Review: SeV Gear Management Solutions Hidden Cargo Shorts

These shorts are actually an iPod case as well as a Tamagotchi, Laguiole pocket knife, Subaru car keys, Sabatier Mariner’s knife, and Motorola RAZR case. I’ve carried all these things in these shorts, at the same time, while camping. Oh, and they’re a pretty good pair of Bermuda-style shorts as well.

They have hidden drawstring waist cinchers on each side, in case you lose those extra pounds in the summer heat and humidity (or gain some at a few over-indulgent barbeques). Magnetic closures keep the back pockets as well as the hidden deeper pockets in front of each hip pocket securely and discretely closed. Magnets are such wonderful things. They beat the muktuk out of Velcro™ or Velcro-style hook and eye closures in terms of efficiency and, well, just general discretion while opening.

The SeV Gear Hidden Cargo Shorts have eleven pockets! Just think about it! But no one will notice unless you start carting melons or badgers around in them. Each side has a hidden deep deep (most of a seven-year-old’s arm deep) hip pocket in front of the main hip pocket with those wonderful magnetic closures where you can keep your digital camera, pen, PDA, iPod or “other” MP3 player, Moleskine notebook, sandwich, wallet of shuriken, young litter of red squirrels, whatever.

Take a look at the product page here and SeV pictorially gives you a much greater idea of what you can do with the shorts—what you can carry—than I can. I like them, as I implied earlier, for camping because I can carry pretty much everything on me without looking lumpy, and am always sure that my car keys, my son’s Tamagotchi, my pocket knife, the camp cooking knife, sundry books of matches, my wife’s sunglasses case, a wire firewood saw, and so forth are always on me, close at hand.

The pockets have several sub-sections designed to segregate your pocket contents and make sure everything plays well together. The front has a sturdy metal fly, a heavy-duty riveted main button closure, and a secondary inner button closure (the sort you normally see on suit pants). The mainly cotton, I guess, material is substantial yet soft. I bought a pair that were just a trifle too large for me, then found a year later they were a lot more than just a trifle too large for me. I can’t wear them now without a belt. They, ah, just fall down and off, laden with stuff or not. Those cinch closures mentioned before help, but only so far. I think they can take maybe two to four inches off of the shorts’ waistline. Despite some rather unfortunate brokerage, customs, and duties issues shipping these into Canada, I am thinking of maybe buying a new, better fitting pair (and throwing out all the other shorts in my wardrobe). If this pair get so large that l feel like I’m wearing some sort of weird utility kilt/skort, I will order a pair that fits better.

Now, as for iPods, these Scot eVest shorts are great. There’s an upright pocket specifically designed size-wise for you to drop your iPod into. If you use a slim-line case like the Vakaadoo or others, you’ve got enough light protection then to keep your device safe, unless you spill boiling water on yourself or get attacked by a bear. Your keys and other stuff, all living in their own other pockets or pocket sections, won’t rub up against it, and with my Shure e4c headphones, the headphone cables are long enough that this works easily. You might, if you’re using Apple’s stock earbuds, find a small audio extension cable makes things easier (or buy the Shure e4c headphones). I can turn my iPod on and off or track forward or backwards through the cloth (it’s not THAT hard to figure out, neh?), though the Apple FM/remote extension works well as well. And when I don’t need the earphones anymore, I roll them back into their case and lose that in their own pockets as well.

These are great shorts with exceptionally convenient and usable pockets. If you don’t have customs, taxes, and brokerage fees to worry about, they’re a great summer addition to your electronic enjoyment gear.

I give them an 85%. I tend to wear them non-stop ‘til they need to hit the wash, then hang out by the dryer ‘til they’re dry again. Definitely a can’t do without product.

One improvement I might like to see would be slightly stronger magnets in the closures. The closures now are quite good the way they are, but I have at times reached into a hip pocket and not been sure which I was in, the “normal” pocket or the hidden pocket. Sort of a finishing note. SeV releases versions of its clothes, version one, version two, and so forth, so I expect that the next version of these first generation shorts will be that more finished and have some features I haven’t even thought of here. I can’t wait.