When the head of Clothing Arts offered to set me up with a pair of his Pickpocket-proof Business Pants to review, I wanted to give these tough pants a tough test. So I flew down to Nicaragua for a week and since I went on Spirit Air and can’t bear to pay their carry-on baggage fees, I only brought these pants and some lightweight convertible ones so I would have some shorts. (And a back-up in case something bad happened…)

So I wore these P^Cubed pants on the drive to Ft. Lauderdale from Tampa, the flight down, every day for seven days in dusty Nicaragua, then the reverse trip back on the plane and car. When I got home I took a photo of me in them so you could see how they held up. Not bad eh? There were two barely perceptible spots from wayward food that didn’t disappear until a trip through the washing machine, but the fabric in these kept most others at bay: it’s treated with Teflon to repel liquids and a lot of other stuff that would normally make you look bad after a while.

The video at the top shows you the main reason you would buy these though. Like the original P^Cubed Adventure Pants I reviewed before, these are designed to keep your possessions in your possession. All four pockets have a double or triple protection design that makes it pretty much impossible for someone to pickpocket you short of four people holding you down and a fifth dismantling all the buttons and zippers.

Unlike those adventure pants though, these dispense with the cargo pockets and present a cleaner, slimmer look. I’m not sure you could get away with being a traveling banker in them, but they’re certainly nice-enough looking for meetings with more casual types. Hey, it’s not like the world is getting dressier and as you can see from the photo, they hold up well after lots of wear and packing.

There’s an attachable flap that will hold a water bottle, though I’ve never used that because I never carry one of those small disposable bottles that are clogging our waterways. I love the ruggedness of these pants though and I feel like my passport, wallet, and change are super-secure. The zippers are heavy-duty, the buttons aren’t coming off anytime this decade, and the button flaps add an extra dose of confidence. If you’re the type who is inclined to stagger down the streets of Cusco or Naples at 3:00 a.m., having these on will give you some prayer of waking up with your ID and credit cards still in your possession.

The P^Cubed Business Traveler Pants come in three colors and are available direct from Clothing Arts for $100 plus $5/$10 shipping to U.S./Canada. Yes, that’s a chunk of change, but I really don’t think you can find another pair of pants like this anywhere, with this kind of quality in the materials. Plus you can think of part of that price being travel insurance—but for keeping what you’re carrying instead of what may happen to your body.

You can also get these P-cubed Business Pants at Magellan’s.

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