Looking for pant recommendations.

[Buttercup01]

I need your opinions on men's summer weight hiking pants. Features that are important are: true water resistance, breathable, lightweight, few pockets (pockets are heat traps), able to handle thorns and falls, expandable waist with the option to use a belt, and make a middle aged guy look hot to women. OK, maybe the last feature will be impossible to find. Any suggestions?

I purchased some water resistant pants in the past with mixed results. The latest pair soaks up rain better than a pair of cotton pants with a water fetish and others kept the moisture in.

[Bird Dawg]

I've had good luck with the REI Sahara convertible pants. They are light and pretty water resistant. They have an expanding waist and the "no sit zips" allow you to remove the lower leg section, if desired, without having to sit and pull over your boots or shoes. The don't come with a built-in belt (although I think they once did) but I picked up a Thomas Bates hiker belt on Amazon that I really like.

[MuddyWaters]

Water resist and breatheable , are opposites.
Handle thorns and falls, and lightweight, are opposites.

For summer, most important to me is light, ventillated.

[Kevin108]

+1 on REI Sahara. The shed water well and dry very quickly. They're about all I'm wearing these days.

[moytoy]

MuddyWaters is right. Pants can't be all the things on your wish list. In summer a pair of nylon pants, short or long, from an outlet or discount store is all you really need. You wish to buy high end that's good too.

[HDLV]

Go with the Prana Stretch Zion pants. They are marketed as pants for climbers but I love them for hiking. Just one cargo pocket, durable, a great DWR finish and they actually look good (convertibles don't look great, super baggy). I do most of my hiking in pants, these ones have nice snap buttons at the bottom that help you roll them up into a Capri length, I usually roll them up to short length and have no problomes with them falling down.

[K2 Travels]

Arcteryx Rampart. Very light but stretch to allow full range of movement. This is my main pant, even in cold weather, just add long wool underwear.

[TroutknuT]

Mountain Hardwear's kilt.... Meets a lot of what your looking for. Love the pockets,ventilation,and the woman love a man in a kilt

[Harrison Bergeron]

At 31, you're not even close to middle age, so I'd recommend some of those baggy basketball shorts with your butt hanging out so you can show off your fancy silk boxer shorts with the little hearts on them. I guess that must drive the girls wild -- it's all the rage with the kids I see at the mall, anyway.


But if attracting the ladies is not your highest priority, I would recommend a pair of long nylon hiking pants. I always liked my REI Sahara zip-offs until my kids bought me some Exofficio Nomads, which are lighter and have a tighter weave that sheds rain better. Either way, zip them off in camp, but leave them long for hiking. And forget the belt -- get some suspenders, so your pack doesn't always push your pants down over your butt (unless, of course, that's the look you're going for).

[The Cleaner]

Exofficio has lightweight pants in several versions. I got mine from Ebay and they were discontinued types.Very light and a bit water repellant but not thorn proof. I liked them so well I bought a new pair to wear around town this summer.Pants that are thornproof will have to be made of a heavier material.

[billnchristy]

Columbia makes PFG (performance fishing gear) convertible pants that are quite a bit cheaper than hiking pants and offer about the same features.

[chiefduffy]

White Sierra makes some very good hiking pants, a little cheaper than name brands.

[sfdoc]

RailRiders Eco-mesh w/ insect shield (not a zip-off). Duluth Trading Co.'s Men's No Fly Zone Convertible pants (impregnated w/ permethrin good for 70 washings).

[Jake2c]

I'm still searching around but I like REI and Kuhl. Not water proof but dry very fast. I have a rain kilt to keep my pants dry from the knee up. Waterproof pants were just too hot for me.

[TREKMAN001]

Very happy with the Columbia zip offs I bought from REI. $66.00 and performed very well on my last hike. Dried VERY quickly and were very comfortable in the heat.
Worked much better than pair of Jeans!
Guy

[HICKS]

+1 for Prana Stretch Zion. Very comfortable and durable.