I've had 2 pairs of these Dutch DPM pants for more than 20 years. Bought one in 97 and another in 98. Both from 1990. Brand new when I got them, and most importantly, they fit my galootish frame.
They've been my go to bumming around in the woods pants. Other than wearing the butt out on both, I can't seem to destroy them. I could buy new ones, or make new ones.
But I decided to sacrifice one of them for the material, fix the butt, tweak them to be more to my liking, and get a few more years out of them.
First up were the belt loops. Originally they had tiny loops. I had already replaced them on one with belt loops from a pair of worn out British DPM shorts, but those belt loops had also worn through. Replaced them with ¾" webbing. 5 of them I placed a D-Ring at the bottom to attach lanyards to.
Next was a patch over the worst affected area on the butt.
After that came darning in the worn areas.
Then more patches over that.
After that came mesh backed holes in the crotch for ventilation.
In addition to D-Rings on the belt loops, I also put one in each slash pocket and one in each cargo pocket.
The dressing pocket that sat down by the right knee was moved up beside the cargo pocket, one on each side.
I took a besom pocket from a pair of long gone Belgian army pants, and put it in its original spot.
A small pocket that had sat inside the cargo pocket of long gone pair of Austrian army moleskin pants became a knife pocket.
I added more buttons and tabs to the waist as well.
I had done a camo version of this patch, but hadn't been so keen on it at first. thought it would make a nice bit of flair on here though.
One thing I've done for a long time is put a doubled length of paracord (with jute and fishing line strands) down the outseam of pants. Out of the way, not obtrusive at all, but if I need it, there's 4 meters of cord readily accessible. Put a loop at the top to tie it to, and 4 tabs down the leg to hold them down.
I've had these Rector skateboarding kneepads for about as long as I've had these pants. Like the pants, I can't seem to destroy them. I don't use them all the time, but when I do stuff like invasive species removal or terrain remediation, they come in handy.
But I figured I'd replace the worn out Velcro and elastic with some new webbing and Velcro.
While kneepads can be nice sometimes, wearing them cinched down for long isn't so comfortable. I put in some tabs to help hold them in place, without the need to cinch them down when moving around.
Oh and I also sewed 3 hidden pockets into them, but we won't get into too much detail about them.
If I was smart, I would have just made new pants from scratch. Instead I spent more time fixing and modifying these ones. Maybe it sounds weird, but there's some sentimentality involved with these pants. I've worn them most hikes, canoe trips, hunt trips, etc. They have good memories attached to them. Wanted to see if I could make them last a while longer.
They've been my go to bumming around in the woods pants. Other than wearing the butt out on both, I can't seem to destroy them. I could buy new ones, or make new ones.
But I decided to sacrifice one of them for the material, fix the butt, tweak them to be more to my liking, and get a few more years out of them.
First up were the belt loops. Originally they had tiny loops. I had already replaced them on one with belt loops from a pair of worn out British DPM shorts, but those belt loops had also worn through. Replaced them with ¾" webbing. 5 of them I placed a D-Ring at the bottom to attach lanyards to.
Next was a patch over the worst affected area on the butt.
After that came darning in the worn areas.
Then more patches over that.
After that came mesh backed holes in the crotch for ventilation.
In addition to D-Rings on the belt loops, I also put one in each slash pocket and one in each cargo pocket.
The dressing pocket that sat down by the right knee was moved up beside the cargo pocket, one on each side.
I took a besom pocket from a pair of long gone Belgian army pants, and put it in its original spot.
A small pocket that had sat inside the cargo pocket of long gone pair of Austrian army moleskin pants became a knife pocket.
I added more buttons and tabs to the waist as well.
I had done a camo version of this patch, but hadn't been so keen on it at first. thought it would make a nice bit of flair on here though.
One thing I've done for a long time is put a doubled length of paracord (with jute and fishing line strands) down the outseam of pants. Out of the way, not obtrusive at all, but if I need it, there's 4 meters of cord readily accessible. Put a loop at the top to tie it to, and 4 tabs down the leg to hold them down.
I've had these Rector skateboarding kneepads for about as long as I've had these pants. Like the pants, I can't seem to destroy them. I don't use them all the time, but when I do stuff like invasive species removal or terrain remediation, they come in handy.
But I figured I'd replace the worn out Velcro and elastic with some new webbing and Velcro.
While kneepads can be nice sometimes, wearing them cinched down for long isn't so comfortable. I put in some tabs to help hold them in place, without the need to cinch them down when moving around.
Oh and I also sewed 3 hidden pockets into them, but we won't get into too much detail about them.
If I was smart, I would have just made new pants from scratch. Instead I spent more time fixing and modifying these ones. Maybe it sounds weird, but there's some sentimentality involved with these pants. I've worn them most hikes, canoe trips, hunt trips, etc. They have good memories attached to them. Wanted to see if I could make them last a while longer.
