Pants

[chinooktrail]

If you are looking for full pants rather than the zip offs, I agree with a stretchy type of the new 'softshell' type pant.

They are now available in a ton of different weights and finishes and self linings. Some are wind and rain resistant, with a fleece lining, some are just basically a stretchy nylon.

One thing I would look for is a scuff patch at the inner ankle if you plan on wearing crampons. I got a nice pair of The North Face pants at TJ Max for next to nothing, I love them, but my crampons ate them alive last year.

I like the stretch for moving, and the 3 different pairs I have all shed snow and water, some have a wicked thin layer of fleece on the inside.

If you get a pair of 'windblock' fleece they shed rain and snow and are pretty wind resistant. Almost any outerwear makes them.

Fleece comes in as many types as there are colors out there. If you have not tried looking at fleece since the 80's it is time to look into it again.

Another option, but also pricy is wool, both Smartwool and Ibex make really NICE pants, but way out of my price range.

I think the most important thing, as mentioned, is try them on and make sure they fit you well. Hiking in uncomfortable clothing is the pits. If you want to get them online, try to try them on in a store first...

Good luck!

 

[BorealChickadee]

Absolutely love my Mountain Hardware Cordillera pants. I got them this summer and I have to say they are the only pants I've ever felt comfortable hiking in. I have zipoffs and just don't like the feel of the zipper. They're loose but when you bend you still feel it and it's just not soft and stretchy where the zipper is stitched. It can't be because a zipper isn't soft and stretchy. The MH pants are super stretchy, a lightweight softshell material. I have the shorts to match and love them too. My legs are in heaven. Last week I was hiking in the rain and over the course of about six hours my friend became soaked in the legs and I was still dry. The pants are not waterproof but light rain just beads up and rolls off. Betweeen my MH softshell coat and the pants I stayed quite dry and comfortable.

They're expensive. I was lucky and got mine for $9.95 in the legume factory but they really are worth every penny full price.

http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Product.aspx?top=2&prod=146&cat=49&viewAll=False

 

[Paradox]

Want some inexpensive pants? Go to your nearest...

..Medical supply. Polyester blend scrubs are only about $10 -15. White for the summer. They are available in just about any color (including "Sponge Bob!) I use them to protect whatever I am wearing underneath. Frequently, I wear them over runner's tights which keep me going for miles on end.

 

[TCD]

I've had great results with the now discontinued Schoeller Dynamic pants from Black Diamond. I wear them bushwhacking and rock climbing. The fabric is like a miracle. It's not water repellent, but it has an extremely wide temperature range, breathes great, moves with you, and is very tough. They were out of my price range ($115 full retail) when I bought them 6 years ago, but now have proven to be a bargain, because I have worn them over 500 times, and they cannot be destroyed. No tears, holes; not even any stains. They never smell (I wear them every day on multi day backpacking trips); burrs don't even stick to the fabric!

If you can find, and afford, Schoeller Dynamic fabric, get pants made from that stuff and you're all set.

(It's continually annoying to me that companies make up their own "cutesy" names for these materials to try to confuse the market. Makes it very hard to know what you are really getting.)

TCD

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Seems to me their strategy has worked perfectly in this case.

Tim

 

[TCD]

I should clarify. Schoeller is forthcoming about their fabric, and what it is made of. It's the clothing manufacturers I'm talking about, with all their "omni this" and "tech that" and "this or that wick" names, so you don't know if you are getting Shoeller Dynamic, Shoeller Extreme, 2 layer Gore Tex, 3 layer Gore Tex or what.

(My avatar has the same taste in clothes as I do; he's wearing the BD pants there on the summit of Tenaya Peak. That was about 4 years ago; pants don't look any different today!)

 

[WhiteMTHike]

EMS used to make a great pair of pants for hiking called Camp 5's. I own 3 or 4 pairs of these and would be willing to purchase more but they stopped making them.

Camp 5's have good sized cargo pockets on both sides and are made of a nice stretch material which makes them great for the trails. They are also very easy to clean. They're also nice enough to wear to work or even going out on the town. I sent an e-mail to EMS asking why they stopped making such a great pair of pants. They responded, telling me that it was determined by their Reasearch and Marketing department that the pants were too expensive to make. Damn shame, I'd but another 3 or 4 pairs if they ever went back to making them.

 

[bignslow]

Want some inexpensive pants? Go to your nearest goodwill store, and look at the mens dress pants. These are usually NOT cotton, and you can get a pair for a few bucks. You'd probably want suspenders with them. For the price you pay for them, you wouldnLt even feel bad cutting the legs and making shorts out of them if it ever gets too hot. (remember LNT: Take the legs out)

You might be lucky, and get a bright colored plaid used-car salesman's pants.

My favorite hiking pants came from this idea. My old favorites were North Face, my $3 Salvation Army pants fit better, have a wider range of motion, have wider legs so that I can roll them up into shorts. Plus I don't get upset when I put a hole in them. I've had better luck with synthetic pants (Polyester, or Poly/Rayon/Nylon blends) than wool. The wool pants I've had tended to pill and shrink in the wash.

The really cool thing is I've learned how to "take in" and "let out" suit pants, I've also added cargo pockets to a pair, its great how you can take chances with a $3 pair of pants you wouldn't take with $60 outdoors pants. My next project is to get some coil zipper and attempt homemade convertables.

 

[jjo]

Convertible hiking pants w lots of sealable pockets

 

[Bolivia]

Zip-off pants

The zipper on my first pair of zip-offs wasn't long enough for me to easily get them over my Vasque boots. My current pair does. Check this out before leaving the store.

I use them summer and winter. I'll vary what I wear under/over them based on the weather.

Pants + Shorts = Shants

 

[escapee]

I like freedom of movement at the knee, and most often wear zip-offs. In winter, probably zip-offs, zipped off, over long johns & under nylon shell pants. For canoeing, trail work and some cool weather hiking, I'll wear military surplus wool pants. The lighter, the better, tropical weight if you can find it. The really thick stuff is good for sentry duty on the Russo-Finnish border, or for ice fishing, but not for backpacking up mountains.