P-cubed pants

» What they are: A line of adventure and business pants from Clothing Arts of North Woodmere, N.Y., that are pickpocket-proof.

» How they work: Large pockets with zippers and buttons make unauthorized access difficult if not impossible. The front pockets not only are zippered, but each has a button flap for extra security. What’s more, there’s a pocket within each pocket that is perfect for a cellphone. There are six exterior pockets as well as a seventh that attaches for carrying a water bottle. And they’re all secure. You’ll feel so emboldened, you’ll want to wander through a crowd of grabby street urchins.

» The good: I tried the adventure version, made of a soft cotton-nylon blend (there’s also a business traveler version, of cotton gabardine) and coated with Teflon fabric protection. The real comfort test is how the pants fare at full capacity. I loaded them up — water bottle, reporter’s notebook, wallet, two mobile phones, pens, checkbook, cash, change — and walked around for a couple of hours. They were quite comfortable and not clown-pants bulgy. For soil resistance, I tested with a splash of mustard ground into the pants and left to dry; it washed out easily.

» The bad: If there was a negative, it was that with all that storage room, you might have trouble remembering where you stashed your stuff.

» Cost: The pants are $99.95 for the business traveler version (khaki or brown) and $109.95 for the adventure pants (green or gray).

» Available from: clothingarts.com

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