Lord of the Pants

imported
#1

Haha, that would be a funny trailname. Anyway, I’m trying to figure out what to bring for pants. What kind of material is good? At first I was thinking convertible pants, but on some previous posts, it seems many people sent these home at Neels Gap. Is that just because they were extra? Could i get by with just one pair of convertible pants, and no other pants/shorts? Thanks for the help.

C-Giddy

#2

C-
Go to trailfourms and check under “gear”. I asked a similar question about pants, ohhh, about a week ago and got some very imformative answers. It may be helpful to you as well. I think the thread title was just “Hiking pants.” Good Luck!

Peter

#3

thanks peter

C-Giddy

#4

I brought a pair of convertable pants. They worked well in town if you wanted to look half respectable. Other than that I had two pair of Wal-Mart swimming trunks. One for hiking in and one for sleeping in. They dont weight much.

Virginian

#5

I wore a pair of Ex Officio nylon pants (not convertables) most of the way, cheap swimtrunks the rest of the time. You can always roll up long pants and turn them into shorts, then unroll them when you stop to avoid the bugs in summertime. Looks a little dorky, but works for me!

                           -S-

Skittles

#6

Ex Officios are the best. I have 6000 miles on a pair. I don’t wear them anymore because of the smell but they still look good with no holes.

Blue Jay

#7

Blue Jay, have you tried soaking them in vinegar to get the smell out?

Ardsgaine

#8

I will try that, thank you.

Blue Jay

#9

C-Giddy:

if you’re ONLY taking one pair of pants…i’d highly recommend “convertibles”.

great for the early morning “frosty” hikes & then zip-ff the lower leg for the heat-of-the-day miles!

i suggest water-resistant “convertibles” pants…they wrok very well.

by the way…say “Hello” to your cuzzin P-Diddy for me!
hehehehehehehe;)

see ya’ll UP the trail in 2004!

Jaybird

#10

Personal preference.

Myself, I haven’t found a pair of convertable pants that I like. So, I don’t use them.

I also compared the weight of 2 shorts, 1 long pants, and 1 underwear with 1 short, 2 underwear, and 1 convertable pants. The former was lighter.

For my AT hike in 2001-2002, I took 1 pair of long pants, and no rain pants except for the Whites.

Now, in mild weather, I carry Frogg Togg rain pants and wear those on my legs when it is cool out. Don’t carry convertible pants or long pants.

Peaks

#11

If you wear the shorts part of the convertible pants all day to hike in, they will be wet, dirty and smelly at the end of the day when you need to change into dry clothes. The only thing dry will be the legs from the knees down. Why not hike in shorts and carry a light weight pair of long pants to change into at camp and to wear in case it gets really cold.
chao

skunkfeather

#12

If you wear the shorts part of the convertible pants all day to hike in, they will be wet, dirty and smelly at the end of the day when you need to change into dry clothes. The only thing dry will be the legs from the knees down. Why not hike in shorts and carry a light weight pair of long pants to change into at camp and to wear in case it gets really cold.
chao

skunkfeather

#13

Try the REI Sahara convertible pants. They’re light, comfortable in all temperatures, reasonably durable, and dry quickly. You don’t need anything else for three-season hiking. One pair is enough if you have rain pants you can change into when you need to do wash.

Snowbird