9/17/04 See
updates in red below
The SCOTTeVEST line of technology enabled clothing sure has evolved from their first vest. Since then, they’ve created casual jackets, leather jackets, caps, neckties and even sport jackets. It is surprising to me that it has taken all this time for them to finally come out with a pair of pants. But, today is the day that they are announcing their new Hidden Cargo Pants. The term cargo may stir images of slouchy pants with large baggy pockets on either leg. Not so with this product. These pants are nice enough to wear into any office while still providing storage for your stuff and a comfy fit.
Available in sizes from 28/30 up to 40/36, these stone colored khakis are made of 100% cotton and have all the cool features that you’ve come to expect from SCOTTeVEST, including 11 pockets and their now famous PAN (Personal Area Network). Let’s take a closer look…
The material that these pants are made of, has a quality weight to it. In my opinion they feel more expensive than standard khakis that you might buy from a Sears or JcPennys. The material will be Teflon coated, to prevent staining from spills. My sample pants did not have this coating, so I skipped the test I had planned to pour some Big Red on them. The Hidden Cargos are machine washable and do not require ironing.
These pants do not come in male and female versions, so they ride higher on the waist than what I prefer. That said, they are comfortable both standing and sitting.
As you can see, they don’t have any pleats down the front. Yay! In my opinion, pleats are evil! The legs have more of a bootcut than straight cut. Another plus.
Let’s talk pockets… There are 14 pockets / compartments in the Hidden Cargo.
2 normal slash hand pockets
2 deep cargo pockets in front the slash pockets with the bottoms each separated into 2 additional pockets on each side
2 back pockets
1 pen pocket
1 small square pocket inside the waistband
1 zippered change pocket
Argh! I can’t find the 14th pocket / compartment. Maybe I’m missing a pocket in this prototype pair. Since it is hard to photograph the pockets make sure you take a look at the info on the SeV site.
This product is called the Hidden Cargo because unlike most cargo pants, there are no big buttoned pockets on the sides of the legs. Instead, there are deep pockets that are situated in front of the slash hand pockets. When you put your hands in your pockets, they will automatically go into the regular slash pockets. To gain access to the cargo pocket area, you have to separate the magnetic ‘clasp’ that holds the opening closed.
Left to right: Magnetic clasp holding cargo pocket area closed, hidden change zippered pocket
The pockets themselves are quite deep and the outside edge wraps to the outside of your thigh like a typical cargo pocket. In the lower left picture you will see the pants with empty pockets. On the right, I have an iPod in my right hidden cargo pocket, and an ink pen in the left pen pocket. I also have a handful of change and a couple folded bills in the zipped change pocket which is hidden in the opening of the left slash pocket.
As you can see from in the picture below, the back pockets are lined with the same silky material that their limited edition leather jacket uses. It’s too small to see, but there is a small slit near the top of the zipper on each side. This is where you can wire the PAN. It’s kind of strange to think about wiring your pants, but if you want to route the headphone wires from your digital music player in the cargo pocket, you have the ability to do so.
My first small gripe about these pants is with the zipper. As you can see from the picture above, there is a black strip of material that runs along the waistband. This material has the SCOTTeVEST logo on it. The problem is that the material keeps one side of the zipper from zipping completely. See below:
I’m hoping this won’t be an issue in the production version of these pants.
You might notice that in addition to a metal button, there’s a 2nd button in the waist line. I’m not sure what the point of the 2nd button is, but I can live with it.
What’s with the strings in the pockets? You can actually pull the waist tighter if you suddenly lose weight ;o)
The back pockets are deep and have the same magnetic clasps at the top. Although I don’t carry a wallet in my back pocket, you can see what it looks like to do so. The magnets might be an issue if you carry credit cards (who doesn’t?) in your wallet. You will also notice the wide belt loops and the only SeV logo that is visible while you are wearing the pants.
No butt comments please ;o)
As far as design, the only other gripe about these pants that I found was that the pockets gapped open when I would sit down.
I like the overall design of these pants. Of course I am hopeful that they will make a more feminine version at some point… But even if they don’t, they seem to fit me pretty well. More colors would be a plus as well. I can see khaki green, black and navy becoming popular.
At this point I should mention that priced at $90 (pre-order) these pants are not definitely cheap. Regardless of price though, I predict that the SCOTTeVEST Hidden Cargos will quickly become a favorite with geeks everywhere. They offer a more stylish way to carry your extra gear with you, without looking frumpy or dumpy. They are also great for traveling around as pickpockets will hate them!
SCOTTeVEST sent me the final version of their Hidden
Cargo pants. There are only 3 main differences between this new pair and the
pre-production pants that I used for the review.
Change #1: The zipper issue has been fixed. Now both
ends of the chain are of the same length which looks much better.
Change #2: An additional pocket has been added inside
the waist band. This might make an ideal storage location for folded currency.
Change #3: The pants now have a Teflon coating that
will help protect the material from spills. This coating does not seem to have
made a difference with the feel of the material as far as I can tell though.
Price: $129.00 ($89.99 Pre-order special)
Pros:
Quality khakis
11 pockets
Teflon coated
Cons:
Price
Zipper doesn’t zip up completely
Product Information
| Price: | 129.0 |
| Manufacturer: | SCOTTeVEST |
| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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Very nice review as usual. Your concerns about the magnetic enclosures for the back pockets has me wondering how well the myriad of magnetic devices we tend to carry these days will stand up to magnetic snaps. Besides credit cards, what about iPods and other hard drive devices? I think the use of velcro might have been a better choice.
I sent Scott EVest an email to address this issue.
I also wish they would have had this design with microfiber material for lightness and stretchiness.
I wonder how these compare to the now discontinued Docker’s Mobile pants? More pockets, but I think the fit of Dockers is alittle better from what I can gather from your review.
I’m sure someone from SeV will address the magnet issue today.
As for fit, I think the Dockers have/had pleats down the front. Eck…
Oh, you’re no fun anymore!
Thanks so much for your review. Let me address some of your comments.
First off, the zipper issue will be fixed in the production run. As for the pocket being open when sitting down, the production unit will have a “change-stopper” feature so that things will not fall out of the pocket when you sit down, and the Deep Pocket with the magnetic closures does not allow things to fall out. As for the missing pocket, I would need to discuss with you on the phone to point out all the pockets. We counted the pen pocket as a pocket.
As far as the magnets are concerned, we have done extensive testing on the effect of magnets on memory devices, and have seen no degradation of data. See http://www.scottevest.com/htmlemail/nov2002/magnets.html. We have not done any testing on credit cards, however. But given the placement of the magnets, I don’t expect any issues. In fact many PDA cases are now including magnets and are intended to carry credit cards too. Having said that, I wouldn’t place your credit card strip on top of the magnet intentionally for any period of time.
Magnetic closures are far superior to Velcro. It would be painful to reach into your pocket with the velcro closure.
BTW, check out our other new product at: http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/Classic_bk.shtml
Scott
Good to see Scott Jordan’s response.
Another concern I have about magnets has to do with washing. Jackets are not washed nearly as often as pants. How do magnets hold up in the washing machine? Do they rust?
I am still leary about the safety of credit cards. Heck, if eel skin wallets can erase credit cards I am sure a magnet has a much higher likelyhood of corrupting a credit card.
I have seen velcro pockets where the use a flap and all the velcro is on the outside. Another option might be zippers. I think Docker Mobile pants use zippers on their back pockets. I have to check mine to make sure.
Julie,
The pants look good on you. Definitely not frumpy.
I have erased my credit card before due to a magnetic clip on a pocket protector/security badge (nerd). I would be very leery of the ones on the back pocket of these pants. I avoid magnets as much as possible, and have only recently begun carrying one (built into my Zodiac case) regularly.
My wife killed several credit cards due to the little round magnetic clasp on her purse. This stopped when she replaced that purse with a snap closed one.
I personally would NOT want to see Velcro used in these pants. Velcro just seems cheap and who wants to hear that awful rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrip sound whenever you need to gain access to your pockets. I understand the concern for the male population (to which these pants are marketed towards), but for me the magnets are great as I do not carry a wallet in my pocket.
With all the geeks (like me) reading this, I’m surprised there aren’t more “MythBusters” fans. This TV show did extensive testing to debunk the “eel-skin wallet erasing credit cards” myth. Not only do eel-skin wallets NOT erase credit cards, but you should see the size of the magnets and gauss generators they used to try to erase credit cards. In short, you don’t own, or know anyone who owns, a magnet powerful enough to erase credit cards.
I have been wearing the pants for awhile – in fact I cut the legs off mine and wear them as shorts. I always carry my wallet with credit cards in the back pocket. I have had no problems whatsover. The magnets are placed at the top of the pocket. If you put anything in the pocket, it will fall to the bottom, and won’t touch or come near the magnets. I have also washed them several times, and no problems whatsoever.
In fact, the magnets are one of may favorite features on these pants. We have filed for patent protection on the use of magnets in clothing in this fashion.
Scott
The two buttons are so that the pant maintains an even line across the waist. The first/normal button does the main fastening but the second button any extra fabric from the first button down. Most men’s pants (especially suits and other high end pants) have the second button.
Perhaps you would like to try putting a refrigerator magnet on your credit card? Remember, a credit card encoder is generally a small device with an even smaller write head, so no gauss generator there.
I agree that these magnets should not cause a problem. I’m not an engineer but I have carried around a leather – magnetic money clip and card holder for several years with credit, debit, room key cards. Never had a card wiped. I have also worked in the ATM industry and tried to wipe a debit/ATM card with a refrig magnet and could not.
I can’t speak to those that have had cards wiped, perhaps they have a more magnet personality or are more (or less) grounded
(-8 Allen
I was going to mention that Mythbusters episode too!
On sort of a related note, I have a Sony Ericsson T616 cell phone that I keep in an InCase phone case with a magnetic closure. The case is black leather with a grey suede lining and ballistic nylon accents, if that matters. Sometimes it seems like the reception is poor when using a bluetooth headset with the phone in the case and I have become suspicious of the magnetic closure. I have even experimented a bit and placed the phone near and away from the magnet in my hand while I am using it and it seems to cause interference closer to the magnet. Not very scientific, I know. I have been meaning to try the wired headset too and see if that makes a difference.
Any thoughts though on these magnets and interference with cell phone/bluetooth transmissions or other radio transmissions?
More likely the case and your hand absorb the BT signal. BT is 2.45GHz, which is close to what a microwave oven puts out. ~2GHz is optimum for absorption into food and skin.
I don’t think magnets affect RF signals much. They are more likely to affect magnetic media such as diskettes and credit cards.
I was always dubious of the eel skin rumor. How could a static electric field (if it even existed) affect magnetic media?
Scott,
You raised the question I was going to ask, where are the Hidden Cargo Shorts? I wear shorts constantly in the summer and carrying devices is a challenge with them since I don’t usually have my eVest or leather eVest on at the time. I use belt clips now to carry my MDA II and the Scott eVest cap to carry change and cards.
I think shorts would be a natural progression and I look forward to their release.
Question on the boot cut–does anyone know how easy it is to shorten that style of pants? I’m definitely glad there are no cuffs, and I normally favor straight cut as I end up getting most of my pants shortened a little. Still, these pants have so much going for them that I want to get a couple of pairs, if I can get them to fit.
I have a couple of concerns:
Oh, and I second the calls for hidden cargo shorts version, and more colours.
TastyBeverage:
I can’t answer the question regarding airport security as I have yet to travel wearing these pants. It’s a good question though. Hopefully Scott will respond to it.
Drawstrings: There are little plastic spring loaded stops which hold them in place.
Magnets in pockets: They are very easy to open. Your fingers separate the magnets as you slide your hand in.
Pen Pocket: Yes, the pen pocket is on the inside of the deep cargo pocket. It is not accessible from the outside.
Cargo pocket contents: The pockets do not extend completely around the back of your leg. Accessing items in the cargo pockets while seated is pretty much impossible in my opinion.
Magnets will “peg the needle” on a metal detector. You may end up having to take off your pants at the airport, or at least, get the full “off to the side” treatment.
I apologize for my late reply to these questions. I have combined all questions and answers into a single post. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Q: “Are the magnets likely to cause any extra hassle at airport security? It’s easy for me to take off my eVest (fantastic for travelling, btw) and put it on the conveyor belt to be scanned, but I don’t think I quite have that option with the pants. Then again, you do have to take off your shoes and belt and put them on the conveyor too at more and more airports these days.”
A:I have not tested this yet, but I really don’t expect a problem. I believe that magnets are not treated any differently than any other type of metal for the machines. There is so little metal contained in the 4 pockets that use magnets, and taken together it is much less metal that you would find in a typical watch. I don’t often take off my heavy metal watch when going through security and rarely, but sometimes, have to take it off. I imagine the same thing will happen with the pants. Occassionally, but not very often, you may have to explain the magnets to security. In no event will they make you remove your pants, however. Overall, I believe the benefits of the magnets FAR outweigh the 1/100 chance you will have to explain them to security when traveling.
Q: “Do things in the deep cargo pockets tend to place themselves awkwardly under your leg when you sit down? That happens to me with some cargo pants with pockets along the side.”
A: The way we designed the deep pockets are such that things don’t move around much.
Q: “How easy is it to access the contents of the pockets when seated? e.g. in a car, or at a table in a restaurant”
A: Although it is obviously not as easy to access these pockets when sitting, it is far from impossible. I have done it frequently. However, standing up then accessing the pocket is much easier, and often not a problem, unless driving of course.
Q: “Oh, and I second the calls for hidden cargo shorts version, and more colours.”
A: As for shorts, I cut the legs off one pair of mine, and they make awesome shorts just like that. We could make them that way, but it only saves a couple of dollars of production costs, so it doesn’t seem worth it to offer them as shorts. I would rather tell people how to cut the pants if they elect to do so. Otherwise, we end up carring TONS of inventory, and I am not sure people will pay about $100 for shorts, no matter how cool they are. Thoughts? As for colors, what are your thoughs? We are thinking about a dark green.
Q: “Question on the boot cut–does anyone know how easy it is to shorten that style of pants?”
A: Extremely easy to alter the length.
Don’t let the magnet issue persuade anyone from buying them. I would be able to wear them just about all year, aside from the few days a year that I fly. Even then, I could pack them for the trip, and put them on when I get there.
Risks of getting TSA’ed:
1) magnets will set off metal detectors, and you can’t remove the magnets and put them on the X-ray belt. You will get the full TSA treatment.
2) forgotten metal/electronic items in one of the many pockets. At Las Vegas Int’l Airport you will get the full TSA treatment if you “beep”.
Another disadvantage of multiple pockets is that forgotten items may end up in the washing machine. My friend’s wife almost washed his Palm and cell phone along with his Dockers Mobile pants – twice!
As for colors, what are your thoughs? We are thinking about a dark green.
Some people might go for a dark green/olive; I wouldn’t, but that’s just my “vote”…
I’d suggest:
1) grey–possibly even two shades
2) white/off-white
3) black
4) navy blue
in more or less that order.
And, one more possibility: how about jeans?
These look a lot better than the original Dockers “hidden pockets” pants. (I can’t remember what they were called.) Those had zippers for some of the hidden pockets. The zippers were difficult to work, as the tabs were very small and the zippers were a fine pitch (small teeth, close together). I could open them more or less OK, but zipping them back up required holding onto the seam below the zipper with one hand while pulling up the zipper with the other. That’s not exactly convenient. If the hidden pockets were open, I often stuck my hand in them, rather than the main slash pockets.
FWIW, I agree about the colors, though I like the color they’ve chosen. A dark color like navy would also be better at hiding the lumps from the stuff in the pockets.
My problem is the price. It’s way too expensive. The list price is $130/pair. That’s at least 3 times the price of even high-quality men’s cargo pants. For that reason, I probably won’t buy one. If they were half the price, I might consider. (There is a special “pre-order” price of $90, but that’s still way too high.)
A few comments about the review, which is very well done, as always. The comments are mostly related to the differences between men’s clothes and women’s clothes.
For example, note the way the fly opens. On men’s pants, it opens so that one uses one’s right hand to work the zipper. On many women’s pants, it’s the other way around. The same goes for the buttons on a shirt or jacket: men’s shirts and jackets always have the buttons on the right side, the button holes on the left. Many women’s shirts and blouses are the other way around.
Er, Julie, you’re slim. Those of us who are not slim appreciate pleated front pants. They also are less likely to have the gapping pockets look. (Some women like pleated front pants, especially if they have an hourglass figure.)
This is another feature of men’s clothes. It takes stress off the top of the zipper, as well as off the visible button. Nearly all quality men’s pants have the button you found. Check your husband’s good quality pants or those in a men’s store.
That happens with nearly all men’s pants. It’s nearly impossible to prevent unless the pockets are held closed. Women’s pants put the slash pockets in a different location (again, check your women’s jeans, say, with your husband’s) where this is less of a problem. However, in that location, it’s usually more difficult to get into the pockets while seated. That is probably more of a problem for men, who usually don’t carry a purse but, instead, carry more stuff in their pockets. (Most women I know carry very little in their pants pockets, assuming that they have any pockets in their pants.)
I just got the 30×32 SCOTTePANTS and I really like them! They look good on me and if they were just an inch longer I would LOVE them (since I usually wear a bit of a heel). ;0)
They are cut a little higher on the waist than I would usually wear (because they are, after all – men’s pants), but it is actually pretty flattering since that just makes your waist look more “nipped.”
I like the thicker material and the pockets are pretty cool, too! I don’t know that I would ever completely stuff them, but I like the fact that I could stow my PDA in the front and it would get lost in the loose leg area.
Judie :0)
There have been several posts about the price of these pants as compared to the Mobile Pants, which can be found discounted in places.
These pants are much better than any other pants you have seen, including the Mobile Pants. The features in them justify the price, and I assure you will not be disappointed. When comparing these pants, you should consider other pants like these: http://www.orvis.com/store/product_choice.asp?pf_id=57T1&dir_id=885&group_id=898&cat_id=5968&subcat_id=7252&shop_id&cktst=true&prodgroupid=62856&IsPostBack=true
The Hidden Cargo Pants offer more features and pockets than this, and are less money. I highly recommend that you take advantage of the pre-order price. You can always return them for a full refund (except shipping).
Scott
I took a credit card and rubbed the magnetic strip over the magnetic clasp of my Zodiac case. Result – the magnetic strip is toast. The lesson here is that a magnetic clasp will erase a magnetic strip.
Counterpoint:
When the magnetic clasp is closed, I think the magnetic field lines are confined within the clasp. Thus it would be safe near magnetic media when closed.
FYI: we are shipped in the pants to fill the overwhelming demand! If you pre-ordered, you will receive them this week! Click here to see them again: http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/hiddencargopants.shtml
We are sending Judie a production pair to correct the information on the review regarding the pre-production samples.
I love them!
Scott
Yes, please do! 😀
Haha – I know you meant Julie. 😉
I think that the production samples have been received. I am anxious to see the modifications to the review based upon the actual pants.
Scott
I’ll have an update soon 🙂
I just travelled with the pants and went through security. No problems whatsoever.
Scott
One thing you forgot in your updated review, 11 pockets not 14.
When I got my pair I noticed the tag said 12 pockets but if you go to website it now says 11 pockets. These are a great pair of pants!! I only wish they cost less and came in other colors so I could get more.
do the pockets still open up like the pre-prod?
That is entirely my fault. I am sorry. I have no idea how we got the count wrong. I counted them 10 times and keep coming up with 11 pockets. I can assure you won’t miss the 3 pockets! Army green is coming soon! Any suggestions for more colors? People tell us black but I am having difficulities seeing them in black in my mind. Thoughts are appreciated.
Scott
when sitting? We have not made any other changes. So, yes, like all pants when sitting they will open, but the pockets are deep enough that there is very little risk of things falling out.
I just updated the pocket count.
Great to hear more colors are in the works. As for color suggestions how about tan and chocolate brown. Thanks for making a great product, I really enjoy the pants.
I was a devotee of the Docker’s Mobile Pants until they were discontinued. I would be willing to give the ScotteVest pants a try if they were more durable than the Docker’s. I had to replace the Docker’s pretty much every year. The bottom of the pant’s legs would fray very quickly. If these pants would last for two or three times as long as the Docker’s, then they would be worth the higher price to me.
Axel
I know I’d go for black; no way I’d go for green. I’d prefer a charcoal grey to black, but I’d take black as long as I was sure it wouldn’t fade quickly. I’ve seen plenty of people with store-bought black cargo pants, so it seems likely that HCP buyers would go for them in black too…
2 clear metrics from my perspective:
1) What colors are people asking for?
2) What is selling generally (or to a target demographic) in stores?
Yes, I was talking about sitting.
This may be slightly “unorthodox” but I’d actually like denim pants (I guess that’s because I’m 16 :0) )
I’ll be 32 in November, and I’d like to see them in denim as well. So I don’t think it’s simply an age thing.
My reasoning is this: I’m looking to make this number/level/style of pockets my norm–not just “something I have available some of the time.”
The one thing is that denim doesn’t hold up for as many washes as other fabrics…
I got my Hidden Cargo Pants recently and decided to test them out today.
One feature I didn’t quite like was the location of the hidden change pocket. It’s “in” the large hidden pocket and is also between the magnets. As a result, whenever I open or close it, the magnets would want to come together and this interferes with me unzipping or zipping it properly!
Also, that change pocket is located on the outer-side of the hidden pocket… ie. the layer of cloth which is not directly resting on your thigh. The result is that it become quite difficult to close it with one hand. With the Dockers Mobile Pant, the hidden vault pocket (as it was called) was on the cloth resting on my thigh and that provides some kind of “support” and I could unzip/zip it with only one hand. Moreover, with the placement of the pocket in the SeV pants, I would need to twist my wrist somewhat to reach it.
As for the magnets themselves, I am still not completely convinced that they would not erase cards. The placement of the hidden change pocket just in between the magnets makes it a dangerous place to put any credit cards. However, that would have been an ideal place to place cards, metro cards, and the like since I don’t like to whip out my wallet and take out the cards for crowded places like the subway. I could do that with my Mobile Pant because I didn’t have to worry about the magnets. One suggestion: Why not use zippers instead of magnets? Zippers close properly, don’t wear out like velcro and, when rested on one’s thigh, can be opened easily with one hand.
I like the placement of the hidden pockets; to me, the placement is the major improvement over the Dockers pants, which still retained a bit of a “cargo pants” characteristic. However, the Dockers pants have several, in my opinion, superior points:
1. It uses zippers. Zippers don’t open accidentally as magnetic closures, as innovative as they are, can. Zippers can’t wipe out cards, period. Magnets can or maybe can’t, but with so many cards in my life today, I’d rather not have to worry about even the slightest possibility.
2. The Dockers’ hidden vault pocket (the small one) is neatly positioned against the thigh, meaning I don’t have to twist my wrist to reach it. Also, I can use one hand to open it because of the “support”.
3. The bottom of the Dockers’ “cargo” pockets have no divisions. The SeV’s does. I know this aids in dividing one’s items but it also means that bulkier items (eg. wallet) do not settle all the way into the basement of the pockets. This in turn means that the wallet rests against the normal hand pockets, making them rather inaccessible because of the bulge. Moreover, this also makes the bulkier items closer to the opening of the unzippered hidden pocket, meaning that the likelihood of them actually falling out increases.
Like I said, the positions of the hidden big pockets are the biggest plus point for me. That to me is the true innovation over the “cargo pants” approach of the Dockers Mobile Pant. But the use of magnets, the weird placement of the hidden change pocket and the divisions at the bottom of the hidden large pockets are things, in my opinion, which can be improved upon.
I have a pair of the Dockers Mobile Pants. One of the zippers is very hard to zip up unless I hold down the seam below the zipper with my other hand. The zipper is very fine-pitched, which makes it harder to work, and the tab is quite small. Some other similar pants have small loops attached to the zippers, which makes them a lot easier to use.
I have developed a technique to zip the dockers pants with only one hand. This involves holding the zipper with my thumb and index fingers and then using my third finger to push against the fabric below the zipper while moving the zipper upwards to close the pocket. It works and it’s convenient!
Another note about the magnets, you may want to be careful with hard drive based MP3 players. My 1 day old iPods hard drive may have been killed by the magnets in my hidden cargo pants. After I get it back from Apple I am going to take the magnets out of left front pockets and only strore the iPod on that side.
I have inquired about this issue, and find it almost impossible to believe that the magnets at the top of the pockets could have caused any damage to the harddrive, given their position, size, and power. I am very interested to learn what Apple has to say when you get this back. We have been using magnets for years and have NEVER had one problem reported to us, and have done extensive testing on our own.
Sincerely,
Scott
FYI: http://www.scottevest.com/community/forums/showthread.php?t=569
Pre-Order now and save $20!
Scott
Okay, I’m still not clear on the concept of the drawstrings. Does one buy a larger size of trousers and then use the drawstrings to adjust? If the pants normally fit perfectly and one eats a large meal, does one leave the pants unzipped, and somehow the drawstrings are used in this situation? Are they (the drawstring cord and the plastic stops) noticeable?
You should buy your regular size in the Hidden Cargo Pants. For most people, the waist will fit comfortably–not too tight. The drawstrings can then be used to fine tune the fit. So, while you won’t need to unbutton your pants after a large meal, you may want to let out the drawstrings a bit. The drawstrings and stops are concealed in the pockets.
Definitely concealed. I haven’t had cause to adjust the drawstrings on mine, but the only way even I remember they’re there is when I put my hands into the pockets.
Okay, I finally got around to getting a pair of SCOTTeVEST Hidden Cargo Pants. I like the premise of the whole garment, but I have two real issues:
[list=1]
[*]I find the magnets to be extremely inconvenient. They stick to my watch and don’t really add any value to the pants — I’ve never had a problem with stuff falling out of the pockets before. And with the loud snapping sound they sometimes make when they quickly snap together, they’re almost as annoying as Velco (though Velcro is much, much worse). I’m going to see if they can be removed, but it doesn’t look easy to do so.
[*]Size. I’m a pretty small guy and I expected that even with the 28/32 pants I ordered, I would have to get the pants hemmed, but I didn’t expect the pants to be this baggy — I could almost climb with both legs into just one of the pant legs! :blink: Hopefully, that can be fixed, too. The waist is pretty comfortable, though.
[/list]
As for the strength of the magnets: I’m willing to accept that they’re not strong enough to cause problems with media; however, just from the pressure I feel from placing my finger in-between the magnets, they do feel stronger than fridge magnets.
Will scottevest ever make jeans with hidden pockets