I think anyone can tell you I am not particularly girly. In fact, the last time I went into a cave, one of the first things I did was paint my face in mud, and later I rolled around in a mud puddle, all just for the sake of being dirty. However, I am still a girl, one who likes boys, and more particularly, one who likes boys who hike. So why, then, did I continue to wear ugly, non-form-fitting hiking pants from the sale rack at REI? This is the exact question I asked myself last summer...
The solution was not the cheapest, but after trying on every single pair of pants in the entire Atlanta REI store, I had found my solution: the North Face Paramount Pant. Full price these are $65, and they are cute enough to be worth it. I currently own them in 2 colors, and would buy about 5 more.
As for durability, I give them an A-. One of my pairs currently has a tear in the knee, but it's a small one. Considering I tripped on a rock and somersaulted about three times before landing on my knee while hiking downhill on the AT Approach trail, I don't think I will blame that one on the pants...
So, in short, while I would still rather paint my face in mud than Maybelline, I have surrendered to the outdoor fashion gods on this one, and I'm not looking back...
I know what you mean...I just bought some "cute" hiking pants too since I realized I was spending too much time looking like a boy in the ones I bought from the youth section at REI. So now I have the Mountain Hardware Yuma convertible pants, and they are great...slightly heavier than the others, especially in very hot weather, but they are cute and comfortable, and I like them. :)
ReplyDeleteRobin likes to be cute while we're in the woods as well. I just wear whatever works best and I only wear pants when it gets close to freezing. I'd get heat stroke if I wore them on trips now.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I totally feel the same way! My zippies are actually Men's and not Women's because they were cheaper, but considering I haven't found a man I may want to rethink that strategy. LOL
ReplyDeleteI think I have these pants and I love them.
ReplyDeleteI have these pants, and while I do like them for fit and looks....I don't think they're perfect for two very important (to me) reasons:
ReplyDelete1. The pockets. The "regular" pockets are fairly worthless because they are cut very shallowly...And the cargo pockets hold nothing more than my cell phone and my point/shoot camera. My prAnas are far superior in this regard.
2. The bottoms. I discovered the hard way this weekend that while I may fold up to the capri length on the trail, I cannot get the bottoms over my boots to give me the shorts functionality. BOOOOO. HUGE HUGE negative points from me on this.
i just went out and bought these today thanks to you.
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