Opinions on pants

Tru Spec or Combat Cloth BDUs at Brigade Quartermasters in 65/35 Polyester/cotton. More comfortable than jeans, but still dry quickly and have nearly the insulating value of pure poly/nylon technical pants. The best part is they come in plain solid colors -- olive, tan, black, blue -- so you can get comfort and performance without looking like a special farces wannabee.
 
I had a pair of swedis mil surplus wool pants I got from sportsmans guide for 15 bucks a few years ago, and they where great for winter...
 
I agree with Humelbaugh. The C,hrt work dungarees also have a pocket on the right side that a Mora sheath fits into perfectly. I sewed a large button onto them to secure the sheath as my 780 sheath is set up for this. An earlier thread from one of the Swedish members explained this use.--The Ripps--rip stop cotton--from Wrangler appear to be good summer weight rough use pants. I just got a pair but Ive worn C,hrts along time and they really last well.--KV
 
A lot of suits are made of wool. A person may be able to find some wool pants at the Goodwill for very little.
 
Whether slash pockets or cargo's, it's danged difficult to beat wool. They come in different weight material, so hot or cold, they insulate the wearer, they protect and insulate the wearer when soaked, they don't burn up or melt while tending to your fire, they protect from the sun, they wick moisture and they are rugged. Down sides are that they can cost a lot more than cotton pants, they are heavy and they require more care to maintain their insulative values.
 
My work requires I wear cargo pants and I work outdoors and in the Wilderness. The pant that has proven itself to me more than just for "hobby or weekend" wear is the 5.11 series of pants. The cotton canvas are just plain comfortable, practical, and rugged. They last a long time and the die stays generally true - not fading. I wear the nylon in most of the year in the wild and swicth to their 12 oz wool in the winter and then wear the cotton canvas during non-wood related work.
 
For the cooler months I always wear my Mountain equipment Ultra fleece pants ( I have 2 pair so when ones in the wash the others on my legs ) they are more wind resistant than polartec 200 and also harder wearing, they are incredibly light and super fast drying.
Even when it is raining, my legs don't seem to get wet. Take a look at the pic below, can you imagine your legs if you hiked through this wearing cotton ? My legs were fine !!!
PICT4483.jpg
 
All I've worn for the last 5 months are Wrangler Riggs Ranger pants, the RipStop variety. I've got 3 pairs in constant rotation, and I need to pick another 3 or 6 more (3 colours ;)) They're holding up quite well,with only some slight abrasion marks where my ArcAAA swings on a carabiner all the time above my right front pocket. They're just about the perfect pants for people like us:thumbup:: leather clip patch on the right front pocket for your "tape measure", the cargo pockets have brass snaps rather than awkward buttons or velcro that packs up with thread and fuzz, lots of riveted corners, smart pocket layout... well that's the end of my sale pitch, just google the larger text in the first line and you'll be a convert. Misanthropist, pitdog et al., you can get them at 2 stores on same the block in Bellingham across from Bellis Fair.. the big Joe's Sporting Goods and the workwear-type shop in the next strip mall over on the corner, next to Ross. I checked with Wrangler Canada, and no dice here. Unless there's some gray market guys that brings them up across without a distributorship, but that would be $$.
 
I like the Wranglers Riggs also they fit & wear great. Wrangler also has a " Outdoor" line that is very nice & does not look " Tactical" in the least.
 
Propper tactical pants. I wear them instead of EMS pants on the ambulance. I have them in khaki, and OD for hiking and camping. I have the shorts in khaki too for hot weather hiking and shooting. They are almost identical to the 5.11 pants except the rear pockets arent slash pockets.
 
Question about Proper BDUs

What is the difference between the 100% cotton ripstop and the 40/60 cotton/polly blend?
Is the cotton/polly blend as rip resistant as the 100%.

I want pants that are just like my surplus ones, but in solid color. My surplus ones in woodland camo are bomb proof, but the tags don't say wether they are 100%cotton or cotton/poly blend.
 
Update on the 5.11 TDU pants.

I got called out on a search yesterday about noon. I decided it was a good time to give the pants a work out instead of waiting till Saturday like I had orginally planned. I spent about 8 hrs in them including the drive to and from the search area and about 5 hrs of that was actual searching. The area was the Columbia River Gorge. For those of you unfamiliar with this area it is renowned for it's dampness and wind. Very popular with the windsurfing crowd. The weather was overcast with rain and hail at times. Temps were in the mid 40s(I think). The rain beaded up on the pants probelly due to the Teflon. At no point did my legs get wet or cold. I did not suffer from over heating or chaffing either. I was very impressed with how they performed. As soon as the budget allows I'll be buying a few more pairs of these pants.
 
Made a trip to the Goodwill store. They have racks of dress pants, many of them wool , for three bucks.Grey, brown, black, green
 
Tru Sped BDUs is all i ever wear. I have all kinds of colors and I order them from BigadeQuartermasters. I dont wear jeans, ever since i was in the Army I fell inlove with BDUs and thats all I wear. I like the adjustments on the side and the freedom of movement. Plus there durable as hell. You can also get them in XL short and that is my size, go figure. I dont like wearing jeans cause the waist is to tight and the crotch hangs to low for a short guy like me. I just love BDUs, always have always will.
 
I've tried all types and since I'm in the military, I have plenty of BDU's (and the newer ACUs), but I try to avoid too much of a military look unless I'm hunting. Wool is great in colder climates, but way too much for me down here in Texas. We did some hiking over this spring break and I was able to try out my REI Mojave convertible pants (they're 65/35 cotton/nylon)...very rugget pants. We did a lot of scrambling, bouldering and off-trail bush-whacking; very impressed. Another pair I was able to finally do some climbing in are Railrider's mess leg pants. We bouldered all over some granite rocks and these pants held up very well...the granite was pretty sharp in some places and even cut my arm and hands a few times, but no tears or visible abrasion on the pants.

ROCK6
 
I have no acceptable outdoor clothing for cold weather. It dipped below freezing twice here this Winter. I used to wear cotton BDU pants. For this hot, humid climate, even BDUs seem heavy. I have been wearing the Cabela's hiking pants and hiking shorts for the last few years. They are light and comfortable. They have a knife pocket that will hold a SAK OHT, deep front pockes that will hold a sheathed Mora, the regular back pockets, and two button flap pockets that will hold a cell phone or psk. They last me about a year.
 
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