multi function pants

[Blakej]

I've been looking pretty hard at getting a pair of the stretch/water-resistant/sometimes insulated pants such as the REI one or the salomon second skin and was wondering if anyone has an opinion at to which is the best one out there.

[Chad_A]

I have the REI Mistrals, and I love 'em, for the price. I went up Hood with them, and biked in Portland rain in them, in a span of 48 hours...they do soak through in a downpour, but for the $$$, hey....

 

A pal of mine plugged a pair of pants the MEC in Canada sells, but I can't remember...you might want to check out their website. Hope this helps even a little bit...

[tomtom]

Dockers - both for casual wear and for work.

 

No really, I have a pair of mistrals. But:

 

1. The tayloring sucks. Really baggy in the front.

 

2. The elastic belt doesn't hold the pants up.

 

3. The top of the fly is joined by a hook, not a button, which is always coming undone.

 

Ibex Guidelight pants rock.

 

I have a pair of Ibex Backcountry pants (large) I can sell. Great pants, but I'm too big for them now. They are more of a winter pants with integral gators.

[lummox]

stretch pants are awesome! i get mine at goodwill and love how the bright colors show off the crtoch stains.

[marylou]

I have a pair of them there Mistrals too. Really comfy. They are not the most wind- or rain-resistant, as the fabric their made of is on the more stretchy and light-to-more burly continuum of softshell fabrics.

 

The Mistrals are either Schoeller Dynamic or Dryskin. If you want to go more on the burly end of the spectrum, you might want to look for pants made of Power Shield (that's a Malden fabric), keeping in mind that it's not super stretchy, so you want a precise fit, even better some strecth panels sewn in to ease movement. I have a jacket made outta this stuff that I skied in a ton this year, love it.

[catbirdseat]

I have the Mistrals and like them a lot thus far. My only complaint is that the waist is fastened by a patch of Velcro. It works okay, but occasionally pulls loose. It would be easy enough to add a buttor or snap.

 

Hey, Tom, what you need is a pair of suspenders. Here's a heavy duty pair for ya.

 

http://www.cands.net/cands/SUSPENDERS.html

[rbw1966]

Mammut Champ pant. I love mine and they are pretty durable, stretchy and wind/water resistant.

[Plinko]

I've got a couple pair of North Face Apex pants, uses north face's propriatary softshell fabric. Yeeah, i swore to never buy anything TNF, but scored a killer deal on these things and managed to use a thread ripper to remove any trace as a TNF product. They fit as good as anything else, and are super durable, but since it's synthetic, they get a bit rank if yer sweatin a lot in em or wearing em for multi-day trips. It'll be nice when the garment makers finally perfect the softshell by adding magic antimicobial silver fiber thinymajigs (like some of the undergarment and socks that are on the market now) to keep the stink factor low.

[skyclimb]

Black diamond alpine pants!

Best to find them on sale, or used though

[Squid]

My pants are very multifunctional. PM me to find out how!

 

[John Frieh]

Word. If you can find the old Arcteryx gamma ar pant those are the shit: cargo pockets, stretch, suspenders, etc, but they stopped making them. Closest thing to them is the champ pant (though those are warmer... denser weave).

 

REI = suck

[charlesclaassen]

I wear Mistrals in summer, Patagucci Talus in winter.

[Dru]

i think if you want true "multi function" you should forget about pants and get a kilt

[Blakej]

Actually been working on getting over to utilikilts for the past month.

rbw... are the mammut champs insulated?

[John Frieh]

no.

[erik]

to but insulated stretch fabric pants limits your options. plus a lite "scholler" pant with a silk weight long underwear weighs less then a insulated pant.

 

i usally just wear cotton. once the summer hits that is generally all i wear. tho i have some bd pants & arcteryx ones they are all pretty much the same. go for price b4 anything else. look on discount websites for good deals. pants with belts loops are better as your can hold them up with a regular belt.

[matt_m]

Mammut Champs are great but $$ and not the most H2O resistant

I've been impressed with some of the Vahhala Pure stuff I've seen @ squish - might get a pair next time. The Patagonia Guide pants are sweet - I think they're made of some form of the EPIC fabric.

Mistrals are enticing but i'd replace the elastic with straight flat webbing first

Gamma MX pants are good but too warm for non cold weather use. I've got the old polartec ones - Arc Teryx has switched to some new fabrics so i can't peak for them all