I'm looking for a new pair of hunting pants. I want one pair I can wear for a backpack hunt. It might be dry and 70 degrees or it might be wet and 25 degrees. I'll have other layers for insulation or rain/snow but I need a primary pair of pants and I'd much prefer to do the trip with a single pair of pants.

FB - I've had good experiences with Swazi gear, and it would pay to check out the wed site. THey're a New Zealand company that make a range quality outdoor and hunting clothing. They focus on customer service and can mail their products to any place in the world. Jim

http://www.swazi.co.nz/Online-Shop/Pants/

Sitka Gear or Cabelas Microtex are good choices!

How bout' a good, sturdy pair of lederhosen.

I've heard good things about Champs pants by Mammut. Anyone have experience with these?

Al

For most of my hunting I wear Filson wool whipcord pants.

If it is going to get as hot as 70, yet might get cold and wet I wear 511 Nylon Pants.

If it is hot and rainy I wear the 511 Nylon.

For hot wearher hunts, no rain I wear 511 Cotton pants.

I just came back from a Dall hunt in the NWT, and the Mammut Champ pants amazed me. It varied between 50 and 70 and rained every day, sometimes with moderate wind. I wore nylon zip off leg pants the first few days, as I was hot. When these were reeking too badly, I switched to the Champ pants, but was afraid they would be too hot. Boy was I surprized. I wore them "commando" with suspenders and it's my new favorite way to go.
Don

Hi Forrest,

For what it's worth I've settled on two pairs. I have a lightweight pair of wool pants that I don't end up wearing very often when I'm hiking, but I carry them and prefer to wear them when I'm hunting. When hiking/backpacking into where I'll hunt, the pants I wear are simply a pair of carhart lightweight canvas pants. They're tough and they dry pretty quick. They aren't the heavy carpenter pants, they're a much thinner lightweight canvas and have cargo pockets. I usually wear gaiters when I'm hiking which keeps most of the moisture off my lower legs. I haven't much liked the synthetic hunting pants that you see lately. The Mammut Champ pants do sound interesting though.

I would second the Filson lightweight wool Whipcord pants. I have worn various pairs of these pants for the last 45 years. They may be a bit uncomfortable if the weather reaches 70 degrees, but if you are only taking one pair of pants with you I doubt you are going to want to take anything made of cotton because if it gets wet and cold at the same time you are just about done hunting.

Just got back today from six days in the Brooks Range and a successful hunt. I'd post pics of the sheep, but I'm a bit technically challenged. Anyway, took the Mammut Champs and a pair of microtex as a backup. The Champs worked wonderfully and I wore them the whole time. Comfortable, very good in temps from 28 to 70 and wind too. I was very, very impressed.

I just bought a pair of Sitka Mountain pants.
Articulated knees will make hard climbs and deadfalls much easier to navigate.
They are not waterproof.
I will be using them for mule deer in fairly mild weather.

My favorite pants are the Filson whipcords, but for your application I really like the Sporthill pants. Barney's sells them. They are light, compact, breathable, quick drying, wind and water resistant, and are good to go for anything from about 20F to 75F. Weight and the need for something quick drying would steer me away from the whipcords for this kind of hunt. For a horseback or cabin based hunt, where you can carry a spare pair, IMO whipcords are the bomb.

PS Are you taking one of your nice wood stocked rifles on this hunt??

quote:

Originally posted by KC Carlin:
I just bought a pair of Sitka Mountain pants.
Articulated knees will make hard climbs and deadfalls much easier to navigate.

Those are the ones I was after. My army issue pants seem to drag on the knees in steep terrain. Doesn't matter much if you do a little hike, but if you are on the hoof in big country for 20 km or so, it starts to wear you down, or at least annoy you.

Frans

Try the Mammut Champ pants before you spend the extra bucks on the Sitka's. I've heard there are a fair number of them coming back due to stitching, rips and other issues. The Champs are also elastic and have added reinforcement in the knees and the insides of both ankles. They are by far the best backpacking and mountain pants I've found. After all, the Swiss Alps are not exactly foothills and they've been tested there for years.

The Sitka mountain pants run about $119, the Champs are much more money than that. I bought a pair of the mountain pants but have yet to try them out. Will be testing them on my upcoming caribou float hunt next weekend and my moose hunt in September, i'll let you know how they hold up.

For those of you that have the Champs pants, how do you find the sizing? I am on the fence between the size 52 (35" waist) and 54 (36-37" waist). I have no chance to try these on. I have read that these pants are stretchy in the waist. On the one hand, I don't want to defeat the purpose of these pants by getting them to tight. On the other hand, I don't want them too baggy or feeling like they don't fit.

Thanks for any help,

Al

They are pretty stretchy. if your waist size is 35 I would go with that size. They won't be tight.

Try this http://www.mammut.ch/mammut/katalog.asp?view=detail&did...t=3&tid=51917&sid=2#
Then click on sizing chart.
I have several pairs and have a 36 inch waist, I prefer the size 26 = 37 waist x 31 length. You don't want to get them too long. I have a 32 inch inseam and have found a size 54 too long. I always wear tall hiking boots (Cabela's Alaskan Hunters) so a slightly shorter length is fine. The pants do stretch quite a bit and the expandable cuffs are very nice.

EB and DaveC,

Thanks for your replys! EB, I think I will go with the 35 inch waist. DaveC, Thank you for reminding me that I don't want long field pants.

Believe I'll order the Champs size 25 -- 35" waist and 31" inseam.

Al

Forrest, I drove up to Freeport, Maine this weekend and bought a pair of these (hemmed while I waited). I am about to give them a try after red stag in the Scottish Highlands next month.

Temps can run from cold to balmy, and conditions can be wet. These trousers have a Gore-Tex and very light fleece lining, but they are very light weight and quiet (not as absolutely quiet as wool, but what is?). They are form fitting, with articulated knees and seat, and have lots of pockets with quiet, waterproof zippers.

I spent a long time looking for something like these, and was happy to find them. I got them in loden, because I did not want camo (although they do come in camo, too). Trying to find a decent, waterproof and warm but lightweight pair of huting trousers that aren't black or gray, and aren't camo either, was driving me to distraction until I found these.

Anyway, I have high hopes. They seem to be well made, they fit well and they feel good when walking around, at least so far.

L.L. Bean

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. I checked a bunch of backpacking and mountaineering sites also and found the Mammut Champs have a big following there.

mrlexma hit all my hot buttons. Like him, I don't want camo but I also don't like black. The LL Bean pants he bought caught my eye early on but I was afraid they'd be too hot/heavy if conditions were dry and temps over 55F.

I think what I'll do is carry two pair of pants into our base camp and see what the weather forecast holds. I'm going to get the LL Bean pants and the Champs. I might end up packing both pairs into the high camp depending on the weather. At least w/ the LL Bean pants, I can leave my rain shell pants behind.

FYI, I found the Champ pants online here for $99:
http://www.climbhighoutlet.com/view/?tx_commerce_pi1%5B...=48&cHash=b4cf1e192a

I can definitely get some use out of the Champs pants on my non-hunting backpacking trips and they look like they would be comfortable to wear under waders after I get up to my fishing spot.

Thanks again.

Mammut also makes the Champ pants in Olive with black knees.
I got mine here http://www.bentgate.com/champanbymam.html
You can get better pricing with a phone call.

Hey guys, Any of you w/ the Mammut Champs, the LL Beans and/or the Sitka;

How do these hold up to to negotiating brush, blowdowns and briars? Do they rip and tear easily??

I like the whipcords for being tough and I'm due to replace mine. I'm considering going the soft-shell route but am unsure how durable they are when scrambling through thick stuff on elk and bear hunts?

As to the whipcords, any of you guys have feedback on the Cabela Superwash Whipcords??? I could buy many of those for the cost of one Filson.

Thanks,

GVA

I have yet to hunt with the Sitka Mtn. pants.

Thankfully that will change in a month

Will report back then.

GaryVA,

I did not see any wear on my Champs after using them on a mule deer and antelope hunt in Wyoming and one elk hunt in Colorado last year. I do have some slight snagging on the legs from rose/thorns while hunting deer in Iowa, but I do not see it as a problem. I will also note that these are more comfortable than jeans. I do not think they will take as much abuse from repetitive abrasion like work clothes, but for hunting, they will last a long time.
Also, the Champs are water repellant as well. The stitch holes on the knees leak a bit, but the fabric repels water very well.

I'll echo the water repellant nature of the pants. I got mine a little long and when crossing streams that were going to be two or three quick steps with a "possibility" of going in above the boot tops, they never allowed water into my boots and even the boot tops covered by the pants stayed dry. I found turning the black wear pad to the outside facing the current made this even better.

I use HuntTech fleece pants from New Zealand. I buy them there, or havemy Kiwi buddy bring me HT stuff when he comes here, but I know you can order them and have them shipped. You can get them in what I call "Loden" color. Different weights availible too. These things dry in a tent very quickly, which was one of my top criteriea. In Alpine hunting that is a critical trait in my book.

FYI, the L.L. Bean trousers, with the Gore-Tex membrane and light fleece lining, worked perfectly.

They are indeed completely waterproof and windproof, as well as warm, light in weight and non-binding. Plus, they simply do not get wet, meaning the fabric they are made of absorbs no moisture at all. The water just beads up and rolls off.

I wore them with Gore-Tex gaiters and waterproof boots and stayed perfectly dry through rainstorms and while crawling around in water soaked gorse and heather, and wading and crawling through mountain streams.

I can highly recommend these.

Thanks for the link to the LL Bean pants!

I am also looking at a pair of Rail Riders.


My ideal pants would be a machine washable, light tropical wool, available with and without windblock lining of some sort, in dark khaki in a true .mil BDU pattern...button fly and all.

I have found the regular unlined fleece pants from Cabelas to be the best pant for back pack hunts. They are great in warm weather because they wick away sweat. Add a thermal base layer for the cold days. Add a waterproof shell for the nasty stuff. I wore one pair for over two weeks this year in AK and they never gave me any problems. IMO any pant with a liner will limit movement and make them very hot in nicer weather. And...they cost about $30...

I have used M-51 Army surplus wool pants in a variety of conditions and find them pretty satisfactory. I suspect these are similar to the Filson Whipcord trousers, though much less expensive.

I typically wear the M-51 trousers over polypropylene longunderwear. I find this combination feels warm and comfortable over a wide temperature range and when engaged in vigorous physical activity -- climbing steep slopes in the mountains. I found that this combination worked well in heavy wet snow blown by strong winds. I found that the M-51 trousers dried out quickly merely sitting on the back of a chair in a hotel room overnight. I found my M-51 trousers on-line by googling.

I have other Filson products including their heavy MacKinaw wool trousers which I have never had occasion to use. I use their heavy MacKinaw vest and like that a lot. I'm sure the whipcord trousers are satisfactory, but seem to cost about $170/pair while the M-51 trousers can be obtained for less than $30 per pair. Something to think about.