Any suggestions for mechanical stretch softshell pants for hot weather? I like the Montbell Stretch Wind Pants but don't know how they would be in 80-105* full output hiking?

Need pants because of bushwacking and devil's club thorns.

Edited by jhaura on 10/17/2006 08:14:54 MDT.

I would skip the montbell stretch windpants. You want something which has more air permiability. Cloudveil's Inertia material is most likely your best bet. Goodness though. At those temps I would really want better ventilation. Do you really need stretch. I would look at the railriders eco-mesh pants.

A pair of light weight supplex nylon pants is all I can tolerate in hot weather... I can't imagine wearing soft shells at all! And do you really need "mechanical stretch" for bushwhacking?

>> I would skip the montbell stretch windpants. You want something which has more air permiability. Cloudveil's Inertia material is most likely your best bet. Goodness though. At those temps I would really want better ventilation. Do you really need stretch. I would look at the railriders eco-mesh pants.

Mark,

Wow! I was going to reply to the original poster, but you stole the words from my mouth. :-O

Cloudveil Inertia (all-season) and Railriders side-zip Eco-Mesh pants (hot weather) would be my top picks too.

Yeah I use a pair of lightweight nylon supplex pants in 110* bushwacking/thorns often and am almost perfectly happy, except for two items:

1. The thin nylon pants allow too many needles/thorns to poke my legs. Hence I am thinking soft shell, like Patagonia French Roast or Cloudveil.

2. When sweaty or wet the pants bind really bad and cause me to shortstep a rock hop or technical bit. Hence I am thinking of stretch.

Our trails here are very narrow single track with very nasty thorns, thistles and poisen oak encroaching from shin high to waist level. I call this bushwacking, but it is the normal trail condition.

Have you seen the Patagonia French Roast pants before? I really doubt that you'd want to be hiking in those at temps anywhere close to 80 degrees. Have you considered a pair of heavier-weight nylon pants? They'll be much tougher than supplex pants, and might be tolerable for hot weather because they're not insulated and usually somewhat air-permeable. Regular nylon pants should also be quite a bit cheaper than most soft shells.

Joe, examples?

I think I may just go back to my old favorite - summerweight 100% cotton ripstop surplus BDUs. With the extra pockets stripped off they aren't too heavy and they dry just like heavy nylon. Only $19 at my local surplus. No stretch though.

The french roasts I have tried on but they did not fit. Seemed like they would be a sauna in hot temps. Patagonia only makes even size waists in that model.

The men's stretch Continental pants were very nice (the closest I've seen to what I wished for in the original post), but again only even sizes.

Edited by jhaura on 10/17/2006 13:54:33 MDT.

In my experience the durability of Cloudveils Inertia fabric is NOT up to thorns and briars.

I second Jason's comments. Ive done a lot of desert hiking in Cloudveil pants and my main complaint is the durability. The fabric does not hold up well to the prickly stuff. My pants have dozens of "runs" from the fabric being pulled by thorns, rocks etc. In that regard the Inertia fabric reminds me of the double knit nylon stuff from the 70's. In my experience supplex nylon holds up better and is more comfortable in hot weather, a lot cheaper too.

How about chaps? Bass Pro Shops has some tough but light nylon chaps. I think they are around $30. They also have knee high gaiters. Chaps ventilate better than any pants. It would be worth a try.