Travel Hiking Pants
Avid hikers appreciate travel hiking pants, understanding their importance lies in providing comfort, protection, and functionality during outdoor explorations. This section further underscores why hikers select these specialized trousers over regular pants and what essential traits to bear in mind when making a purchase.
Hikers choose travel hiking pants over common trousers due to their unique design tailored for outdoor adventures. Travel hiking pants offer superior comfort, ensuring hikers never chafe or feel constricted. Additionally, they provide essential protection against a variety of weather conditions, a key consideration for travelers. For wildlife buffs, the utility pockets found in specific hiking pants brands offer space to carry small essentials, boosting practicality.
When hunting for the perfect pair of travel hiking pants, hikers mostly seek four main features – comfort, weather resistance, durability, and functionality. Essential for long hikes, quick-drying materials are a bonus feature, preventing sweat build-up. Equally critical is abrasion resistance, reinforcing the pant’s endurance against rough terrains. Hikers also prioritize pants with ample pockets for easy access to necessary gear. Finally, a good pair of travel hiking pants supports a wide range of motion, enhancing overall mobility during rigorous treks.
Our Top Picks for Travel Hiking Pants
Grab your backpacks, secure your hiking boots, and take a plunge into the top-tier selection of high-performance travel hiking pants.
When it comes to men’s travel hiking pants, the scope of choice extends beyond mere comfort and utility. Noteworthy contenders in this category include:
- Columbia Men’s Silver Ridge Convertible Pants: Blend of nylon and elastane, providing stellar moisture management alongside an adaptable silhouette, allowing conversion from pants to shorts.
- PrAna Stretch Zion Pants: They stand out with their durable and stretchy construction, demonstrating water and abrasion resistance, and a quick-dry capability that’s vital for any hiking expedition.
- Arc’teryx Gamma LT Pants: These pants offer an exception in terms of durability with Fortius fabric, designed to last under extreme conditions while assuring an unrestricted range of movement.
- Columbia Women’s Saturday Trail Pants: These pants ensure an optimal fit and stretch, thanks to their Omni-Shade and Omni-Shield technologies that assure UV protection and water and stain repellence respectively.
- The North Face Women’s Aphrodite Pants: Apt for hiking, these pants offer a relaxed fit and a lightweight construction. Quick-drying and durable, they are decked out with a wide, rib-knit waistband for extra comfort.
- Patagonia Women’s Venga Rock Pants: They combine organic cotton with polyester and spandex to offer flexibility and comfort. An adjustable waistband, articulated pattern, and gusseted crotch allow for enhanced mobility, making them ideal for the trails.
How to Care for Your Travel Hiking Pants
Proper care extends the lifespan of your travel hiking pants, preserving their usability and features. Grasp how to maintain them effectively with the guidelines given below.
Regular cleaning enhances the durability of travel hiking pants. However, the way to get it done depends on the material. Pants made from materials such as nylon, polyester or spandex blends can be machine washed in cold water using a mild detergent. Avoid harsh cleaning agents that may deteriorate the fabric.
When it comes to drying, it’s essential to remember that excess heat can harm the material and lessen its lifespan. Thus, it’s better to let these pants air-dry. For those in a rush, tumble drying on a low setting is a viable option.
Maintaining the water resistance of travel hiking pants prolongs their effectiveness for outdoor usage. Most of these pants use durable water repellent (DWR) treatment to retain their water resistance. However, regular usage and washing may cause this protective layer to wear off.
Reactivate the water resistance by following these steps:
- Wash the pants to get rid of dirt and residue.
- Apply a DWR treatment to the pants following the instructions provided on the package. There are numerous products available in the market like Nikwax or Granger’s.
- Allow the pants to air-dry or tumble-dry low as per the DWR product’s instructions.
Scrutinize the pants regularly for signs of water permeability. If the water stops beading and starts seeping into the fabric, then it’s time for another round of DWR treatment. Reinforcing the pants’ water-resistance feature prolongs their utility and ensures comfort and protection during your hiking adventures. This process underlines the importance of a proper care routine for your travel hiking pants.