By: Blonde One
What do I need in a pair of walking trousers?
As we’ve already said, walking trousers are really important to get right. Unfortunately it’s quite hard to tell when trying, even North Face trousers, on in the shop if they’re going to be the right ones. You can stand in the shop doing lunges to check for stretchiness, stuff route cards, phones, chocolate, tissues, pens, and everything else you need into the pockets to see if they’re big enough, check the often unwelcome surrounding mirrors to see if they make you look like the right balance of outdoorsy and girlie … but no amount of faffing indoors will really tell you if the trousers are right until you get them outside to check for yourself on the hill.
Luckily for me, when I tried the North Face Women’s Exploration Pant they seemed perfect. When they got out on the hill on the recent Bronze DofE expedition for a testing they came up trumps. The stretchy fabric meant that I could climb trees, clamber around in the minibus and even climb in and out of an oversized deckchair (I did all of those things) with ease, and without feeling like I would create an embarrassing rip!
The pockets were indeed big enough and held all of the things that a self-respecting DofE Manager has with them (like the Scouts but without the conker and string). I made sure that the important things like the route cards were in the zipped pockets so that they didn’t fall out.
They coped well with all of the weather. The DWR water repellent finish meant I didn’t get wet in the showers and the ultraviolet protection was equally important later in the day.
The trousers have a handy little button and loop at the bottom so that they can be rolled up into ¾ lengths for crossing that stream or just paddling to cool off.
Overall I would say they are a pretty good addition to my outdoor gear collection but you might want to consider ordering a size up. I know they’re good when they get a special place in the ‘suitable for 2 weeks trekking in Morocco’ kit pile!
From time to time we Blondes are sent free outdoor products to field test and promote on social media. We will always be honest about our findings and any products we don’t keep for ourselves find their way into our expedition stores. Great for us, great for you and great for our youngsters!
