Our journey actions are numerous, and we want pants that may cowl all of the bases. Fortunately, we’ve legged it nearly clear throughout the nation in most of those pants and settled on a wardrobe of winners on your subsequent journey.
Whereas consolation and mobility are important for an energetic traveler, we additionally seemed for versatile types that switch simply to an evening out in town or perhaps a work occasion. We gave bonus factors for wrinkle-proof and spill-resistant materials, and particulars like pockets and zippers made the most effective stand out.
Lead tester Katie Griffith examined 13 completely different pairs of pants for this information, carrying them everywhere in the Western United States and past for nearly 2 years. The broader testing group traveled as far north as British Columbia and all the best way south to Joshua Tree, Calif., with numerous stops in between. These pants have saved us cool throughout summer time warmth waves, comfy on over 5,000 miles of road-tripping, and fashionable exploring downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.
Our testers are energetic vacationers, all the time searching for numerous adventures after they go away their entrance doorways. We’ve worn these pants whereas mountaineering within the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, mountaineering within the Mojave Desert, dancing at an outside live performance in Denver, and exploring Seattle and Portland by bicycle. We’ve chosen the most effective types to maintain you transferring by the world, wherever you might go.
Try our complete purchaser’s information and continuously requested questions for useful ideas. And take a look at our comparability chart if you happen to want assist in steering your decision-making.
Editor’s Notice: We completely refreshed our Ladies’s Journey Pants choices on June 21, 2024, including a slate of recent award winners from manufacturers resembling Patagonia, Out of doors Voices, Topo Designs, and extra.
The Greatest Ladies’s Journey Pants of 2024
Greatest Total Ladies’s Journey Pants
-
Cloth
89% recycled polyester, 11% recycled spandex mix -
UPF Therapy
No -
DWR End
Sure -
Match
Common match, tapered legs -
Pockets
5 with two zip pockets -
Weight
9.3 oz.
-
Light-weight, breathable cloth -
Glorious mobility and stretch -
Glossy, versatile look -
DWR cloth is immune to spills and stains -
Made in Truthful Commerce Licensed manufacturing facility
-
Zip pocket shouldn’t be sufficiently big for a telephone -
No UPF score
Greatest Finances Ladies’s Journey Pants
-
Cloth
94% nylon, 6% elastane -
UPF Therapy
50 -
DWR End
Sure -
Match
Slim, tapered leg -
Pockets
4, with one zip thigh pocket -
Weight
Unavailable
-
Light-weight and breathable cloth -
Versatile type for each energetic use and informal put on -
Stretchy cloth affords nice mobility -
Zip pocket
-
Waistband sags a bit when a telephone is carried within the zip pocket -
Cloth capsules and stretches out over time
Most Versatile Ladies’s Journey Pants
-
Cloth
90% nylon, 10% elastane -
UPF Therapy
N/A -
DWR End
Sure -
Match
Barely roomy, mid-rise -
Pockets
Three, with two an identical facet zip pockets -
Weight
Unavailable
-
Sufficiently big zip pockets to suit a telephone, pockets, and keys -
Climate resistant cloth -
Glorious mobility -
Comfortable, roomy match
-
Much less breathable in heat climate -
Cloth capsules rapidly
Most Trendy Ladies’s Journey Pants
-
Cloth
98% natural cotton, 2% spandex -
UPF Therapy
No -
DWR End
No -
Match
Straight leg -
Pockets
4, with one inner zipper pocket -
Weight
8.2 oz.
-
Good quantity of stretch -
Cute colours and classy reduce -
Non-obligatory ankle drawcord -
Hidden zipper pocket
-
Confirmed important put on after one 12 months of laborious use -
Much less excellent for energetic use
Greatest Climate-Resistant Ladies’s Journey Pants
-
Cloth
95% nylon, 5% spandex -
UPF Therapy
50+ -
DWR End
Sure -
Match
Reasonably curvy -
Pockets
2 zip thigh pockets, 2 hand pockets -
Weight
9.9 oz.
-
Bluesign-certified cloth ensures secure and sustainable textile manufacturing -
Nice water resistance -
Two-way stretch cloth affords loads of mobility -
Big selection of measurement choices
-
Barely heavy cloth -
Seen brand
Greatest Work-Prepared Journey Pants
-
Cloth
86% recycled polyester, 14% elastane -
UPF Therapy
40+ -
DWR End
No -
Match
Semi-fitted -
Pockets
2 zip pockets, 2 hand pockets -
Weight
Unavailable
-
Nice type, enjoyable colour choices -
Silky, wrinkle-resistant cloth -
Fast-drying -
Hidden zip pockets
-
Much less versatile for extremely energetic use
Better of the Relaxation
-
Cloth
88% nylon, 12% spandex -
UPF Therapy
40+ -
DWR End
Sure -
Match
Slim, tapered leg -
Pockets
5 pockets with one zip thigh pocket -
Weight
10 oz.
-
Light-weight, breathable cloth with good stretch -
Trendy match -
Zip pockets -
Two inseam lengths obtainable
-
Ankle zippers make the size much less versatile
Ladies’s Journey Pants Comparability Chart
Ladies’s Journey Pants | Worth | Cloth | Match | Pockets | Weight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patagonia Completely satisfied Hike Studio Pants | $99 | 89% recycled polyester, 11% recycled spandex mix | Common match, tapered legs | 5 with two zip pockets | 9.3 oz. |
Mountain Hardwear Dynama/2 Ankle Pants |
$85 | 94% nylon, 6% elastane | Slim, tapered leg | 4, with one zip thigh pocket | N/A |
Out of doors Voices RecTrek Pants | $98 | 90% nylon, 10% elastane | Barely roomy, mid-rise | Three, with two an identical facet zip pockets | N/A |
Topo Designs Filth Pants | $99 | 98% natural cotton, 2% spandex | Straight leg | 4, with one inner zipper pocket | 8.2 oz. |
Eddie Bauer Information Professional Pants | $150 | 95% nylon, 5% spandex | Reasonably curvy | 2 zip thigh pockets, 2 hand pockets | 9.9 oz. |
Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants | $99 | 86% recycled polyester, 14% elastane | Semi-fitted | 2 zip pockets, 2 hand pockets | N/A |
Patagonia Skyline Traveler Pants | $99 | 88% nylon, 12% spandex | Slim, tapered leg | 5 pockets with one zip thigh pocket | 10 oz. |
prAna Sancho Boyfriend Pants | $95 | 98% natural cotton, 2% Lycra elastane | Relaxed, boyfriend match, mid-rise | 4 drop-in pockets | N/A |
Lululemon Stretch Excessive-Rise Jogger | $79 | 69% nylon, 31% Lycra elastane | Excessive-rise, full-length | Two, one hidden zip pocket | N/A |
How We Examined Ladies’s Journey Pants
The creator of and major contributor to this information, Katie Griffith, works as a seasonal climbing information and spends a lot of the 12 months touring for work in her cargo van. When she’s on the street, her wardrobe is proscribed to no matter she will slot in a duffel bag, so she is aware of nicely the worth of multi-purpose, wrinkle-proof clothes.
Katie recurrently hosts camping-based climbing and yoga retreats, the place she must current a reliable, skilled look to her shoppers. After a day of guiding, she typically takes shoppers out to dinner at native eating places. If one pair of pants can carry her by the entire day, that’s a particular win.
Our group of testers has worn these pants whereas touring everywhere in the American West, from the desert to the rainforest to the cityscapes of Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. We even made it as much as British Columbia to scale the granite cliffs of Squamish and discover the worldwide delicacies of Vancouver. We’ve worn completely different types whereas climbing, mountaineering, and biking, visited museums and aquariums, hosted dinners for shoppers, and logged (too many!) lengthy days of driving.
Our journey wants are numerous, so our testers are wanting particularly for versatility. If we needed a technical pair of climbing or mountaineering pants for a selected goal, we’d pull from our gear guides detailing the Greatest Climbing Pants or Greatest Climbing Pants for Ladies.
For journey, we would like pants that may do the entire above. They should have sufficient consolation and mobility for energetic exploration whereas nonetheless wanting put collectively for a night out. Bonus factors if we will sleep in them, too. Pants with massive logos or tremendous sporty types didn’t make the reduce, and neither did pairs that limit motion or restrict consolation.
Whereas on the street, our entry to laundry is proscribed, so wrinkle and stain-resistant materials are additionally extremely fascinating. A sturdy water resistant (DWR) end will help forestall materials from absorbing liquids, and a UPF score protects us from the solar. Pockets are additionally a should, ideally deep ones that safe telephones, wallets, and keys. Not less than one zipper pocket is a big plus for added safety.
We’ve scrutinized each element of the pants on this information, to ensure that they’re as much as these requirements. Whether or not you’re hopping on a flight abroad or planning a cross-country street journey, we all know these types will serve you nicely.
Purchaser’s Information: Methods to Select the Greatest Journey Pants for Ladies
Discovering the most effective pair of journey pants depends upon the kind of journey you’re planning. We examined quite a lot of types, a few of which might fare higher on a visit that’s heavy on outside actions, whereas others seemed sharper for a elaborate dinner or work occasion.
All should be comfy whereas in transit, whether or not you’re road-tripping or touring by air. Learn by the classes under and think about crucial components on your journey.
Versatility
A pair of journey pants have to do extra than simply go for a hike. They need to be according to present types, be acceptable to put on to a piece perform or dinner if wanted, and embrace particular options that make the journey expertise a breeze.
The Out of doors Voices RecTrek Pants simply transition from activewear to on a regular basis life, making them our best choice for versatility. The Patagonia Skyline Traveler Pants excel in a number of of the classes under, which is why they had been in shut second place for the flexibility prize. We like how neither of those types appears tremendous sporty, however their materials are literally fairly technical. They each are fairly stretchy, fast to dry, and water-proof. And each have nice zip pockets.
The flexibility competitors between these two relies upon principally in your private type; do you favor a thin leg or a roomy match? The RecTrek Pants are additionally a tad much less breathable than the Skyline Vacationers.
Consolation and Mobility
An abroad flight or cross-country street journey all the time brings a sure degree of discomfort. You would possibly spend hours jammed within the center seat of an airplane, or maybe you’ll find yourself sleeping in your automotive at a relaxation cease. Exploring a brand new vacation spot typically means hours of strolling by museums, driving bikes round city, or venturing into the mountains.
Whenever you’re away from the comforts of dwelling, your wardrobe makes an enormous distinction. Knit waistbands, cloth blends that embrace elastane (spandex), and light-weight supplies all improve consolation and mobility elements. The consolation of the Lululemon Stretch Excessive Rise Joggers and the Mountain Hardwear Dynama/2 Ankle pants don’t sacrifice type and performance, making them each wonderful pairs of girls’s journey pants to think about.
Match
Whereas the perfect match varies relying on physique kind and choice, the most effective journey pants hold you wanting sharp, regardless of the exercise. Saggy lounge pants or cargo types misplaced factors with us, and we didn’t embrace any leggings or sweatpants on this listing.
The pants that made the reduce signify quite a lot of matches, so you’ll be able to select in accordance with your private style. One of many major variations between types is leg width. The Patagonia Skyline Traveler Pants and the Mountain Hardwear Dynama/II Ankle Pants have slim, tapered legs, whereas the Out of doors Voices Rectreks and the Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants have a extra roomy match. Regardless of variations in match, the entire types above have sufficient stretch to be comfy.
Whereas it’s all the time good to attempt garments on in individual, we notice many people store on-line out of necessity. So, one other useful tidbit is the relative match of the varied choices. We discovered the Lululemon Stretch Excessive Rise Joggers to run a bit small in contrast with the opposite types, whereas the prAna Sancho Boyfriend Pants run massive. Patagonia adjusted the match this 12 months for the Completely satisfied Hike Studio Pants, so these run a bit slimmer than in previous seasons.
Consumers will discover the widest measurement vary within the Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants, with sizes from 00 to 26. The Eddie Bauer Information Professional Pants additionally make it straightforward to dial within the excellent match, with common, petite, tall, and plus sizes as much as 24W.
Model
The most effective pairs of girls’s journey pants embrace aesthetic particulars and a flattering match whereas retaining mobility and luxury.
The perfect type on your journey depends upon your supposed actions. Do you intend to spend so much of time outdoors, mountaineering, biking, or climbing? A pair of high-stretch joggers just like the Completely satisfied Hike Studio or the Dynama/2 Ankle Pants will swimsuit you nicely. With elastic across the ankles, the material gained’t get caught in bike spokes or get in the best way of your climbing sneakers.
For trying out museums and artwork galleries, you would possibly really feel extra put collectively in a cotton type just like the prAna Sancho Boyfriend Pants or Topo Designs Filth Pants. We just like the fake zipper and facet panels of the ultra-comfortable Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants, particulars that assist make them our favourite pair whereas touring for work.
Pockets
We love a pair of journey pants that hold our bank card, keys, and telephone secure with useful zip pockets. Since we’re additionally protecting type in thoughts, a low-profile zip pocket is most well-liked over cumbersome cargo pockets. Nearly the entire girls’s journey pants we examined have at the very least one zip pocket. We just like the hidden zips of the Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants and Lululemon Stretch Excessive Rise Joggers for added safety, although these would solely match a small key or bank card.
Our favourite pockets are the 2 huge zippered ones on the Out of doors Voices Rectrek Pants. With the roomy match of those pants, we had been capable of safe keys, telephone, and pockets within the depths of those pockets with out them exhibiting a lot bulk.
UPF Therapy
Whether or not you like strolling round cities or exploring the mountains, touring usually means extra time spent outdoors. Clothes handled with UPF, which stands for ultraviolet safety issue, makes it simpler to maintain your pores and skin protected throughout lengthy days within the solar.
When a material boasts of UPF therapy of fifty+, it affords your pores and skin the utmost attainable safety. The minimal score you’ll see is UPF 15 — something decrease doesn’t present a lot safety from UV rays. A pair of pants with a excessive UPF score and cloth mild sufficient to put on on a scorching day is a win — but one more reason why we love Mountain Hardwear’s Dynama/2 Ankle Pants!
Cloth Weight and Breathability
Except you’re headed for a winter vacation spot, light-weight, breathable cloth is vital to a superb pair of journey pants. Keep in mind, you’re going to be hauling your baggage by airports, forwards and backwards from accommodations, or presumably mountaineering into the mountains, so weight issues for the entire merchandise you pack. Lighter cloth additionally packs all the way down to a smaller measurement, lowering bulk in your baggage.
For those who’ll be touring in hotter climate, a breathable cloth will promote higher moisture switch as you’re employed up a sweat. It will hold you extra comfy if you wish to put on longer pants or sleeves to guard in opposition to the solar’s UV rays. The lightest and most breathable pants on this listing are the Mountain Hardwear Dynama/2 Ankle pants. These have develop into our go-to pants for hot-weather actions. The Patagonia Completely satisfied Hike Studio Pants are additionally fairly light-weight.
On the heavier, extra weather-resistant finish of the spectrum are the Out of doors Voices RecTreks and the Eddie Bauer Information Execs. These materials carried out higher in windy, cooler circumstances; we liked the Rectrek pants throughout an unseasonably chilly desert journey this spring. Cotton materials will even really feel heavier and fewer breathable than these made with nylon or polyester.
Water-Resistant and Wrinkle-Proof Cloth
When entry to laundry is proscribed, spill-resistant cloth is an enormous profit. A number of of the types we examined, together with the Eddie Bauer Information Professional Pants and the Patagonia Completely satisfied Hike Studio Pants, are handled with a lightweight DWR end that causes liquids to bead and run off with out leaving a stain. This additionally makes them extra water resistant if you end up out and about when a storm rolls by.
The cotton types we included gained’t carry out as nicely in opposition to spills or rain; the Topo Designs Filth Pants and the prAna Sancho Pants are slower to dry and fewer water-proof than these made with nylon or polyester. We didn’t embrace any journey denims on the listing, however denim performs equally to cotton when it will get moist. In truth, we’d most likely solely think about denims to be “journey” denims if that they had added stretch from elastane or spandex.
On most adventures, your life is packed right into a backpack or suitcase. Even probably the most meticulous clothes folders profit from wrinkle-resistant cloth. If a pair of pants look recent every week right into a Europe journey, we’re stoked. We had been shocked with how modern the Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants and the Lululemon Excessive Rise Joggers taken care of weeks of being stuffed in a duffel bag.
Worth
Plainly to seek out the options we’re searching for — versatility, type, consolation, and good pockets — you’re more likely to pay round $100. Nearly the entire pants we included right here fall between $95 and $100.
One among our favorites, the Dynama/2 Ankle pants, got here at a barely lower cost tag of $85. Now we have seen over time that this pair doesn’t maintain up fairly in addition to a number of the others; the material tends to stretch out and tablet over years of use. Nevertheless, that can be true of a number of the costlier choices just like the Topo Designs Filth Pants.
On the upper finish, you’ll discover the Eddie Bauer Information Professional Pants clocking in at $150. These are constructed with extra technical materials, which possible explains the upper price ticket. With stronger wind and water resistance, the Information Execs are made to resist a greater variety of components.
FAQ
Journey pants are made with quite a lot of materials, however most embrace some elastane (spandex) for stretch and mobility. The upper the proportion of elastane within the cloth, the stretchier the pants.
Nylon and polyester are different generally used materials as a consequence of their quick-drying and moisture-wicking capabilities. The prAna Sancho Boyfriend Pants and the Topo Designs Filth Pants are the one pairs we examined made with cotton, however they each nonetheless embrace 2% elastane or spandex for added stretch.
Pants with huge cargo pockets are widespread within the mountaineering and journey pant lineup, however they’re not the one choices round. The deep facet pockets do present some comfort whenever you need to stash a telephone, pockets, or keys whereas exploring.
For added type, we like low-profile facet zip pockets, like these on the Patagonia Skyline Traveler Pants or the hidden zip pockets on the Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants.
Whenever you’re crunched in a center seat, your clothes needs to be as comfy as attainable. Gentle cloth with elastane blends provides stretch whenever you’re in a contorted place.
Wrinkle-resistant cloth with a trendy match permits you to deplane and go straight out to dinner without having a wardrobe change. A number of of the types we examined mix all three of those elements, together with the Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants and the Patagonia Skyline Vacationers.
The most effective journey pants will let you solely pack one or two pairs on your complete journey. That’s why we seemed for versatile types that you would be able to both take mountaineering or out to dinner.
Fast-drying materials make it simpler to scrub your pants in a sink whereas en route and DWR finishes forestall spills from soaking into the material within the first place. The Eddie Bauer Information Professional Pants and the Out of doors Voices RecTrek Pants had the most effective DWR end of the types we examined.