Ditch the Money Belt and Build a Hidden Pocket

While I do feel they are usually necessary, I dislike wearing a money belt when traveling. I own a Rick Steves-branded pouch, but I often find myself not wearing it because it's uncomfortable. Even when it is strapped to my waist, I spend too much time with my hands down my pants fixing an annoying situation spawned by the belt. This, of course, draws attention to the very thing I am trying to hide.

I was searching around today for money belt alternatives and ran across this tutorial on building a hidden pocket into an existing pair of pants. The plans seem simple enough: turn your pants inside-out, cut a scrap piece of fabric into the same shape as your existing pocket, and sew! Even I could do this!

You could do this to all 4 pockets of your pants, effectively tripling your storage space. My brain is already churning with ideas on how to keep your valuables from falling out. Andy over at HoboTraveler created a Velcro-based pocket, which seems ideal, though a zipper could work as well.

Now how could I waterproof it?

Filed under: Gear