My summer trousers (which I often wear in winter over leggings) keep ripping spectacularly (at the crotch) when I go down on my haunches or take up active-feet wide apart stances.  The problem is much worse with a moderately heavy pack and a hipbelt (the trousers slide down as I walk), and when I wear leggings underneath (high level of friction between the layers).

Snapped up some Haglofs 4way stretch pants in the sales and love them, but I run very hot indeed and there is practically no chance of me using them in the warmer months.  The last two unfortunate pairs have been Berghaus navigators and have been very comfortable (temperature and fit), as well as very light.

So, what's it to be?  Braces?  Heavier trousers?  Living with it and remebering to hoik trousers up before doing anything fancy?  Lighter packs and tighter hip belts?  Something with a stretch panel in the crucial area?

Am I the only person this happens to?

If the Haglofs pants fit you have a look at their lighter weight summer pants. In the shops now are the Rugged Mountain Pants and there are many other all with various degrees of stretch from arse and knee to full stretch pants.

But Mammut, Patagonia, Montane Terra Stretches, there's a lot of good stuff out there. If it fits well it'll stay up

Try on as many pairs as you can in the shop untill the right one fits.

I remember the staff in a certain shop I shall refrain from naming, all smirking as I struck various "action poses" and "lunges" in nearly every pair of kecks they had.........They werent smirking when I'd finally settled on Montane Terras, and left the shop to go buy em off of Bob, leaving them to re fold every pair in the shop

Ive tried a few manufacturers and I've pretty much decided that my lower half is "Montane" shaped and my upper half is "Rab" shaped.

my only piece of arcteryx equipment are their palisade pants

rather expensive, but very light and robust. 

The old, but still excellent, solution are Ronhill Tracksters.  Light, excellent freedom of movement, very fast drying, not too hot but not too cold.  And quite cheap and easy to get hold of.

Pete. 

"easy to get hold of" is one of the key drawbacks of Tracksters  They don't leave much to the imagination.

But, Pete, I agree with your logic. For the shameless and blatantly retro... go Ron Hill...

The more time goes on the more I realise that Tracksters are actually pretty baggy compared to lycra, or even fleece, tights.  In the 80s when we were used to track suits being rather baggier affairs they were quite radical, but look at them these days and they're not as skin-tight as people often assume.  They're still my walking wear of choice in summer when it's not warm enough for shorts.

 Look here, you can see there's easily enough space for creases to form, and I'm not skinny!

Pete. 

saw tracksters in Keswick last week two pair for £15 but the large are too small and the extra large are too big for me and  make me look like an eejit, but have to agree if they do fit they cant be beat, just they are not right for me. you could not go wrong at that price.

I also find that any walking trousers are only as good as what you have underneath, and the only ones I find comfortable are paramo.

I shudder thinking back about 15 year and the first gear I had, the discomfort I went through was unbearable and have learnt the hard way, The lesson is buy the best you can afford.  

One of the best things about tracksters is that they don't have lycra... given that it holds water to some degree. Tracksters take a soaking and are dry before you know it. I used them for running, hiking, biking & rowing and my Burley behind tended to fill them out more than might be desirable! When they finally died, I didn't replace them but do have 'copycat' leggings for about a fiver by ViewFrom and Sub4 that are OK.

whats wrong with shorts for summer? i cant remember being that cold that i felt the need to cover up legs in summer,unless its raining then i put waterproofs on.

i use ronhills in the colder months and also have some berghaus extrem pants which are good but too warm for summer.

I like shorts when the weather warrants them, but up here in Scotland it often doesn't!  Also, on walks with a fair bit of bracken and/or long grass and no shortage of grazing deer and sheep you need to ask yourself how much you like pulling ticks out... if the answer is "not if I can avoid it" then shorts may well not be a Cunning Plan

Pete.