Deep Dive on Features

100% nylon vs 5-10% Spandex

When shopping for hiking pants, you will frequently encounter models made of either 100% nylon, or ~90-95% nylon with ~5-10% Spandex, Lycra, or elastane. The obvious upside is that the more Spandex, the stretchier the pants. Stretchy pants improve the functional range of movement and can be more comfortable to walk in, and are definitely more comfortable to scramble or climb in.

However, spandex blends come with some downside as well. Compared to 100% nylon, Spandex-nylon blends are slightly heavier, absorb more water, dry more slowly, are less durable/more prone to snagging, and stretch out or “bag and sag” over time. Pants that are 100% nylon need to be looser fitting to compensate for the lack of stretch, especially if you have thicker legs. Flowy, loose-fitting pants can be comfortable, but also create their own challenges and interfere with stepping.

Thus, there is no perfect fabric for hiking pants, and whether or not to choose a nylon-spandex blend, or a pair made of 100% nylon is largely dependent on personal preference and the traits you value most. That said, people have voted with their dollars and brands have voted with their product lines, and most people seem to prefer pants with a bit of stretch.

Why we love cargo pockets

Cargo pockets seem to fluctuate in and out of style, but they have never lost any utility for hikers. Our ideal hiking pants have a large cargo pockets, one on each thigh. And two cargo pockets is strictly better than one.

They are useful for storing all sorts of things, including: sunscreen, lip balm, maps, phones, snacks, gloves, a hat, a wallet, mosquito head net, compass, and so much more.

Every time you can reach into your cargo pockets to access gear instead of stopping to take your pack off saves a couple of minute. Added up over the length of a multi-day hike, cargo pockets could save half an hour of gear futzing.

Hand pockets: scoop vs trouser style

Another feature worth discussing is hand pocket configuration, of which their are two main types: scoop pockets and trouser pockets.

Scoop pockets, commonly found on jeans, create something of a rounded 90 degree angle, allowing the hand to enter from the top, rather than the side. This does a superior job of securing the contents, but makes it more difficult to reach in and out of as their location at the hip crease can create contortion or tightness. Furthermore, repeatedly reaching into scoop pockets all throughout the day can start to chafe uncomfortably on the back of your hand.

Trouser pockets are far easier and more comfortable to reach in and out of, and feel more user friendly. But they also create a minor risk of contents falling out, depending on the position of your leg and the angle of the pocket. If you are considering a pair of hiking pants with trouser-style pockets, make sure they are extra deep to secure the load.

Perhaps the ideal hand pocket configuration is a blend between scoop and trouser, which is what we see on the Kuhl Renegade Convertible. Notice that the hand entry line is roughly a 45 degree angle, rather than 0 or 90. This is a best of both worlds feature, yet it is surprisingly rare.

Convertibles hiking pants vs non-convertibles

Convertible hiking pants, by which we mean those that zip off above the knee to create shorts, are always worth considering. Doubly so for backpackers. They have many benefits, but also some drawbacks. We will outline below:

Obviously, the main benefit is that you get two garments for the price/weight/volume of one. Being able to switch between shorts and pants is very handy in climates with big temperature fluctuations. And they offer major potential weight savings if it means you don’t need to pack shorts. This is a huge and obvious benefit that often outweighs the micro-downsides we’re going to list off below.

The downsides are less pronounced, but still very relevant. Primarily, when worn as pants, convertibles are simply less comfortable than non-convertibles. The presence of a stiff metal zipper creates an uncomfortable area at the lower thigh. Should your pants ever ride up, like in the middle of a large high step, the zipper may squeeze/choke/pinch the wide point of your mid-thigh, double so if you have thick and/or muscular legs.

Simply put, convertible pants are worse at being pants than true pants. What’s more, any pants can be rolled up and cuffed into capris. While this is less comfortable and far less airy than convertible pants in shorts-mode, it is at least something of a consolation prize.

If you’ve owned convertible, consider how often you actually convert them into shorts. People take advantage of this feature far, far less often than they envision that they will.

Lastly, convertibles are made with zippers. Zipper teeth can break, get stuck, get sand in them, and otherwise fail. You might be stuck with shorts, or worse, stuck with one leg in pants-mode and one leg in shorts-mode.

So should you choose convertibles? We think that’s up to you. If you’re the type who actually takes advantage of shorts-mode and/or are traveling to a climate that has very large temperature fluctuations, it could be very worthwhile. If you mostly wear them as pants and live in a cooler climate, or mostly wear them as shorts in a warmer climate, true pants and true shorts might be preferable.

Important bonus features for convertible hiking pants

If you choose to go with convertibles, there are a few important features to look for. All of the convertible pants in our guide have them, but they’re worth calling out.

First is the color coded zips. This helps you visually identify which lower leg goes with which upper leg.

Second is the lower leg zippers. They can run from hem to mid-calf, the knee, or even all of the way up to the main shorts zipper. This is useful in two ways, but also comes with downside. It is useful to have low leg zips in that they can be opened for ventilation.

It is even more useful because they allow the wearer to convert between pants and shorts without having to take their shoes off. This is especially important if you wear boots, and/or your shoes aren’t loose enough to be slipped in/out of without untying.

Internal Drawstrings and Integrated Belts

In our opinion, internal drawstrings and integrated belts are just junk gizmos that seem attractive to brands and designers trying to sell a feature-rich product. They are less useful to the customers using them. While all well and good for non-technical garments, we dislike these features for any hiking pants with true zipper fly. They’re not for us, nor do we recommend them to you.

In our experience, internal drawstrings get stuck in the zipper fly, or interfere with the ability to use it. They frequently retreat into the inner sleeve and have be tediously pulled out, one inch at a time.

The drawstring is not very wide so it can create an uncomfortable amount of pressure in a concentrated band around your waist. We always wear a belt anyway, and a true belt is far superior in every single way to an integrated belt in terms of function, and pressure distribution, making the drawstring redundant in addition to inferior.

We also dislike like integrated belts for similar reasons. They add weight/cost/bulk. Like drawstrings, they are narrower, and less comfortable than a true belt. What’s more, pants designed with integrated belts often cannot be used with true belts. True belts do a better job of keeping pants up while also being wider and better at distributing pressure. And like drawstrings, true belts can also retreat into the inner workings of the pants and get stuck.

There are some good hiking pants built with drawstrings and integrated belts, including some models on this list. However, if we had a magic wand and could change those pants, we would still remove them and consider it an upgrade.

Why hiking pants over tights?

Compared to hiking pants, stretchy tights have fewer pockets, less durability, and less weather resistance and aren’t recommended in our guide. But if you like hiking in tights, please don’t let us stop you. Truly! Comfort is the single most important feature and you should wear what works best for you.