Pair of junky secondary pants?

How junky?

I wanted some ultralightweight trousers, but not something that would take abuse. I use them as pajamas in the sleeping bag, or as a mosquito shell if I get up during the night. If it got cold, I might wear these as a layer over my normal trousers and under my rain shell pants for extra warmth.

I had the Thru-Hiker Liberty Ridge pattern that I had used for normal rain pants. I picked up some very cheap nonwoven fabric in black that is probably less than 1 ounce per square yard, and they were simple to sew up with a drawstring around the waist.

–B.G.–

Those nylon work-out pants with a mesh lining have a lot going for them.

They're not my favorite, most versatile long pants in the woods*, but I've bought them for my kids and would recommend to Scouts.

– readily available (including lightly used on eBay
– don't absorb much water / dry quickly
– keep the sun off
– bug protection
– add warmth
– can be worn over PP or wool long UW
– get them in school colors and they double as PE wear
– the elastic band allows your weight to fluctuate and/or to be shared among others
– unlike a lot of synthetics, you can wash nylon clothes hot and dry them hot with cotton clothes. Or with a load of synthetics.
– as you note, you don't care about them so you can use them while doing chores.

I got them for my 14-year-old two years ago (he out-grows most stuff every 8 months). He uses them backpacking, during Nordic ski practice, in Drum Line, walking on the beach, and might get yet another year out of them.

I've long used poly-pro underwear and nylon pants as a suite of clothes – one, the other, or both, depending on the conditions.

*I like Grammaci's nylon pants and even more so, Patagonia's "Baggie" long, mostly nylon pants. But those are $50-70 at MSRP versus $12-20 for nylon workout/jogging pants.

Nylon is tough! I've had a companion shave his leg (we were ski techs and had REALLY sharp edges) through his Patagonia nylon pants. The pants were unharmed. While not as fire-resistant as cotton or wool, it is much better than other synthetics – you might get a pinhole burned in it, but it won't ignite like other fibers.

Got some zippered ankle, with mesh side panels track pants at Target for $12. Even has pockets. Pretty warm.

lots of the cheap wind pants at any thrift store for $3