Hi All This is my first post here, I only just discovered this site and figured its my last hope. A quick run down first... ...I'm an Environmental Sciences student that loves being outdoors and can forsee much time spent outdoors doing field work this summer and beyond, once I finish my degree. Last year thanks to some paid research work I managed to sort out some basic gear such as boots, coat, and bag. I'm a practicality over fashion kind of guy. I used to love my old cotton cargo trousers that had more pockets on them than I have fingers and toes. It's all very well saying you'd never fill them all, but I'd rather have the option to fill them than have to put stuff in my bag! And cotton trousers aren't the best when walking through thigh-high wet heather  Anyway... It seems weird that decent outdoor trousers made of lightweight fabric such as the Montane Terra pants have only a few pockets. I've got a few pairs of Craghopper Kiwi's which have a single side pocket, but 1 is not enough I find! I'm really after opinions on trousers that are practical and durable and have lots of pockets. Last year my fieldwork saw me trudging around wet heathland with a GPSr in one pocket, trowel in the other, tubes of invertebrate specimens in all other pockets and carrying 10l of 70% alcohol on my back! Pockets are useful! I found the columbia ranger pants: http://www.columbia.com/Product.aspx?top=1&p=5135&cat=13030&viewAll=False but sadly they seem to not exist in the real world, and I am unsure about how thick they would be (don't want to get too hot in summer) Craghoppers seem to be the best bet, but I am loathe to get the Bear Grylls cargo trousers. So the question is, have I been blind and missed something similar to these - http://www.craghoppers.com/CraghoppersSite/product//CHJ193R.htm that aren't branded with a minor celebrities name, yet have loads of pockets and are quick drying? (I gave up on trusting claims of water repellance...so long as it's not uncomfy wet and dries quickly thats good enough for me!)
Thanks for any help,
Chris
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What you need are Rohan Combats, no less than 7 pockets  .
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Chris, i think they're called expedition cargo's now.
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Hmm, thanks for the quick reply. Looking at the website some of their trousers look like they might be worth investigating. Not only that but they have a Tolkienesque themed name which is only a good thing in my book haha! On the website it appears that the only expedition cargo trousers are womens in the clearence :/ It's a bit ominous when googling and one result is for "Antiquities online" !! It appears perhaps yet another line of trousers with ample pockets has been pulled from production, I seem to be one step behind a mass extinction of pocket-endowed trousers!
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 Ha! These are the ones you want!
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Wow, those look amazing, and with ample pockety goodness. But they also look expensive! I think I'll need to try and find a shop with some in in the Dorset area to try on before parting with dwindling student money!
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Hi there, I have a couple of pairs of The North Face Convertible Paramount trousers, lots of pockets, very hard wearing fabric and obviously convert to shorts....I really rate them....they do cost about £50 a pair but I reckon they;re well worth it. happy shopping ! R
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Army surplus? Hardwearing, plenty of pockets and cheap! Oddy
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 The other option is to take a look in a shop specialising in workwear. I have seen a good number of workwear designs using fairly technical fabrics that would be fine in the outdoors at a fraction of the cost of outdoors-branded options.
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 Pockets is one thing, but as I found out doing geological mapping in my student days, what you need is the right sort of pockets. Particularly, a patch pocket with side gussets that still lets you walk normally with a hardback field notebook in them. I found anything that's a flush fit is basically useless for that. And another thing I found is that one or two of those is generally enough: more than that adds to the cost, weight and aslo the drying time. My mum actually made up a patch pocket for me and sewed them on to my walking breeks for when I was doing fieldwork: worked very well, and was a lot cheaper than buying new trousers especially for the job. But while I like a big patch pocket for fieldwork, I find them to be a PITA for plain recreational walking as they just mean the trousers are heavier, if you fill them up it limits movement more and is less comfortable, and they take longer to dry. I prefer to keep stuff in pockets upstairs for that, where the contents don't have to move with your stride. It also means you can have a relatively light stretchy fabric that moves with you and doesn't pick up excessive mud and water from your boots as they swing past every step. Pete.
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Thanks for that info. I was wondering if there was logic behind the lack of pockets. I figured material like found on the Montane Terra pants probably could cope with having fully laden pockets. I know what you mean about restricting movement. The problem I have (or had) was in the middle of summer the work didn't require any form of coat or anything else that would usually have pockets. And the distances we were travelling to sample sites meant that we didn't really need bags, but we needed to carry between us at the end of each site maybe 3 dozen small specimen containers. We either had to take a bag with us or use pockets, and it was generally quicker and easier to use the pockets as we wouldn't have to keep meeting up to stash the containers. As much as those Haglofs trousers PTC mentioned look like they're up to the job, those internal side pockets on the lighter weight material trousers aren't really want I want I might have to keep my fingers crossed that I can find a pair of Craghoppers cargo's in a sale at TKMaxx and see if the Bear Grylls naming can be removed. (Yeah I'm that anal about celebrity endorsment stuff, especially him...) If they're cheap enough like Crag's often are I'd feel much better abusing them!
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I find the zipped pockets on Craghopper Kiwis fiddly.I prefer the pockets arrangement on Rohan Bags, but with these there are some pockets I don't use because,as Pete C. says, they become uncomfortable on the move.Never been a fan of pockets on thighs. Agree with Chris O. about Regatta.I recently bought a pair of their lined trousers for winter walking (£16-99 inc p&p) and they performed well on a recent trip and shed snow well.
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www.grasmeregardens.com Regatta action trousers £12.99 free postage I think if your carrying specimen containers you should have zip pockets, the regatta's look perfect.
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Pants more pants Hiking toursers reach a minimalist extreem with running tights which generally have only one small internal pocket for your keys. Cheap example being RonHills. Your stuff can then go into a bumbag or your rucksack, where it does not bounce around so much as you run. If you want easy access to things you can get a vest with lots of pockets, or pouches to hang off the rucksack belt or shoulder straps, or use some army style webbing. You might like to investigate photography brands for that kind of thing too. Personally when hiking I want easy access to map, compass and water, without having to take my pack off. But the rest of it can live in my bag. Sometimes its handy to have a small bag for a camera or GPS. See here for examples. So I have never been too bothered about the trouser pockets, and prefered lighter weight stuff, other things being equal, which usually results in fewer pockets of modest capacity. Your needs seem more akin to that of the bushcrafty types. See here for examples, and peruse the forums here.
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Before I say anything else I'd just like to thank all of you guys for your help and input. I'm impressed with the range of opinion and speed of replies! By far the most helpful forum I've ever been on I think! I'm obviously going to have to hunt around either for some cheapy surplus trousers or regatta type outdoors ones, or wait till I have money to afford more expensive technical trousers. I popped into town on my way back from Uni today and had a look in TK Maxx. They had a few pairs of Columbia trousers that were a similar lightweight shell material to the terra pants, but had LOADS of pockets with and without zips. Seemed ideal and they were £25, which I think was a bargain. But Murphies law, they didn't have any that were in my size. I'm cursed(or gifted?) with a small waist. For some reason whereas most trousers I own which have a regular 30" waist have a ~76cm leg, these had a 32" leg (or ~81cm!) I'd end up looking like Simon Cowel!! At that price I might see if I can ask my tailor friend about getting the legs taken up, or keep checking back to see if they get a shorter leg version. Of course these style trousers are no longer in production or available elsewhere on the net like everything else I've found so far that were in budget and had what I was looking for! ><
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Chris, taking the legs up is very easy (... says the man who can't be arsed and just turns up the hems most of the time!). Get some hemming tape (Woolies, M&S, BHS etc. I'd think would have it) and then you can do a neat job armed with just an iron (the tape bonds a turned-up hem to the leg when you iron over it). Pete.
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Well, I popped back to TK and bought the remaining pair. Brought them home and tried them on, without shoes or boots the ends trail, but with shoes they're just off the ground, and my boots are chunky enough that there's a good couple of inches of clearance so they hopefully won't trail. Combined with my wearing of gaiters more often than necessary (paranoia of parasites/ticks whenever I'm not on a path!) and I should be good. If not the magic tape it is! I'm obviously going to have to keep an eye on such places as TK Maxx. The stuff they sell might not be highly technical, but at their prices it makes it affordable to get mucky  For the record the trousers/pants in question are these: http://www.shoppinglife.fr/marques/produit/columbia/mocks-crest-pant--mud/4622.html Though the details say 70% cotton, the material appears to be a slightly lighter equivalent to the Kiwi's so even if they aren't waterresistant, they should hopefully dry off as quickly as the Kiwi's. Only time will tell hehe!
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 > I'm obviously going to have to keep an eye on such places as TK Maxx. Or just keep up with the TK Maxx Watch thread... > The stuff they sell might not be highly technical Patagonia, Montane, ME, Lowe Alpine, etc. not technical enough for you then? ;-) I can't stand lots of pockets in trousers. The last thing I want is stuff banging about against my legs. I have a few pairs of Peter Storm Ranger pants that have cargo pockets, but I've never used them. Trousers have seen much wear. For fieldwork, a fisherman's vest or combat vest might provide readily-accessed storage without needing a pack.
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captain p.-I suspect the technical stuff gets diverted to the Reading branch of TKMaxx! michael d.-I bought my lined Regatta Action trousers online from Grasmere Garden Centre.Very keen prices.They debited my card quickly but forgot to inform me the goods were out of stock. When I contacted them with a "Where's my stuff?" email they apologised and soon got my order to me.This was,I hope,the exception rather than the rule?? Chris M-A few tips (from experience!) on altering trousers.(All mine have to be shortened!). Check the trousers carefully before alteration.With multi-pockets,make sure they have been correctly sewn. Check that any pre-shaped or reinforced knees will not be part way down your shins. Unless you are a competent tailor,avoid any trousers which have ankle closures,such as zips,drawcords etc. Good luck!
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| Edited: 28/02/08 11:02 |
