Walking Trouser Recommendations Please?

Turnip

Full Member
Sep 28, 2010
518
56
Radnorshire
Morning Folks,

As per the title I'm after some recommendations for some affordable walking/ outdoorsy trousers.
Budget isn't what it used to be now I've got a little un, so under or around the £50 mark would be great.
Ideally some that you've tried and tested. for size and longevity. I'm currently around a 36 waist but could probably do with a waistband that's got some give either way as I'm hoping to shift some weight over the next few months.

As always, your help is very much appreciated!

Cheers

Jon
 
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Wander

Native
Jan 6, 2017
1,418
1,986
Here There & Everywhere
I've always got on extremely well with Craghopper Classic Kiwis.
Good range of colours - the Dark Moss is my favourite.
They dry fast as well. Best of all are the security zips on the pockets to stop stuff falling out. That's such a good idea that I don't buy a pair of outdoor trousers if they don't have that zip. Why would you when you can get trousers (the Kiwis) that do have it?
Shop around. You can get them for as little as £20 if you're lucky, but expect to pay £30/35. Worth looking at the Craghoppers website because they have frequent sales.
 

Turnip

Full Member
Sep 28, 2010
518
56
Radnorshire
I've always got on extremely well with Craghopper Classic Kiwis.
Good range of colours - the Dark Moss is my favourite.
They dry fast as well. Best of all are the security zips on the pockets to stop stuff falling out. That's such a good idea that I don't buy a pair of outdoor trousers if they don't have that zip. Why would you when you can get trousers (the Kiwis) that do have it?
Shop around. You can get them for as little as £20 if you're lucky, but expect to pay £30/35. Worth looking at the Craghoppers website because they have frequent sales.
My previous trousers were Classic Kiwis, but want something slightly slimmer fitting on the legs this time if I can. I was thinking the kiwi pro ii possibly, but heard quality may have dipped on recent ones?
 

Turnip

Full Member
Sep 28, 2010
518
56
Radnorshire
Rohan trousers are amazing, I am some 'on route' trousers that have been worn every week for the last 11 years, and they look almost new.

Wait for the sales, normally get between 30 to 50% off
Yes a Chap at work wears Rohans and loves them! But I've stuggled to find any I like in stock that are in my size & budget at the moment, I will Keep an eye out though.
 

lostplanet

Full Member
Aug 18, 2005
2,147
247
54
Kent
Do you have Large leg muscles(quads)? and want the option of a bit of scrambling up hills?

For walking and to and from a camp spot Iv'e been using 5.11 TDU's ripstop for years now. I have several pairs. quality is great, good features, very hard wearing and comfortable, dry quickly.

I wouldn't recommend these for mountain trails as they are not as roomy as I would like and I found them restrictive when climbing/scrambling up steep rocks (snowden).

There are also a few fabric options Taclite, Twill, and polycotton.

I'm a 35 inch waist and buy Large regular leg. They do come up cheaper than shown.


If you want something a bit roomier then I have a few pairs of Helikon SFU Next.
I tend to use these when its hot as everyday trousers. The features are brilliant, comfortable.
Quality is lacking compared to the TDU's side by side as in stitching and fabric being lighter and not appearing to be as tough.


If you want super cheap have a look at these, I have a pair and find them pretty good considering as a general scruffing around. I went for 38W 31Leg and with a belt are roomy.


HTH
 

Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,534
698
Knowhere
Nothing wrong with British Army lightweight trousers in my opinion, and they have a high waist which is more comfortable than the cut you seem to get in every pair of outdoor trousers these days.
 
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bobnewboy

Native
Jul 2, 2014
1,318
870
West Somerset
I wear a pair of the following trousers for most of my outdoor stuff:


Considering I made several purchases from Varusteleka at the same time, I couldn’t complain about the price or postage. They are very tough, comfortable, have plenty of pockets and seem to be lasting very well. I’ve even got used to the button fly ;)
 

Van-Wild

Full Member
Feb 17, 2018
1,526
1,360
45
UK
I generally wear haglof mid-fjell. They are lightweight, 4 way stretch, with a zip thigh pocket.

Also have a pair of Fjallraven Vidda Pro. High waisted and robust, they've been battered for years. I wax them every now and then which certainly makes them even more robust around thorns and such. A tad expensive but I'd buy them again if they ever wear out!

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 
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Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,774
Berlin
The Solognac Steppe 300 are good and very cheap.
It's a rather tight fit as they are meant as summer trousers and not to wear thick longjohns underneath.

But I wear them all the year round.

Have a look at Austrian army trousers KAZ 75 and KAZ 03.

There is somewhere at the frontier bushcraft site an article about the KAZ 03.
 

MikeLA

Full Member
May 17, 2011
2,091
399
Northumberland
Nothing wrong with British Army lightweight trousers in my opinion, and they have a high waist which is more comfortable than the cut you seem to get in every pair of outdoor trousers these days.
Got to agree the high waist is more comfortable than any other outdoor trousers. Started wearing them again this winter.
 

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,774
Berlin
Leo Koehler Flecktarn has also a higher waist.

The plain olive green ones are outdated.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,410
1,698
Cumbria
If you can find them and they still make them keela used to do some synthetic, 4 way stretch trousers with articulated knee. Tough fabric and close fitting. None of this excess leg material that IME craghoppers kiwis have. Any strong wind would see my kiwis legs flap so hard they could sting your leg if the wind was strong enough.

Can't remember the model but they used to be cheap, long in the leg or short in the leg depending on how well they'd been made. Seriously my local shop used to keep the longer leg ones to the side for me. Exactly the save model and size, don't do xlong leg or short just one size, but one fitted me the other was halfway up my calf!

Dry quicker than kiwis and resist rain for a bit due to fabric and dwr
 

Danceswithhelicopters

Full Member
Sep 7, 2004
986
368
Scotland
I'm unsure of the style that you would see yourself in so for sheer choice, quality and cost I would highly commend Decathlon.

From their climbing brand Simond to the Solognac hunting label they are all good. My summer and winter technical trousers are Simond softshell and they have been epic from the Himalayas to a sodden Scotland. They perform as good as all the vaunted big names I used to buy.

The hunting aisle gives you a broad spectrum of muted outdoor colours and the trekking section also has the lightweight to the heavy weight in natural and softshell materials.

They are reasonabky costed so you don't get too stressed if you catch them on thorns etc.

A word of warning... Try things on... Their label sizings are all over the place.
 

Turnip

Full Member
Sep 28, 2010
518
56
Radnorshire
Thank you for all your recommendations everyone, I will have a read back and compile a short list to try! Never realised quite how much there was available within my budget!
 

barryasmith

Full Member
Oct 21, 2007
310
4
Herts
For your budget I would either go Crag Hoppers Kiwi's or genuine army surplus (not copies) with a 50/50 polycotton mix or higher on the polyester content if poss. You cant really go wrong with the Craghoppers for walking.
 

Modchop

Full Member
Oct 17, 2013
305
17
Shropshire
Another vote for Decathlon trousers but as mentioned above sizing can be a bit hit and miss.
Craghopper Kiwi Pro are good as well, better (slimmer) fitting than the regular Kiwi trousers.
 

Madriverrob

Native
Feb 4, 2008
1,499
319
57
Whitby , North Yorkshire
Have a look at these from Decathlon , good sizing and very comfortable , the Forclaz trousers are great , I have two pairs .

 

ANDYLASER

Nomad
Mar 27, 2004
260
72
SOUTHAMPTON
I've always got on extremely well with Craghopper Classic Kiwis.
Good range of colours - the Dark Moss is my favourite.
They dry fast as well. Best of all are the security zips on the pockets to stop stuff falling out. That's such a good idea that I don't buy a pair of outdoor trousers if they don't have that zip. Why would you when you can get trousers (the Kiwis) that do have it?
Shop around. You can get them for as little as £20 if you're lucky, but expect to pay £30/35. Worth looking at the Craghoppers website because they have frequent sales.
This. The Kiwis are excellent. Look in the Craghoppers outlet shop for deals.
 

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