INTRODUCTION

WHAT'S HOT

FEATURES

    Attached to the pants are three cards. One each for Teflon, TEC (the parent company of SCOTTeVEST), and one page, two-sided manual of sorts. Also, in each of the pockets is an example card, giving you ideas on where to store your stuff and a package of "Vestimonials".

     Starting with the inside of the pants, we find the size tag. For those of you who haven't met me in person, I'm 6'5", 240lbs - I need 38/36 pants. It's amazing how few stores carry this size. And just in case you forget where you bought these cargos, the URL will always be at hand.

    Each of the back pockets have a nice satin feel and come complete with a magnet enclosure. "Magnets" you ask? Let me tell you, these are a lot easier to manage than buttons (which will inevitably pop off) or zippers. And personally, I had no issues with any magnetic interference on any of my credit cards that I was able to discern. You may also notice in the snapshot above, that the back pocket is sewn to another pocket (one of the deep front pockets you will see shortly). This helps keep the pockets in place, even when they are full of stuff.

Near the inside front (on the right hand side) is a small "hidden" coin pocket. I didn't find much use for this, but could easily see it's capabilities (ie - need to store extra cash while traveling? Good luck getting pickpocket 'd there).

    On the opposite inside front is a button. One I have on a few of my dress slacks. This button has stymied me for some time. What is it for? It is, in fact, called a "French fly" and is used to "help to ensure that the pant front lies flat, for a neater, cleaner appearance" (thanks Landlakes SC).

    On either side, on the inside front of the pants, there are a set of pockets. The left side has three "Pocket in Pockets" (one for a pen as you can see in the second shot) and the right side has two. The pockets are cleverly designed to keep the gear that you put in them snug against your body vs showing themselves to the world.

    The outside close-up of the front pockets. Nothing really extraordinary here, right? Looks like an ordinary pants pocket.

[insert 50s spy movie theme]

Flipping open the magnetic closure reveals the deep pockets (as seen earlier), and just above that (on the left side) is another zippered pocket.

Also found hiding inside each pocket is a drawstring to adjust the waistband without having to undo ones belt in the process. Although, in my case (and I imagine most others), the drawstring needs to be let out rather than drawn in...

Also note that within each main pocket is a TEC (Technology Enabled Clothing) PAN (Personal Area Networking) hole from which you can run just about anything.

Working our way across the front of the pants, we find the front button, zipper, and French fly.

    Here is an important time to mention SCOTTeVEST's customer service level. I had a couple of issues with the front snap with the first pair of pants I had (as you can see in the example above). But one quick call to SeV and a new pair was on the way with a prepaid bag for the broken pair. Manufacturing defects are possible with any line of clothing - but quality customer service is hard to find.

On the back of the pants is the SeV logo. The only real advert that anyone would be able to see easily. The belt loops are wide and heavily stitched. They work equally well with my wide and thin belts.

The bottom of the pants are hemmed from SeV. And even after almost constant wear, I haven't seen any noticeable damage.

Now for the fun bits! As these pants are Teflon coated, they should be able to withstand stains. And as you can see in the example above, water just beads right up on them.

Water won't really stain - but cranberry juice can. But alas, it beaded up and fell right off.

Not to be outdone, we step things up a notch. Catsup. A couple of drips, let it sit, wait for it....and stai...nope.

A quick snap of the fabric and a little water rinse and the catsup is gone.

   Pleased with my tests, but unaware that the pants had more in store for me, I continued to wear them on a regular basis. Then one day, the inevitable happened - I fumbled an entire slice of New York-style pizza. That greasy chunk of cheese on a crust soaked right into the pants. I thought they were doomed. I was wrong. First wash - almost gone. Second wash...the only remaining evidence is the picture above. I could get used to this.

    The stuff test. Note that all of the items above I was able to fit into the front pockets of the SeV Hidden Cargo Pants. I didn't even bother with the back pockets (too easy to hide in the pictures). Two cellphones, one headset, money clip, change, headphones (in bag), a pen, and two iPAQ cases. That said, let's compare.

Empty on the left, full on the right.

A close-up of the pants, devoid of any gadget.

And a close-up of the pants, full of the above listed gadgets.

HELP & SUPPORT

• More colors (green is the only other option available at the time of this review - but black is coming shortly)
• Lose the extra $10 charge for oversized pants (such as mine)
• Add PAN holes to the deep pockets.

PURCHASING

OVERALL IMPRESSION