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I'm currently at work (thank Pomodoro for HN breaks, curse Murphy for causing everything to fall apart at the same time on a Friday). I'm a college-educated, ho

I'm currently at work (thank Pomodoro for HN breaks, curse Murphy for causing everything to fall apart at the same time on a Friday). I'm a college-educated, homeowner, married, father of one, controls engineer. I spend my days at work between my office programming and designing industrial automation equipment, on the shop floor building it, and customer sites selling, upgrading, or maintaining it. I'm not a punk kid, nor am I a paratrooper, and I don't pretend to be nor do I look like either of those things. I'm currently wearing cargo pants (Columbia Flex Roc). I typically wear Levi's 541s. The Columbia pants do happen to have a side-seam welt pocket that that meets all your requirements. They're comfortable both in a customer conference room or if I'm on the plant floor inside a machine. I think the reason people are offended by your characterization is that they wear 'cargo pants' but we are not in a different demographic. My Columbia pants solve the exact problem you have and are worn by people exactly within your demographic. (Not to mention physically closer than you think, after a bit of stalking your website, I'm 20 miles north of you, we probably have some of the same clients). Though it's also possible that they're not cargo pants, maybe they're dad pants. That.... might be the case. And perhaps you're rebelling against becoming one of 'those' middle-aged men. Just give in to it. Have you tried carrying your multitool in the side seam pocket? It's just so handy! :)

gertrunde 6y ago
I'm really not sure those Columbia trousers are cargo pants at all, they're certainly not what I believe the article author was referring to anyway. (Quite like them though - didn't expect HN to be a place to find clothing recommendations...).
diiq 6y ago
Could be. But the only demographic I named was "people who can wear cargo pants to work", so you kind of set me up for a "no true scotsman". There are events, and clients, to which I wouldn't wear cargo pants, therefore we're in different demographics :) It is a little disheartening to spend so much time talking about cargo pants, when I relegated them to a postscript and only mentioned them to say "I am not talking about cargo pants". But nice to meet another michigander! Hopefully I'll see you at some meetup or event once we have those sorts of things again.
- lsaferite 6y ago
  > It is a little disheartening to spend so much time talking about cargo pants, when I relegated them to a postscript and only mentioned them to say "I am not talking about cargo pants". But that is totally your own fault for denigrating cargo pant wearers in the initial version of the post.
  - MattRix 6y ago
    He didn't denigrate cargo pants wearers, he just said this design isn't for people who wear them... And then cargo pants wearers decided that was reason to complain even more.
    - harimau777 6y ago
      He said that people who wear cargo pants just do it dress up like their "pretend job". Edit: It appears that this was unintentional on the authors part and he has since edited it. Which is great!
    - lsaferite 6y ago
      > Cargo pants are fashion-as-pretend-occupation — when not at work, wear a fancy chronometer to suggest you’re a pilot or a diver, or camo to suggest you’re in the military. Cargo pants are a paratrooper costume. Cargo shorts have giant external pouches so teenagers in the 90’s, trapped in school, could say (sartorially) “I go out into the world and do adventurous things!” even though the things they stored in those pouches were doritos and portable cd players. > I am discussing clothing as it might be worn by people while doing their real jobs, not their pretend ones. If cargo pants are appropriate for your real job, you definitely don’t want or need my side-seam welt pockets; and vice-versa."
- kortilla 6y ago
  You did it to yourself by saying cargo pants aren’t “for the office”. This is a site filled with SWEs who work in offices where a dress code that didn’t allow cargo pants is so laughable it would be a reason to quit. It’s just standard West-coast backlash against fashion snobbery. You might as well have said that anyone not wearing a 3-piece suit isn’t fit to go into the office.
exhilaration 6y ago
It looks like Columbia calls the side seam pocket a "Knife pocket"? https://www.columbia.com/mens-flex-roc-pant-1792581.html https://www.columbia.com/mens-flex-roc-pant-1792581.html
maccard 6y ago
Columbia Flex Roc [0] are not really what I would consider cargo pants. Most people talking about cargo pants are talking about something like a G Star Raw Rovic [1] (which are about the slimmest fitting ones I can find). Another commenter mentioned fitting a notebook & pen in pockets - I'd struggle to fit them in your current pants. [0] https://columbia.scene7.com/is/image/ColumbiaSportswear2/1792583_251_f https://columbia.scene7.com/is/image/ColumbiaSportswear2/179... [1] https://www.g-star.com/en_gb/shop/men/trousers/d02190-5126-239 https://www.g-star.com/en_gb/shop/men/trousers/d02190-5126-2...
- Zenbit_UX 6y ago
  As someone shocked how many of the commenters here are wearing cargo pants, I'll admit those gstar ones look pretty good and modern. That said, I think you're being very generous by suggesting this crowd is on the cutting edge of cargo pants fashion with slim fit and modern silhouettes. This seems more likely: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Dork+in+cargo+pants&t=fpas&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Ff9%2F5e%2F55%2Ff95e558ce0f5b0c64f33d17a6fd41ecb.jpg https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Dork+in+cargo+pants&t=fpas&iar=ima...
  - maccard 6y ago
    I was trying not to search along those terms, but yeah that's pretty much what I was thinking. Even as modern as the g star ones are, they are still substantially bulkier than say levis 511s- [511s] https://www.very.co.uk/levis-511-slim-fit-jeans-black/1600116636.prd https://www.very.co.uk/levis-511-slim-fit-jeans-black/160011...
jzoch 6y ago
My interpretation was precisely that: dad pants. Personally, I find cargo pants (and shorts my god) incredibly unflattering. Additionally, the proliferation of pockets is a bit silly for many people since phone, wallet, and keys are fairly easy to fit even in skinny jeans. If you need more than go for it and if you like the look, go for it!

gertrunde 6y ago

I'm really not sure those Columbia trousers are cargo pants at all, they're certainly not what I believe the article author was referring to anyway. (Quite like them though - didn't expect HN to be a place to find clothing recommendations...).

diiq 6y ago

Could be. But the only demographic I named was "people who can wear cargo pants to work", so you kind of set me up for a "no true scotsman". There are events, and clients, to which I wouldn't wear cargo pants, therefore we're in different demographics :) It is a little disheartening to spend so much time talking about cargo pants, when I relegated them to a postscript and only mentioned them to say "I am not talking about cargo pants". But nice to meet another michigander! Hopefully I'll see you at some meetup or event once we have those sorts of things again.

lsaferite 6y ago
> It is a little disheartening to spend so much time talking about cargo pants, when I relegated them to a postscript and only mentioned them to say "I am not talking about cargo pants". But that is totally your own fault for denigrating cargo pant wearers in the initial version of the post.
- MattRix 6y ago
  He didn't denigrate cargo pants wearers, he just said this design isn't for people who wear them... And then cargo pants wearers decided that was reason to complain even more.
  - harimau777 6y ago
    He said that people who wear cargo pants just do it dress up like their "pretend job". Edit: It appears that this was unintentional on the authors part and he has since edited it. Which is great!
  - lsaferite 6y ago
    > Cargo pants are fashion-as-pretend-occupation — when not at work, wear a fancy chronometer to suggest you’re a pilot or a diver, or camo to suggest you’re in the military. Cargo pants are a paratrooper costume. Cargo shorts have giant external pouches so teenagers in the 90’s, trapped in school, could say (sartorially) “I go out into the world and do adventurous things!” even though the things they stored in those pouches were doritos and portable cd players. > I am discussing clothing as it might be worn by people while doing their real jobs, not their pretend ones. If cargo pants are appropriate for your real job, you definitely don’t want or need my side-seam welt pockets; and vice-versa."
kortilla 6y ago
You did it to yourself by saying cargo pants aren’t “for the office”. This is a site filled with SWEs who work in offices where a dress code that didn’t allow cargo pants is so laughable it would be a reason to quit. It’s just standard West-coast backlash against fashion snobbery. You might as well have said that anyone not wearing a 3-piece suit isn’t fit to go into the office.

exhilaration 6y ago

It looks like Columbia calls the side seam pocket a "Knife pocket"? https://www.columbia.com/mens-flex-roc-pant-1792581.html https://www.columbia.com/mens-flex-roc-pant-1792581.html

maccard 6y ago

Columbia Flex Roc [0] are not really what I would consider cargo pants. Most people talking about cargo pants are talking about something like a G Star Raw Rovic [1] (which are about the slimmest fitting ones I can find). Another commenter mentioned fitting a notebook & pen in pockets - I'd struggle to fit them in your current pants. [0] https://columbia.scene7.com/is/image/ColumbiaSportswear2/1792583_251_f https://columbia.scene7.com/is/image/ColumbiaSportswear2/179... [1] https://www.g-star.com/en_gb/shop/men/trousers/d02190-5126-239 https://www.g-star.com/en_gb/shop/men/trousers/d02190-5126-2...

Zenbit_UX 6y ago
As someone shocked how many of the commenters here are wearing cargo pants, I'll admit those gstar ones look pretty good and modern. That said, I think you're being very generous by suggesting this crowd is on the cutting edge of cargo pants fashion with slim fit and modern silhouettes. This seems more likely: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Dork+in+cargo+pants&t=fpas&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Ff9%2F5e%2F55%2Ff95e558ce0f5b0c64f33d17a6fd41ecb.jpg https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Dork+in+cargo+pants&t=fpas&iar=ima...
- maccard 6y ago
  I was trying not to search along those terms, but yeah that's pretty much what I was thinking. Even as modern as the g star ones are, they are still substantially bulkier than say levis 511s- [511s] https://www.very.co.uk/levis-511-slim-fit-jeans-black/1600116636.prd https://www.very.co.uk/levis-511-slim-fit-jeans-black/160011...

jzoch 6y ago

My interpretation was precisely that: dad pants. Personally, I find cargo pants (and shorts my god) incredibly unflattering. Additionally, the proliferation of pockets is a bit silly for many people since phone, wallet, and keys are fairly easy to fit even in skinny jeans. If you need more than go for it and if you like the look, go for it!