit by a car, the driver gets out to see if the person is ok and gets stunned, as do a couple more helpers. Ambulance crew turn up confused and try to help only to get stunned themselves, meanwhile the person wearing the coat for protective purposes has died due to internal bleading because the medics couldn't help. Just a thought.

Reply »

Grizz, 12-14-2006, 11:04AM

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Grizz

I've studied self-defense/tactical for 15 years. This is an excellent safety device, as long as its power source has enough juice for multiple (2-3, maybe as many as 5) applications, and is easily and rapidly replaceable/rechargeable. Many people, both male and female, simply do not have the experience to recognize a threat before it is too late. A jacket like this would allow someone under attack to repel an attacker long enough to utilize other defensive measures (hand-to-hand combat training, pepper spray/other projectiles, etc.).

Now, as with all broad categories, exceptions do exist, but this would be especially valuable for women in particular for 2 reasons.
1. Lower physical strength, especially in the upper body, puts them at even more of a disadvantage against an attacker able to close to grappling range.
2. (Again, let me emphasize that this is a generalization and exceptions do exist.) An attacker could enter farther into a woman's personal space than a man's, before being catalogued as a threat.
A. Women do not process information the same way as men. This has been well-established by multiple studies; not saying one way is better than the other, each has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the situation. Accept it, deal with it. One aspect of this is that women are less likely to catalogue someone as a threat based on expression and body language. (This also means that women are often far more willing to meet/talk with unfamiliar people; again, each has situations where it is in the advantage.)
B. Women, in general, are more far less "territorial" about their personal space than men.
C. Personal space is directly related to physiacal size. Men, being larger on average, have a larger perimeter of personal space.

For all of the above reasons, this jacket is a good idea.
(BTW, men would like it for the "James Bond Q's Gadget Shop" factor. And the same security advantages, while not as evident in the balance of power between attacker and target, would apply to men as well.)

And, in response to the concerns in comment # 1, that this is "for sick people to use against each other": Someone would have to be IN CONTACT with the jacket to be shocked. This is as DEFENSIVE as body armor on a reporter in a war zone. If someone takes this as a threat to be used against another, they either
1. ARE a sicko who would look for a way to use this against someone
or
2. are a totally dependent individual who rejects defensive force in favor of (probably continued) victimhood (i.e. abusive relationship).
Both catagories need professional mental help, because their view of reality is seriously warped.

Reply »

justgetalong, 12-14-2006, 11:04AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
justgetalong

Hey, yeah... let's put one on akahele! :))


Cool! What about turning it insided out and putting it on someone. That would be some awesome torture type stuff right there. Think of the possibilities...

Reply »

justgetalong, 12-14-2006, 11:12AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
justgetalong

"If a woman touches me, without my permission, I'd like to shock here across the room. I would seriously like to wear this jacket and let the women I know to back off."

Not a problem. I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole!


"I have had more crappy treatment from women in the last ten years."

Hmmm..... wonder why?

Reply »

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