One quick look at Oakley’s new Slingpack Jacket is enough to deduce that this is a utilitarian design. However, the purpose of the adjustable straps weaving down the left chest and the corresponding medley of zippered pouches opposite is unclear until you see the techy shell jacket in action.

The Slingpack Jacket is part of Oakley’s Latitude collection, a series dedicated to engineering outdoor adventure gear grounded by its “Morphware” philosophy, where clothing transforms and adapts according to its surroundings. The new jacket, according to Oakley’s release, is “the purest expression” of that mentality yet, and is where “Morphware evolves into its next phase.”

By releasing a series of straps hidden inside the Slingpack Jacket’s front panel, removing an extra adjustable strap hanging from the back, and neatly folding up the jacket’s windproof yet breathable shell, it transforms into Oakley’s classic Heritage Sling backpacks. Suddenly, an outdoorsy jacket becomes a functional bag. 

Admittedly, this isn’t a revolutionary concept: K-Way has been making cagoules that convert into crossbody bags since the ‘60s, for example. However, this kind of modular outerwear rarely functions as a bag proper because its jacket form takes up all its interior space.

Oakley’s shapeshifting Heritage Sling backpack, on the other hand, is so capacious that it can actually carry stuff, and thus is a pretty useful bag. There’s a zip-up pouch on the back, webbing on the wide crossbody strap for hanging stuff off, and the toggle straps on the front allow the wearer to squish all its contents together and create a more streamlined shape. Plus, having the outside of the bag showcased on the outside of the jacket adds some techy visual intrigue to this already advanced outerwear.

A variety of equally functional designs, like matching three-layer multipurpose shell pants with double-way zippers that adjust the fit and the new Eon Alpha sneaker where fluid overlays and a wavy sole unit create a sci-fi-level look, arrive alongside the Slingback jacket on March 17.

However, that outerwear/backpack combo is the jewel in the Oakley Latitude crown.

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