Any other guys on here with a 28" waist? What pants or shorts fit you well?

I'm a 32" and 'size inflation' over the last decade in US clothing has made buying clothes tough enough for me. At 28", shopping must be near impossible for you. Good Luck, or go to Europe or Asia to shop, where people are still more normal sized.

check little boy sizes

you have to hit the online stores, they will ship the unpopular sizes from the warehouse to you, that they do not stock on the shelves in physical stores.

also go to your nearby Chinatown, or Little Tokyo, Little Saigon...

If it's a product you can only find in a large size, it's OK to pay your dry cleaner to tailored it down for you, usually they charge $10.

Just the way it is. Or surrender, eat bacon, gain waist line and become the mainstream.

Edited by RogerDodger on 04/06/2012 12:12:41 MDT.

So it would seem. I've actually become quite the fan of euro brands over the past year. Even Rab stops at a 30 but it looks like Montane may work.

Nice to see someone acknowledge the waist inflation problem with legwear. :-)

Somehow I'm still a 32 but I'd go with the ones that come close to fitting and then wash and dry them a few times. At least that's how I've lost several pair to the donation pile. I have some "Patagucci" pants that are almost there so you may want to check that brand. For most of my hiking I wear Prana brand pants. The ones I have don't shrink and are impressively durable...really.

Patagonia has size 28.

Should have asked me in 1976.

I was a very happy man when I finally 'graduated' from 28 to 30 -- and then 32!!

But answering your question... REI pants come in Small (28") size. There is also MontBell -- including their Japanese site. I am sure BPLers in Japan will help ship stuff to you if MontBell won't.

Haha. I've gone from 40 to 28.

Have you considered trying on a pair of women's pants? Not trying to be funny. You can find the smaller waist sizes, I think they might be a bit bigger in the hips?

"Haha. I've gone from 40 to 28."

Wow. Curious, how tall are you? I'm 5'9", 150 lbs, with 32" waist. The most average of average. :)

Chris,

Check out Outlier (www.outlier.cc). Their clothes are geared towards the urban cycling crowd, but some items are also suitable for hiking. Check out the "climbers". If you like a slim fit, you'll love em. 4 way stretch nylon, DWR on the fabric, cut longer than most pants.

Expect to pay $198 for a pair, shipped to your door.

Got mine last month and wear them (almost) every day. Best purchase I've made in years. If the company shows the slightest sign of closing shop, I'll buy a bunch of these and stockpile them...

Good luck!
-Chris

Try Redington. S&C had some of their zip-off pants recently. Size small is 28-30.

http://www.redington.com/

I've had good luck with Arc'Teryx.

Then you can do any size

When your in shape and want clothes that fit you have little choice but to shop at high end clothing stores/brands for clothes that are "fitted". The problem is worse if you have broad shoulders and chest with narrow waist. Most every one makes the chest and waist the same width or even the waist larger. You will save a ton of money buying from the clearance rack at high end stores and online.

lol, I "graduated" from 28 to 29.

My $19.99 "sm/30" bass-pro shop zip-convertable fishing pants (12 oz) are my favorite "long pants." My Ex-Officio "28-30" shorts work well too. Old Navy for bang-around cotton shorts.

Just checking my email now, I see that I told Ben Smith a year ago that I had a 31" waist, when sizing my down pants. Funny, all my jeans and pants which are sized 30" require a belt. That's some hefty inflation for ya ;)

Anyhow, Chris, what kind of pants are you looking for? Outdoor pants? zip off pants? dress/work pants?

Most of my outdoor stuff has some elasticity to the waist, so I usually just opt for a size small, or 30, and they fit is great. This is especially true with my running shorts.

I'm a string bean like you, at only 5'9" 132-138lbs,
I've tried the following pants, with great results:

Wind pants: Montbell Dyanamo

Running shorts: Just about any brand in small

Durable traditional shorts: Prana

Zip off pants: MHW Mesa (Surprisingly, seeing as Columbia is their parent company, and their stuff is ridiculously baggy)

Soft shells: Marmot Scree (very athletically cut, to my surprise)

Work pants: J. Crew urban slim fit :)

In general, I can also fit into a Youth Large for pants
And as others have mentioned, British/Euro Brands like Montane, Rab, CampUSA are great bets.

Edited by Konrad1013 on 04/06/2012 13:59:29 MDT.

I use running shorts for when it is hot and also have a small rei pants. Both have an elastic stretch to them and fit fine. The bigger issue with me having such a small waist is getting a hipbelt from a backpack fit well...