I don’t believe I have done any sort of gear review until now. I did that review of my Army issued sleeping bag, but that was more of just an overlong recap of the snowpocalypse. I mean… highly enjoyable tale of human perseverance.
I only own blue jeans, khakis, jogging pants, sweatpants, and one pair of black dress pants. Convertible hiking pants are one thing I have never used or owned in my life, so I knew I needed to get at least a couple pairs for the Appalachian Trail. After looking online for the nicest and cheapest pants I could find, I settled on Poentab.
Poentab is a decidedly Chinese company that sells camping and hiking gear through Shopify. The models on their website are predominantly blonde and white. I did not buy my pants from their website because I didn’t know it existed until 10 minutes ago.
Poentab also sells online through Walmart for $29.98. On the Poentab website the price is $42.88 so at least I bought from the cheaper option. It may seem obvious but, just to hammer the point home, there was no pick-up option. I had to have these pants delivered.
These pants run a little big. I took a long time trying to decide between the 30″ waist and the 32″. I normally wear anywhere between 32-34″ pants. I ultimately got the 30″ because I hoped if they didn’t fit that I would shrink my way into them. Turns out the 30″ are just about the perfect size. The waist is very stretchy and forgiving, so I say go a waist size below what you normally would.
They are 90% nylon, 10% spandex. It makes the pants feel very lightweight and comfortable, even when you bend over or squat low. The care instructions say to wash in warm water below 30 degrees C (86 degrees F), line dry, do not bleach, and only iron at below 110 degrees C (230 degrees F). I had no idea irons went up that high. I always thought irons just boiled water into steam, so I figured the upper limit was 212 degrees F.
Now for the convertible feature of the pants. They unzip just below the knees to become shorts. There is a flap over the zipper, so you cannot see an obvious zipper from the outside. Each zip-off leg even has a tag inside labelled L or R in case you get them mixed up and get confused about how to put your pants back together. Probably most useful when you are drunk.
The belt came in a small plastic bag inside the same box the pants came in. I almost accidentally threw it out with the box. Once I did notice the belt I commented about how small and chintzy it looked. Turns out it only appeared to be feeble. Once you start using it, it works as well as any other belt. You may not even need it with as stretchy as the material is.
These pants are pretty good at repelling water due to the materials from which they are constructed. They will definitely get soaked if you stand outside in the rain though. Their lightweight nature allows them to dry quickly, so if you do get stuck in a downpour just walking around in them for a while can dry them out sufficiently.
My only real complaint is the colors I purchased. I bought a pair of dark grey and a pair of apricot. The dark grey are too dark for my liking and the apricot are too light. If I could turn back time I would go for army green and khaki, or maybe regular grey.
I feel like I got a great deal on these hiking pants. I am afraid they will easily rip at the knees if I fall on a rock, but most lightweight pants will do that. I have plans to never fall down on any trails again, so if that is the case I should be fine.
In case you are thinking right now, “what the fuck does this guy know about hiking pants”, I feel you. Don’t just take my word for it. Men’s Journal recently wrote a review of these pants and largely agreed with me. So there.
