What's It For?
Berghaus says that the Borazon Pant is a tough, durable all-round mountain trouser designed for 'general heavy duty use in the mountains' with the DWR treatment giving a high level of protection from rain and snow. Think mountain walking, scrambling, climbing and backpacking.
The Techy Bits
The clever bit about the Borazon is the fabric. It's a two-way stretch job that uses an outer face of tough, hard-wearing Nylon for durability and abrasion resistance together with an inner face that's made from Polyester, which wicks moisture rapidly away from the skin for comfort and cooling, but isn't as durable as Nylon. It's all topped off with a DWR - Durable Water Resistant - treatment to help the fabric shed rain and snow.
The other interesting feature are short venting zips on the upper thighs which are intended to cool you down when the going gets torrid.
How They Performed
We really like woven soft shell-type fabrics like this for mountain legwear and the Borazon didn't let us down. Cut is generous without being baggy and this, combined with the stretch in the fabric makes them ideal for scrambling and climbing where you can step up high easily without feeling restricted.
The fabric is highly wind-resistant, which is great on cooler days and, as Berghaus claim, we did find they wicked well. That said, on warmer summer days, they could get a tad warm and while the small, mesh-backed venting zips did help a little, particularly when windy, these are trousers we'd save for mild to cool conditions.
The DWR is excellent as new, though as usual, it wears off with use and washing, so you'll need to renew it occasionally if you want to keep shedding light rain. Also welcome is the included belt, which locked and unlocked easily and kept the waist where it was supposed to be.
We can't really comment on long-term durability yet, but the outer Nylon face seemed to shrug off clumsy scrambling moves without problems and our hunch is that they'll last well, the one proviso being a lack of crampon patches, which might count against them for full-on winter use.
Initial Verdict
Impressively protective, non-restrictive all-round mountain legwear that sheds light rain and wards off the worst of the wind. The belt is a real plus and the venting zips do make a difference in windy conditions, though they're less effective when it's still. Cut is a sort of happy medium between snug and loose, which should suit most prospective buyers.
Buy if... you want a pair of tough, weather-resistant, all-round mountain trousers and can live without crampon patches.
