By: Blonde Two

Do you remember my lovely trouser-buying experience at Cotswold Outdoor? Well I am pleased to tell you that I have now had several opportunities to try out my new, well-fitting trousers.

I have tried them on Dartmoor, on the South West Coast Path and cooking the dinner (I forgot to get changed!) All missions were successful and I would thoroughly recommend the Kiwi Pro Stretch to anyone. It would, by the way, appear that I am not alone in this; judging by the number of appreciative comments that we have received, there are a lot of Pro Stretch fans out there already.

Let’s start with the fit, that was after all the reason the guys at Cotswold Outdoor recommended them to me. Like many walking trousers, these sit lower on the waist than I am used to; something I have previously complained about. But I have to admit that because of the more generous cut and the stretchy fabric they sit comfortably, keep a vest tucked in (very important) and are more flattering to the derriere than any of my previous pairs of walking trousers. At 5’8″ I went for a long length (good to have the option in a size 20) which brought the length to a perfect ‘sit on top of your boot’ level. I liked the slight flair out at the bottom of the trouser legs, again more flattering for the larger bottom than straight down or tapered in.

The pockets are adequate in size with room for a phone/chocolate bar/handful of Jelly Babies. I do prefer to have a cargo style pocket on the leg as well but more recently have learnt not to miss this. The nice thing about the pockets on the Pro Stretch is that they sit very slim on the leg, this means that the fabric doesn’t make odd bunched-up shapes when you pull them up. (I am sure you can understand why quick trouser-pulling-up is important on Dartmoor!) As an added bonus, there is a little glasses cleaning cloth in one of the pockets; ideal for Blondes!

My favourite thing (and probably the thing that will make me buy another pair) is the fabric. Craghopper seem to have got this exactly right. The stretchiness is multi-directional and the trousers really do move as you do. On top of that, they display a good degree of water and wind proofing. I have yet to try them out in hot weather (could be waiting a while for that) but have high hopes.

Kiwi Pro Beading

The Kiwi Pro Stretch is available from a number of outlets but Cotswold Outdoor have an impressive range of sizes (8R – 20L and colours (6). My only criticism would be that they are not available in larger sizes; I know that size 20 sounds big to a lot of you, but I am fairly certain that I do not have the largest bottom in the UK. If I do, I feel that some type of award should be given!