A few months ago, Nike made every Back to the Future fan’s dream come true by finally releasing sneakers with fully-functional power laces. And now, just weeks before 2015 draws to a close, it looks like Marty’s self-drying jacket from BTTF2 could also become a reality.
Unlike the BTTF2 shoes Nike has en route, the SDJ-01 isn’t a perfect replica of the jacket Marty puts on when he first arrives in the year 2015. Those self-adjusting sleeves are nowhere to be seen, but the drying mechanism is, powered by a pair of blowers hidden on the sides of the jacket that pump air up through exhaust vents near the collar.
On a full charge of its built-in battery, the SDJ-01 can pump air through the jacket for a full 30 minutes, but in testing its creators found it only took about a minute for the garment to be noticeably dryer after a soaking.
The fans aren’t only there for drying, though. If you’re on a hot crowded train and don’t have enough room to remove the jacket, just activate the SDJ-01’s blowers for a blast of cool air until you reach your stop.
So what will a jacket from the future (but not really the future) cost you? The creators of the SDJ-01, Falyon, are using Kickstarter to raise just $US12,000 ($16,512) to help put the jacket into production. You can own one of the first self-drying jackets off the assembly line for a mere $US149 ($205) if you can wait until April of next year for delivery.
That’s assuming that production of the SDJ-01 is smooth sailing, which it rarely is. But since we’ve had wait to wait some 27 years for someone to finally recreate Marty’s self-drying jacket from Back to the Future 2, what’s a few more months?