- Joined
- Jul 7, 2010
- Messages
- 164
Hello folks, my first review here so bear in mind my lack of experience and high quality photos. All constructive criticism is much appreciated 
First things first, I'm not a Bear Grylls fan, but I don't bash him either. I respect what he does, after all he's out there doing things I wish I could be doing. In my eyes, he's more of an entertainer than an educator.
However, one of the things that always caught my eyes is his gear. You got it! I'm a gear junkie (but aren't we all in this place?
)
The fall season is approaching and as it turns out, I'm in need of some good outdoor pants, and after doing a some extensive research, I decided to pull the trigger on these pants after a price drop by the manufacturer.
After receiving them in the mail last week (they ship from England), I took them out for a spin, wore them to work, the trail (under 95 degree weather), and now I bring you the report.
Sizing
Trust me when I tell you that these babies RUN SMALL. I read several reviews where the users reported this same issue, however, in my experience people do tend to be very particular about sizes and since it fluctuates from brand to brand, I decided to go for my regular size. Since I wear size 32 jeans, I ordered a size 32. Upon trying them on, I noticed I didn't have as much wiggle room as I tough I would, something I've become used to with jeans. I do have the feeling that if I were about 5 pounds heavier (I'm currently at 175 lbs, 5' 8), I would have a tougher time buttoning it up.
These pants come in four lengths: small, regular, long and extra long. I hate having my pants sagging at the bottom, touching the floor and getting them caught in weeds, branches, etc. And being just 5'8, I went with the short version, which has a 29 inch inseam. Which was perfect, no sag, just right.
Fit
The fit is athletic I would say. I have a pair of North Face convertibles that fit similar, although I can confidently say the "Survivors" are much more comfortable.
Sitting down, squatting, lunging, climbing, driving, running, jumping, are not a problem, they feel just like my best pair of lounge pants. This is partly due to the construction, features and materials used, but more on that later.
I'm planning on ordering 2 more pairs a size larger, that way I can wear long johns without sacrificing movement.
Build Quality
I inspected this pants upon opening the package, and found no loose threads, buttons missing or about to fall, or any major faults. The only minor gripe is the dry bag, which had one of the velcro straps coming off, probably due to the high heat in which they were sitting. They're ok now.
Construction and Features
Now the good stuff. If you need pockets, then you've found your answer with these pants. Besides the side pockets, cargo pockets, back pockets, you also get one zippered pocket inside one of the cargo pockets, another one inside one of the side pockets and a small pouch like pocket inside the other cargo pocket. Oh, did I mention the dry bag?
The dry bag has got to be the best invention in outdoor pants history. It's held by a horizontal strap inside one of the cargo pockets, around which the top of the dry bag folds, and attaches to itself with the velcro straps.
The dry bag itself has two ziploc style closures that stop water getting in, and after throwing this pants in the washer, I can tell you that it works. No water got in.
The interior that makes up the side pockets are comprised of an orange nylon mesh material that would actually keep things like sand, dirt and mud from accumulating and bulging in your pockets, at the expense of running down your leg. The same holds true for the zippered pockets mentioned before.
Continuing with the features, part of the reason these pants are so comfy is the fact that the knees are made of a single layer of stretch material, which budges when engaging in athletic maneuvers, but return to its original shape right away. Rest assured, it's not one of those cheap stretch materials that deform after the 1st time.
The butt section is also comprised of this material, however, it's doubled. Therefore, it doesn't stretch as much (very little). All in all, a pretty clever way to reinforce a zone that's spends a lot of time rubbing against surfaces.
As you can also see from the pictures, the inside of the ankles is comprised of the same stretchy material as the knee and the butt, however, it acts more as a reinforcement, since the interior of said part is lined with the same material that makes up the rest of the pants (grey fabric) which is very lightweight, a huge plus for guys that don't like wearing shorts in hot weather environments. Thanks to said feature, I was able to stay dry and cool both at work and the trail, all during the heat waves that have been hitting the east coast. If you do get the pants wet however, they do dry very quick.
Another cool feature are the belt loop themselves, more specifically the two in the back, which snap open so that pants could be hanged to dry if need be, without having to run a clothes line through the loops. One thing to keep in mind though is that you need to keep your belt width under 2 inches if you want them to go through the loops.
Lastly, the waist band on the interior of the pants, as well as the one around the inside of the leg openings are lined with a bright orange fabric, which I suppose would serve to draw attention in a rescue situation, which add a nice detail nevertheless.
There's the review folks, hope you liked it and feel free to ask any questions. Thanks for reading.
First things first, I'm not a Bear Grylls fan, but I don't bash him either. I respect what he does, after all he's out there doing things I wish I could be doing. In my eyes, he's more of an entertainer than an educator.
However, one of the things that always caught my eyes is his gear. You got it! I'm a gear junkie (but aren't we all in this place?
)The fall season is approaching and as it turns out, I'm in need of some good outdoor pants, and after doing a some extensive research, I decided to pull the trigger on these pants after a price drop by the manufacturer.
After receiving them in the mail last week (they ship from England), I took them out for a spin, wore them to work, the trail (under 95 degree weather), and now I bring you the report.
Sizing
Trust me when I tell you that these babies RUN SMALL. I read several reviews where the users reported this same issue, however, in my experience people do tend to be very particular about sizes and since it fluctuates from brand to brand, I decided to go for my regular size. Since I wear size 32 jeans, I ordered a size 32. Upon trying them on, I noticed I didn't have as much wiggle room as I tough I would, something I've become used to with jeans. I do have the feeling that if I were about 5 pounds heavier (I'm currently at 175 lbs, 5' 8), I would have a tougher time buttoning it up.
These pants come in four lengths: small, regular, long and extra long. I hate having my pants sagging at the bottom, touching the floor and getting them caught in weeds, branches, etc. And being just 5'8, I went with the short version, which has a 29 inch inseam. Which was perfect, no sag, just right.
Fit
The fit is athletic I would say. I have a pair of North Face convertibles that fit similar, although I can confidently say the "Survivors" are much more comfortable.
Sitting down, squatting, lunging, climbing, driving, running, jumping, are not a problem, they feel just like my best pair of lounge pants. This is partly due to the construction, features and materials used, but more on that later.
I'm planning on ordering 2 more pairs a size larger, that way I can wear long johns without sacrificing movement.
Build Quality
I inspected this pants upon opening the package, and found no loose threads, buttons missing or about to fall, or any major faults. The only minor gripe is the dry bag, which had one of the velcro straps coming off, probably due to the high heat in which they were sitting. They're ok now.
Construction and Features
Now the good stuff. If you need pockets, then you've found your answer with these pants. Besides the side pockets, cargo pockets, back pockets, you also get one zippered pocket inside one of the cargo pockets, another one inside one of the side pockets and a small pouch like pocket inside the other cargo pocket. Oh, did I mention the dry bag?
The dry bag has got to be the best invention in outdoor pants history. It's held by a horizontal strap inside one of the cargo pockets, around which the top of the dry bag folds, and attaches to itself with the velcro straps.
The dry bag itself has two ziploc style closures that stop water getting in, and after throwing this pants in the washer, I can tell you that it works. No water got in.
The interior that makes up the side pockets are comprised of an orange nylon mesh material that would actually keep things like sand, dirt and mud from accumulating and bulging in your pockets, at the expense of running down your leg. The same holds true for the zippered pockets mentioned before.
Continuing with the features, part of the reason these pants are so comfy is the fact that the knees are made of a single layer of stretch material, which budges when engaging in athletic maneuvers, but return to its original shape right away. Rest assured, it's not one of those cheap stretch materials that deform after the 1st time.
The butt section is also comprised of this material, however, it's doubled. Therefore, it doesn't stretch as much (very little). All in all, a pretty clever way to reinforce a zone that's spends a lot of time rubbing against surfaces.
As you can also see from the pictures, the inside of the ankles is comprised of the same stretchy material as the knee and the butt, however, it acts more as a reinforcement, since the interior of said part is lined with the same material that makes up the rest of the pants (grey fabric) which is very lightweight, a huge plus for guys that don't like wearing shorts in hot weather environments. Thanks to said feature, I was able to stay dry and cool both at work and the trail, all during the heat waves that have been hitting the east coast. If you do get the pants wet however, they do dry very quick.
Another cool feature are the belt loop themselves, more specifically the two in the back, which snap open so that pants could be hanged to dry if need be, without having to run a clothes line through the loops. One thing to keep in mind though is that you need to keep your belt width under 2 inches if you want them to go through the loops.
Lastly, the waist band on the interior of the pants, as well as the one around the inside of the leg openings are lined with a bright orange fabric, which I suppose would serve to draw attention in a rescue situation, which add a nice detail nevertheless.
There's the review folks, hope you liked it and feel free to ask any questions. Thanks for reading.
