After some trousers

Long time no post, but I'm in need of some trousers. I'll brief you on the requirements!

 ;

Slimmer fit, as in not baggy and saggy like some cheaper trousers. I want them to follow my leg the whole way down. I guess you might call it 'tailored fit'.

Reinforced knee and ankle.

BIG mid leg pockets for a map and other such stuff

durable (not too bothered on weight, durable more important).

- to give you some idea, I've been looking at Fjallraven trousers but the import here is poor and the prices are pretty high. I've a budget of maybe £100 or just over, but they've gotta be just right. I generally take a 32" waist, in case that's a deal breaker.

These are going to be all year round trousers for every day use, as well as on the mountains, so have to be pretty well made. I'm not adverse to buying nice imported nordish/swedish/(insert any 'ish' country here) trousers, so long as they are decent, going by reviews etc. 

To give you an idea on style, the Fjallraven Keb trousers are ideal, or potentially the Alv trousers. Both are perfect in terms of style and function, only their near impossible to get here, given my many long hours googling!

Any ideas! Many thanks

Yes, are you sure? Tammarack are actually explicit on their website is explicit that they'll order in anything that Fjallraven do. The only problem is going to come if they don't fit, so check what the return conditions would be like first.

They might even stock them because they do I think tend to stock a bit of Fjallraven. Or some of the other folk carrying them like Montain factor/Castleberg etc once thir spring stock comes in.

Have you considered Haglofs rugged mountain pants? They're at least in stock in a few places and certainly stupidly tough. Some slightly less extreme versions from them too. Or if you do want quite close fitting a fair few stretchy style trousers from sundry folk.

My old army surplus combats fit your bill perfectly, and were cheap as chips.  I just use them for DIY but the thigh pockets are proper gussted patch pockets so you can put bulky stuff in and still walk.

Pete.

I bought Fjallraven trousers from Tammarack. Trousers are amazing and very hard wearing. I use them quite a bit! I think it is the Barents trouser I have. The long pocket on the leg just takes a full sized OS map. However, they are not good for scrambling or climbing as they are not very stretchy. So I have soft shells for that. I also bought a belt from Tammarack (Fjaellraven as well) and returned it no problem as it was too small.I needed big sizes so they had to order in so took about a week to get my trousers.

But, Pete has a good point. army surplus combats are very goodand cost a fraction.

Bit more expensive than army surplus combats but can recommend Haglofs Rugged Fjell Pants. My favorite clothing gear - I like them so much I wear than instead of jeans for ordinary wear.

The rugged mountain pants are great too but really only suited to mountain use, so therefore less versatile.

Appreciate the replies very much, thanks a bunch. Have had a brief look at the Haglofs and they look ideal, would love to try them on so may have a look at local retailers.

 Also, thanks for the heads up with Tamarack, gave them a ring and unfortunately the  Kebs are not due until mid march, and they were done on an order only - so all the items ordered are being given to shops, and no stock will be held by Fjallraven. They were £170(!) anyway, though they look great.

Will continue looking, in the meantime, any other bright ideas would be nice.

And good call on the soldier 95 (or similar) DPM trousers. I've a pair and have done for a few years now, very hard wearing, very heavy weight, and very durable. But very, very hot! The only downside IMO!

Ok, bump on this for some advice.

 I just bought two days ago, the Rugged Mountain Pant in medium (32 waist, normal leg is me), and got them today. And I'm really not convinced on the size. They're very long and very big in the waist, seem more like a L/XL than a medium, but they are stamped medium so must be correct.

I love the trouser, the features look perfect, but the cut is a bit odd as they're quite 'baggy' with a straight leg rather than a tapered, more modern looking cut that the picture suggests.

 I've looked at the size guides and tried to work it out, but even if I go to XS, with short leg, I lose 8cm in the leg (still not enough IMO), and 6cm in the waist (still not ideal). So am I being stupid or are their anthropometrics completely wrong? I'm not small, I'm not massive, 32" waist is fairly normal, but these are humungous!

I'm not sure what to do as I love them and they do feel comfy, but they're too big in the waist, a little long especially when clipped onto boots, and for £120 I kind of wanted it to be 'perfect'?

Maybe I am asking too much for a slimmer cut? 

Will...

My legs are on the sturdy side so have the opposite problem to what you're facing.  But what I have noticed in general is that trousers from the UK, US and Scando countries tend to be for the more solid build whereas those made by French, Italian and even Japanese companies are a skinnier fit. 

It's not an absolute rule but perhaps you should have a look at a wider selection of brands. I'm not sure if they have the pockets you want but the (French) Millet Durable trousers might be suitable. 

Hello

For information - we stock Fjallraven and also the Keb trousers. What you see on our site is what we have available to ship immediately (shipping is free in the UK and we include a travel Greenland wax with the trousers and the jackets).

Just thought I would let you know. We also order in and it takes around a week but we try to keep as much stock as we can.

We have black in at the moment in Keb but are ordering more Tarmac. The Red are not due in until late Summer but again we have them on order.

A useful rule is to add 16 to your UK waist size and this works well when trying to calculate the Fjallraven size (34 is 50)

Kind regards

Lindsay

www.thesportinglodge.co.uk

John Burley wrote (see)

what I have noticed in general is that trousers from the UK, US and Scando countries tend to be for the more solid build whereas those made by French, Italian and even Japanese companies are a skinnier fit.

I take size small trews from Haglofs and Rab (which is unexpected given their published sizing), and medium from Montane, Paramo, Rohan and Berghaus.

It is well worth finding a big outdoorsy shop and trying on one thing of each type from each manufacturer just to get some idea of their size and fit for future reference... even the sizes on their websites should be taken with a pinch of salt. Bit tricky with less common brands like Fjallraven, of course.

Ok, appreciate the feedback. I have 7(now 6) days to return them under DSR (to reclaim postage), or 90 days to return them full stop, so other options are a possibility. I love the style, the reinforced knee and ankle particularly, and I like the fact there is a leg zip for some fresh air! These are features that I can't really see on the Fjallravens, bar the Keb, which I think is just too expensive!

I'm tempted to order a pair of Barents to try them for size, but will I be happy? They're lighter than these, but the picture makes them look very thick!

You're right in that I should go to a Go Outdoors or something, but I live in the South East, there is no massive stores for a good 60 miles! Which is an annoyance massively.

 The other problem, of course, is that I wonder if I will ever be truly happy? Will I find the perfect trouser? Maybe these are the best I will get... ?

Hmm I think I agree with you, even between sizes it's very minimal. Interesting that the Rugged Fjell came up as a better fit despite being a similar line. I've had these trousers on the last 15 minutes and pulled them up to where I'd like /need them to sit on my waist, and they need about 10 cm taking off them, and the legs look baggy. It can't be right, think they'll have to go back unfortunately

I've watched some videos of the Fjallraven G1000, and looking at the weight, it's about 200g lighter size for size, and seeing as my main worry was that they might be too thick, I think that might be wrong? What I really need is if someone with the Barents or similar Fjallraven trousers, to maybe take a picture to show the thickness? or even better a video, just to give me some idea - as I can't even desribe in words how thick these ones are, what I mean is I can't think of something of a similar thickness... so a video would be ideal.

And then with the Fjalls, would I go for the 48 (32), or go even smaller? Going to have to research this rather thoroughly!!!!!!!

thanks for the help, really appreciate it

What fabric?

if it's cotton/poly cotton how about jeans.

Yes I know they are not the "thing" but I find that they tend to be closer cut than anything else.  Do Alpkit still do their special jeans?

Am I the only person who hates the baggy cut of modern trousers. They need to be just ( and I mean just) loose enough to allow you to squat. Any slack fabric at that point is surplus and pointless.

I also want tapered trousers. In the winter fleece tights works but in the summer they are a bit warm, Hence jeans. They are no worse than poly cotton tousers. My favorites are some slightly  stretch fit Levi cords. Brilliant outdoors.  

There's a big difference between 65% poly, 35% cotton (as the traverse's basically are ditto Fjallraven etc.) and pure cotton Ventile a different matter of course as is what Alpkit were using.

The problem with close cuts is that they really have to fit or you can't wear them. Since they quite often don't do (or the shops stock) multiple leg lengths.... If you look about you'll find some of the stretch fabric trousers are very close cut indeed.