When The Great Outdoors Magazine reviewed Montane Terra Pants they labelled them "Pant Perfection"
These are the best trekking pants I've ever used. They are lightweight (a Large pair weighs about 330g), hardwearing and extremely comfortable, with little side zippers on the thighs that can be opened up to create vents in hot weather. After six months of regular hillwalking, scrambling and trekking I'm now loathe to wear any other legwear when I go to the hills. What's so great about Terra Pants? First impression is one of comfort - they're lightweight so they don't feel restrictive; they have a very good active cut, so they bend and stretch in all the right places; they have a reinforced (Cordura) bum, knee and inner ankle so wear and tear is kept to a minimum; and (important for someone like me who can lose half a stone on a three week Himalayan trek, and put it back on again very quickly) they have a part-elasticated waist! Terra Pants are made from a Tactel nylon outer that feels incredibly like cotton. The tight weave is finished off with a Teflon surface which, when new, simply sheds moisture. The first day I wore these pants I spilled a flask top of coffee on them and the liquid simply beaded up and ran off the surface. Needless to say that finish doesn't last forever, especially if you wear the pants as often as I do, but because the material is lightweight and is basically a nylon it dries incredibly quickly. After a rain shower, even when the pants are completely soaked, I know that within a few minutes they will have dried out. The side ventilation zips, part of Montane's soft-shell legacy, really do work, but because the vents are backed with a mesh fabric it looks for all the world as though you're wearing fish-net tights underneath. Hmm... Despite that, the flow of air on hot days or on big sweaty ascents is absolutely delightful. Terra Pants also have side ankle zips and to be honest, I've never really discovered what these are for. I know you can unzip them and take the pants off over your boots but why would you want to do that, unless you were wearing shorts underneath? I suppose it's just another form of venting, one that I rarely use. Terra pants aren't particularly cheap but for your money you get great design and superb function. After seeing them my wife declared she wanted a pair, and on a trek I was leading in Nepal last autumn at least four other members of the trek were wearing Terra Pants. They're fast becoming de rigueur legwear for trekkers and hillwalkers but they're so good that doesn't surprise me one little bit.
Cameron McNeish
april05 - get into gear
tested - TGO
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