View Full Version : Pants for the short & plus sized
WritinginCT
01-20-2009, 19:19
I'm short with about a 24" inseam and wear a size 18 or 20 pants depending on cut. I haven't had very much luck in sourcing out sturdy performance wear pants that will work for me.
Normally for day hikes I just wear lightweight cotton or denim capris pants which normally come to just above my ankle. This is fine for day hiking because if I get wet I can just head back to the car for heat then home for dry clothes, but that's not going to work for backpacking.
Any suggestions? I could get pants hemmed but I'd rather not pay over $100 for a pair of pants with ankle zips and whatnot only to hack off a foot and loose that functionality.
And I just say no to hiking in a skirt/kilt and shorts make me crazy. I gotta have pants. lol...
Blissful
01-20-2009, 19:53
If capris are working for you, many outdoor companies (North face, Mountain Hardwear, etc) make them in nylon, etc that are quick dry rather than resorting to cotton. Check places like Sierra Trading post. And REI has deals now.
REI branded pants are great for coming in petite/short lengths. I'm not sure if you would be able to find 24", but they seem to do a 28" I want to say... Plus, if you add hiking boots, you would end up adding roughly an inch, leaving you with only about 3 inches to have to hem up. The nice thing about REI's petites is that the rises are proportionate to a shorter woman (ie. not just regular pants with some leg length hacked off). Good luck!!! Please post if you find anything good!!!---I'm 5' with my boots on.
Mrs Baggins
01-21-2009, 20:18
I'm 4'10" and I wear all REI Petite Sahara pants. I never have to hem them. I do have a pair of nylon yoga pants that are above my ankle in length and I wear them as camp pants in warm weather. They're comfy and all but they absorb odors really bad and get rank pretty quick. I would never wear them to hike.
Pringles
01-21-2009, 22:46
I remember someone commenting that they liked scrubs. They are cheap at Walgreens and (often) made of poly-something if you check the tags, so they aren't likely to take forever to dry. My local Walgreens carries them in lots of sizes and colors, for about $5 a pair. I wouldn't lose any sleep if I had to shorten them. They aren't exactly "performance," but if they work...
Pringles
WritinginCT
01-22-2009, 00:14
Great ideas!!
A little male birdie reading this thread sent me a pm reminding me that I should check LLBean. And I can't believe I forgot them in all this! Their petite jeans are the only ones I buy! And it looks like they have some decent performance pants at a reasonable price too.
there's another great company www.junonia.com that makes plus size activewear too. I have a couple of their wicking t-shirts and they rock!
Man I hate being short!!