Durable Hiking Pants/Shorts

Anyone have a recommendation on a pair of hiking pants (preferably the type that converts to shorts) that holds up to the roughness of the trails in the Whites. I do a lot of the rougher trails with scrambles, ledges, etc and am not the most graceful (i.e. I drag my legs along the rocks, buttslide down wet ledges, sit down to lower myself down steep step downs, etc.).

I was wearing a pair of the basic EMS pants but found the weight very light and providing little protection from scraping along the rocks, buttsliding on ledges, etc. The fabric has held up but my skin does not. I "upgraded" to a pair of North Face pants this year that has a design I like more (the way the pockets are made primarily) and what seemed to be a heavier fabric but after 6 hikes in them they are pretty much destroyed already (the stains of mud don't come out and I've torn numerous holes in the seat and knees already).

Can anyone recommend a pant designed to hold up to the wear and tear? Was thinking of maybe getting a pair of cycling shorts as a comfortable and flexible "base layer" and wearing a heavy pant or shorts over it capable of withstanding rough use and washing.

I have a pair of hiking pants that are made out of Schoeller material. I bought them at Wild things in north Conway but they are gone now. This material is fantastic. Its lightweight but tough as nails. It also performs well in light rail and dries very fast. My pants are 5 yrs old and have no issues at all. While they might not be the lightest pants out there, their functionality outweighs their weight. P.S. no offense but EMS name brand stuff will not hold up to tough repeated abuse. I have had good luck with REI name brand clothes and am wearing their cargo shorts now, so far they are very nice, comfortable and dry very quickly.

I have had good luck with the Columbia PFG Aruba zip pants. The threads wear out long before the fabric does. One major down side is lack of fly.

Check out RailRiders: http://www.railriders.com/

Thicker softshell pants might do the trick, though they will be hot compared to lightweight synthetic pants. Get ones without a membrane or lining or anything fancy like that.

An alternative for some days would be to wear cheap, rugged cotton pants. Though I'm sure we'll hear contrary opinions momentarily, this won't actually result in instant death. This works best on warm, dry days below treeline with a low likelihood of rain, and when paired with functional rain pants in the pack. The cotton pants will still get ripped and abraded on rock, but at least they are much cheaper than expensive tech fabrics!

sierra said:

P.S. no offense but EMS name brand stuff will not hold up to tough repeated abuse.

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I personally have had good luck with their stuff. It is usually a feature or something that is not quite right. With their gear I find myself saying "This is a great piece of gear, but.....". My EMS pants lasted 3 years. My North Face pants lasted 2 months. I'm absurdly fussy. I'll use any brand, and pay just about any price, provided it does EXACTLY what I want it to do. (And my definition of EXACTLY tends to change over time).

When it comes to durable (but not convertible) none of my other hiking pants comes close to matching the military tactical pants that I bought at the Conway Army Surplus. They are 65/35 Polyester/ Cotton. They have reinforced knees and the huge rear pockets that almost makes a reinforced bottom. They dry reasonably well. I liked them so much I bought a second pair but I'm still wearing that pair for every day use as I haven't been able to wear out the first pair.

I have a similar pair of double-knee 65% poly/35% cotton Dickies loose fitting work pants (not the standard "janitor" pants) that I sometimes use hiking. They're great, and at like $25 hard to beat.

DayTrip said:

I personally have had good luck with their stuff. It is usually a feature or something that is not quite right. With their gear I find myself saying "This is a great piece of gear, but.....". My EMS pants lasted 3 years. My North Face pants lasted 2 months. I'm absurdly fussy. I'll use any brand, and pay just about any price, provided it does EXACTLY what I want it to do. (And my definition of EXACTLY tends to change over time).

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You made my point for me. I Patagonia clothes that are pushing 20 yrs!!! 3 yrs is just getting broken in for me.