Well summed up, Freelo....The Magadan panniers have a special kevlar fabric, claimed to be similar to that used in ballistic vests making then stab/slash proof and loops to run a PacSafe cable lock right round bag and rack. You could, of course, cut the loops off with a blunt Swiss Army knife, squeeze the bags a bit to get the cable out the way, and then run off with the lot, but it's better than nothing. Realistically no soft luggage will be as theft resistant as good hard-luggage, but then when you're deep in the heart of the Empty Quarter or the marshland of Siberia there's not that many people around to knick your stuff anyway. The good thing about some of these soft bags with a separate drop-liner is that if you're worried you can always lift the inner bag out and stash in in the security of your RipStop nylon tent....
The Mag fabric looks like ordinary Cordura to me and I've searched for vids demonstrating the stab-proofness of the Twaron fabric used but couldn't find any. And I've since learned that the term 'ballistic nylon' is rather loosely used - dates back to WW2, long before kevlar- (or aramid-) based Twaron.
But while melting holes to rivet on D-rings to secure the bags (it's the one thing they're missing - did I say that?), a red-hot nail slipped through the D-ring strap like it wasn't there but took repeated stabbings to get through the Mag fabric, and as it did so you could see the golden yarn of the Twaron I've seen on industrial promo images.
Hard to believe but perhaps indeed it would take some slashing to get into them. Would still be nice to see a demo, though. I imagine the loops for the cable lock are also Twaron.
