REI Adventure Pants

Benjamin, those are my favorites now. I wear them in black, very dark green, and brown, so they must suit me.

I have thinner trousers that I use for summer backpacking. These are just slightly nicer, slightly thicker, and slightly more citified.

These meet your five points. I would say that these are quick drying, although not as quick as my thinner summer trousers.

For some reason, mine seem to be shrinking around the waistline now, although maybe that is me.

–B.G.–

Thanks for the quick feedback, Bob. Yeah, I suspect my noticeably thinner and lighter weight Dupont Supplex nylon REI Sahara pants would dry quicker than the Adventure. However, if the latter will dry overnight when hung indoor (say up to 6-7 hrs), then that's good enough for me. So long as the quick drying criterion is met, the slightly heavier Adventure might actually be better for urban wear — assuming the thicker material will throw off wrinkles and hold its shape better??

Last (rhetorical) question — it's practically Christmas — why is it that the things I am interested in are never on sale??? :(

Yes, I think my summer trousers are Saharas also. They are thin for summer, but they will rip if provoked enough. The Adventure model seems just slightly tougher and doesn't seem to wrinkle as much.

Buying them from REI is not all that painful.

I had brown ones in my closet that I had forgotten about. Then I got the black ones, and they became my favorites. Then last summer I was acquiring a few new items (the dark green ones) in preparation for a trip to Alaska. Due to some weight restrictions, those were the only trousers that I had for the two-week trip, for airports and hiking the tundra.

–B.G.–

I have some and love 'em. Way better than the saharas as far as I'm concerned. Nice fit without being too baggy, no cargo pockets, and weigh about 12oz. Can't beat the price either, especially on sale.

OK, I'm sold! Now, just need to wait for REI's 20% sale… :(

I think I lied. There is actually one additional pocket.

Inside the right front pocket there is a tiny pocket for small change.

–B.G.–

http://www.rei.com/gmnewsubscoupon?cm_ven=email&cm_cat=wgm&cm_pla=na&cm_ite=06_30_wgm

15% off any new REI or Novara item. Almost as good as 20%.

oops, double post.

How do these compare with the Columbia Omni-Dry Silver Ridge pants? I know they are not convertible and don't have cargo pockets. The feel, fit, and general wear & tear? Also, how the Sahara pants compare to the Columbia pants as well.?

Thanks

Thanks, Daniel for the coupon code!

Mark — I don't have the Columbia Silver Ridge but I've seen them in stores before. The material is very comparable to REI Sahara — both are thinner and lighter than the REI Adventure.

I bought some on the 20% off sale and they are already piling (is that the word for the little fabric balls that form?)=). not sure why but it kinda sucks. They are nice pants for hiking/city though, still use them for travel. they dryed overnight in miami like90% humidity. wish I would have gotten the grey instead of the khaki.

Russ, the only time that has happened to my clothing was when the dryer temperature was set way too high.

–B.G.–

Bob, I've never dryed my adventure pants… so I don't know what the heck is going on, but it sucks. Could be when I hand wash them on vacation in a sink?

on a related note, Levi's actions slacks dry pretty quick… I think they would be my dream come true if they had a d*mn button on the back right pocket! anywho haven't wieghed them or anything, but i might try them for travel pants. 100% polyester, fairly quick drying and seem pretty durable.

Russ wrote, "Bob, I've never [dried] my adventure pants… ".

Russ, are you now saying that the pants don't dry overnight when you hand wash them in your hotel sink? If true, that's a deal breaker for me — I only want to travel with clothes that I can wash at night and expect to be dry by early morning.

We will wait to hear from Russ, but I will jump to the conclusion that he meant to say that he had never "dryer dried" his Adventure pants.

I've dryer dried mine and drip dried mine without a problem. Of course, there could always be differences from one batch of fabric to another.

–B.G.–

Hi Bob:

I may have misread Russ' post…

I have had a pair (black) for a few years. Don't pile, dry overnight if there is some air moving across them, and have sufficient pockets. Even holds my Panasonic LX3.

This may not be an issue for you, but my only complaint is they start to look a bit dowdy after a week of wear. I use them in the spring and early fall for business trips to rural Alaska and they work well in a Board room or for a walk on the tundra.

I'm wearing them tomorrow on the jet south, and they are one of two pairs of pants for the next 10 days of travel.

You can wear the Adventure pants for up to a week before they look 'dowdy'? If so, that's good to know. When traveling, I normally hand wash my tees every other day and my pants maybe every third or fourth day (more frequently if needed, of course). I've traveled for up to 7 months straight on two tees and two pants. When clothing dries quickly, there's no reason to haul dirty laundry all around…

Not dowdy for the tundra, but if I'm working with a group, then they can look a bit disheveled — or make me look the same. One thought, REI has been known to make improvements on pants that weren't. The comments on piling might be a note of caution, though mine have not suffered at all in that area.

I have a pair of cuffed black Dockers that are bomb proof. They are made of a heavier weight nylon and have held up really well over the past few years. They don't have the pockets I need for hiking or pleasure travel, but are amazing for work travel. Can't find them here in Juneau, but then I can't much of anything here.

I have two pairs of Adventure pants, both are great.

I remember doing a drying "test" (unscientific) when I first bought the pants. I soaked the pants in the sink, rung them out gently, and hung dry. I did this late at night, like 11 pm, and by morning (8am) I was wearing them.

I have noticed, like Russ, that the khaki color seems to pill a little. The grey doesn't at all, or at least I don't notice it. It's hard to actually describe it as "pilling" though. It's more like when it rubs against other color clothing that the pants want to cling to the other fabric. For instance if I wear a blue fleece, the blue fuzzes will be on the pants before the end of the day. And they don't wash off easy. I only notice this when humidity is low (like Chicago winter). This is just my experience though.

Still, that is my only complaint. I love these pants, and have worn them everywhere from the woods to downtown.

If you wait long enough, I remember picking up my second pair for over 25% off, they go on sale in store occasionally.

Yeah, sorry Ben, I've never put them in the dryer machine before… that sounds weird. But they do dry overnight for me.

The new ones are a cotton/poly blend so they are not quick dry. Also make sure the croch doesn't bind when you buy them.
In regards to drying them. They pick up a lot of lynt in the dryer. Rei makes big changes I theese year to year, so try them on before buying.