Hiking pants get a bad rap. In the age of ultralight everything, running shorts have become the go-to bottoms for all manner of outdoor adventure. But even though shorts are admittedly awesome, hiking pants offer their own distinct advantages. So, to celebrate the rebirth of the trail pant, we’ve compiled a list of the best hiking pants men can own.
Our choice for 2024’s best men’s hiking pants goes to the Fjällräven Vidda Pro Lite Trousers for their impressive mix of features, comfort, and breathability.
Best Hiking Pants for Men Reviewed
Best Overall Hiking Pants for Men
Our favourite pair of hiking pants for men in 2024 are the Fjällräven Vidda Pro Lite Trousers. These pants offer men an unparalleled blend of comfort and utility. Made from G-1000 Air Stretch fabric (and reinforced with double layers over the rear and knees), they’re perfect for three-season hikes.
Functionality is key with these pants, offering multiple pockets including open hand pockets, buttoned leg pockets, a multitool pocket, and an internal phone pocket. Additional features like kneepads openings and adjustable leg endings enhance their practicality. A perfect choice for almost any hike you undertake this season. Fit is regular with slightly tapered legs.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their superior comfort, breathability, and practical features that make hiking in any condition a breeze.
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Best Runner-Up
The Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants come in close second for their versatile, lightweight, and breathable features. Crafted from a rugged yet stretchy recycled nylon blend, they’re wind- and water-resistant, quick-drying, and superbly breathable.
The harness-compatible waist provides a secure and comfortable fit, while multiple pockets, including drop-in hand pockets and a security zip pocket, offer practical storage. Ideal for hiking, climbing, travel, and everyday wear.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their exceptional comfort, versatility, and performance across hiking and beyond.
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Best Value Hiking Pants
The Silver Ridge series by Columbia is considered a hiking wardrobe staple. So it may come as a pleasant surprise to discover that the Columbia Silver Ridge Utility Pants are one of the most affordable, high-quality hiking pants on the market.
These lightweight and breathable pants offer comfort stretch, UPF 50 sun protection, moisture-wicking capabilities, and versatile design elements such as cargo pockets and zip-off legs that convert to shorts. Ideal for both trail and travel, they provide excellent performance and practicality at a great price point.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their exceptional value, comfort, and hiking-specific features.
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Best Waterproof Hiking Pants
Looking for the best waterproof hiking pants for men? Look no further than the Marmot PreCip Eco Pant. Built with 100% recycled nylon ripstop, the Eco Pant is both lightweight and abrasion-resistant. In terms of waterproofing, the microporous coating sheds water like a champ. Meanwhile, zippered pockets and taped seams go the extra mile to lock out moisture.
Best of all, they’re slip-ons, making them easy to pull on in a sudden downpour. Once the storm has passed, the zipper and snap ankles allow you to remove them hassle-free.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their reliable waterproof protection, quick on-off design, and eco-friendly materials, making them perfect for sudden storms and iffy weather.
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Best Lightweight
The Rossignol Lightweight Pant seamlessly blends city-ready style with technical materials for an active lifestyle. These ultra-lightweight and flexible pants offer plenty of stretch, making them perfect for day hikes, bouldering, and other outdoor adventures.
With a durable water-repellent (DWR) finish, they keep you dry in drizzly weather, while laser-cut ventilation ensures breathability.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their perfect combination of urban style and outdoor functionality, providing comfort, flexibility, and water resistance for a variety of activities.
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Best Convertible
You may recognize the following entry, but hang tight—these are the convertible versions. The Outdoor Research Ferrosi Convertible Pants are the ultimate choice for versatile outdoor wear. Made from a lightweight and breathable fabric blend, these convertible pants are a no-nonsense choice for the trail.
Like their sibling, they’re fast-drying, water-resistant, and boast UPF 50+ sun protection. The zip-off legs allow for easy conversion from pants to shorts, adding versatility for changing climates and activities. With multiple pockets, including a zippered thigh pocket, and an elastic waistband with a drawcord, you also get a lot in the convenience department.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their weatherproofing, versatility, and excellent storage—perfect for adapting to an array of weather conditions.
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Best for Cold Weather Hiking
For traversing alpine rock and snow, the Patagonia Altvia Alpine Pants are unbeatable. These trekking pants will keep you warm and dry across a range of winter conditions, while the abrasion resistant fabrics stand up to scraps and tears.
The lightweight polyester-stretch fabric allows for unrestricted movement, as does the gusseted crotch. Three secured, zippered pockets—two on the front, one on the back—offer ample storage space. While not entirely waterproof in heavy rains, they’re water-resistant enough to withstand your average snowfall with the PFC-free DWR finish.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their warmth, water-resistance, and stretch fabric allowing for total freedom of movement.
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Best for Hot Weather Hiking
When the sun transforms the forest into a sauna, you need breathable hiking pants. Sure, shorts are great on hot days, but they’re not great at keeping the ticks at bay. That’s why we’d like to introduce you to the Salomon Outerpath Utility Pants. They’re designed for comfort, convenience, and freedom, making them perfect for warm weather adventures.
Constructed from durable fabric with a water-repellent treatment, these pants will quickly become your go-to pair. Made from recycled materials, they offer breathability and sustainable performance. The smart storage design includes strategically placed rear and cargo pockets for easy access to your belongings.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their breezy build, soft finish, and smart storage solutions.
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BEST APPROACH TRAIL PANTS
Looking for a function-forward pair of pants to take you from the hiking trail to the big wall? Look no further than the Mountain Hardwear Chockstone Trail Pant.
With UPF 50 protection, durable stretch woven fabric, and a low-profile belt, they offer comfort and utility across walks and climbs. Featuring hand pockets, a secure zip back pocket, and seat gusset construction for mobility, they’re an ideal hybrid pant for approaches.
Why People Love Them
Beloved for their versatile functionality on both big walls and trails, these streamlined pants are equally suitable for daily wear.
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Other Favourites
Designed for rock climbing and bouldering, the Black Diamond Notion Pants are an excellent hiking companion, too. Between the relaxed fit and stretch cotton twill construction, these hiking pants are as comfortable and they are breathable. The reinforced knee also stands up to falls and tears.
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The award-winning Fjällräven Keb Trousers have been reimagined and updated for enhanced performance, comfort, and durability. Made from stretch fabric and G-1000 for freedom of movement and protection, they feature large pockets, ventilation zippers, and openings for knee pads. Made without PFCs, they’re built to last a lifetime, making them a sustainable choice.
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The 7mesh Glidepath Pant offers versatility and performance for multi-day expeditions. With a trim fit and DWR finish, they're ideal for tackling trails or casual walks, while the 4-way stretch fabric ensures comfort and mobility. Reinforced knees accommodate knee pads, and multiple pockets provide convenient storage. Made with sustainable materials.
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Originally designed for climbing, the Foehn Brise Schoeller Pant merges technical performance with modern style. Featuring stretch fabric, DWR finish, and engineered thigh storage, they’re both versatile and functional. Features like knee articulation and gusseted crotch ensure comfort and mobility during climbs, while Schoeller Switzerland fabric and YKK zippers guarantee durability.
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BUYING GUIDE: What to Look for When Buying Men’s Hiking Pants
1. Types of Hiking Pants
Standard Hiking Pants
Standard hiking pants are simply traditional pants made with specialised fabrics and features. They’re known for being lightweight yet durable, comfortable yet technical.
Compared to shorts, pants are great for protecting your legs from blood-sucking bugs (such as Lyme disease-carrying ticks and pesky mosquitoes). They also defend against scrapes and bruises, plus wind and rain.
Convertible Hiking Pants
Convertible pants have been the butt of many jokes, but there’s plenty of good reasons why they persist on the trail. For one, they’re a more versatile option for hikers who can’t decide between shorts and pants. Second, they’re adaptive to a wide variety of conditions without adding extra ounces to your pack. They are, however, heavier on average than standard hiking pants due to their zipper connections.
2. Sizing and Fit
There are many variations when it comes to size and fit. Below, we discuss the four most common genres of fit.
Standard Fit
Standard-cut pants (also known as regular fit) sit just below the waist and have a loose tapper from top to bottom. While this type of fit is common among hiking pants in general, it’s particularly common among convertible pants.
Relaxed Fit
Relaxed Fit pants are similar in structure to Standard Fit, but slightly wider throughout the leg. Wind pants and rain pants are commonly designed with this type of fit, allowing wearers to layer them over a pair of shorts or lightweight hiking pants without feeling restrictive.
Athletic Fit
Designed with big legs in mind, the Athletic Fit is roomier in the thighs and seat than other fit types. Athletic Fit can be slim or standard-cut, which refers to whether the pant tapers or not.
Slim Fit
For lean legs, Slim Fit offers a comfortable alternative to its shapeless cousins. Slim Fit is tighter than Standard and Relaxed and usually tapers at the ankle. Hiking pants that double as everyday pants are often designed to fit slim to provide a more flattering look off the trail.
3. Comfort and Mobility
Comfort is king when it comes to hiking pants. Many high-quality pairs feature a combination of nylon or polyester, spandex, and ripstop. Nylon and polyester are typically lightweight and breathable, while spandex is a stretch fabric that offers wearers an unrestricted range of motion. Finally, ripstop grids increase durability by adding a layer of abrasion-resistance.
Other features, like a gusseted crotch and articulated knees, improve comfort and flexibility. A gusseted crotch is simply a triangular piece of fabric interposed between the crotch seams to provide a greater range of movement and decrease rubbing friction.
4. Breathability
Breathable fabrics are standard when it comes to hiking pants. Summer hiking pants are more breathable than winter hiking pants. This is largely because the latter require greater water-resistance, which is inversely correlated with breathability. Additionally, most hiking pants built for winter use additional layers of insulating fabrics.
5. Weather Protection
If you often find yourself trekking through wet and windy climates, prioritize weather protection when shopping for hiking pants. Many models that boast water-resistance feature a DWR finish, which is a thin, specially-formulated coating applied to the outer surface of a garment to prevent water penetration.
You may also notice that some pairs of pants contain GORE-TEX. Unlike DWR, GORE-TEX is not a finish but an actual material used in the composition of the garment. GORE-TEX is waterproof but naturally reduces breathability to some degree.
6. Durability
When it comes to durability, the heavier the fabric weight, the more durable the material. Of course, who wants to wear thick denim on the trail? That’s where ripstop comes in. Ripstop weaves sit atop the more fragile base fabric to defend against tears and abrasions.
7. Style and Versatility
Style is a matter of personal taste. Arc’teryx makes extremely stylish hiking pants that can easily double as urban chinos.
8. Other Features
Pockets
The ideal number of pockets largely depends on your style of hiking. If you’re doing a short day hike and don’t want to carry a backpack, having extra pockets is a great way to take along the things you need (e.g., rain shell, water bladder, map).
If you’ve got a backpack—especially one with hip belt pockets—you won’t need as many pockets. Fewer pockets means lighter pants and faster dry time when wet. As a rule of thumb, zipper pockets offer more protection from the elements and prevent accidental losses.
Integrated Waist Cinch or Belt
For greater customizability, a waist cinch or belt is a must-have feature. This way, your pants will retain their utility whether you lose or gain weight—an especially pertinent fact for thru-hikers who drop serious pounds on the trail.
Rollable cuffs
Ankle cuffs that feature either zips, snaps, or a cinchable drawstring are incredibly useful. If you need to quickly dump heat on a scorching day, simply undo them. Conversely, if you’re cold or trudging through tick-infested grasslands, cinch ‘em tight!
FAQs
Q: Are hiking pants worth it? Why are some pairs so expensive?
A: You don’t need hiking pants to hike. Just like you don’t need running shoes to run. But it’s easy to see why it’s preferable to have the right gear.
Running in the wrong shoes can lead to injuries and discomfort. Likewise, hiking in the wrong pants can inhibit movement and lead to painful friction rashes on your inner thighs.
Hiking pants are explicitly designed to wick sweat, maintain core body temperature, and allow for unrestricted movement. The reason hiking pants are expensive is because they're built with specialised, technical fabrics that balance durability, breathability, flexibility, weather-resistance, and comfort.
Q: Are tactical pants good for hiking?
A: For most hikers, tactical pants are overkill. The thicker fabric is great for crawling through the brush and the extra pockets are perfect for storing your map, compass, and other gear. But an average hike, on a marked trail, requires none of that. For typical conditions, lightweight and comfortable is the way to go.
Q: Should hiking pants be loose?
A: Ideally, hiking pants should strike a balance between loose and tight. You want them to be loose enough so as not to restrict movement, but tight enough that they won’t get snagged on stones and branches. To test them out, do some yoga-esque stretches while wearing them, or go for a quick jog.
CONCLUSION
Even if you prefer hiking in shorts, it doesn’t hurt to keep a good pair of hiking pants on stand-by. Because even if they spend most of their time in the bottom of your backpack, you’ll be happy to have them when you encounter wet, windy, rocky, or buggy conditions.
Guys—if you’re looking for the best hiking pants, something that offers all-around versatility, comfort, and durability, check out the Fjällräven Vidda Pro Lite Trousers!
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