Mountain Khakis Snake
River Pants
Reviewed By Pat
McNeilly
Initial Report: September 21, 2009
Field Report: January 4, 2010
Long-Term Report: March 2, 2010
Name: Pat
McNeilly
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 8” (1.7 m)
Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
Email address: mcne4752 at yahoo dot com
City, State, Country: Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
Backpacking Background:
I have been hiking for at least 20 years but backpacking for only the last five
years. Most of my backpacking is done as
overnight trips and occasional weekend and week long trips. My typical pack weight is approximately 18 to
20 lb (8 to 9 kg) before food or water.
Most of my backpacking is the three season variety in the mountains of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West
Virginia. In
addition to backpacking, I also fish, hunt, and enjoy orienteering. As a result, some of my backpacking equipment
gets use in a number of different venues.
Product Information:
Product: Snake River Pants
Manufacturer: Mountain Khakis
Waist: 34 in (86 cm)
Inseam: 30 in (76 cm)
Tested Color: Birch
Year of Manufacture: 2009
Measured Weight: 15.6 oz (442 g)
URL: http://mountainkhakis.com
MSRP: NA
Initial
Report
Report Date: September 21, 2009
Product
Description:
The Mountain Khakis Snake River Pants (i.e., the pants) are a 100% nylon hiking
pant. The pants have a diamond shaped
gusseted crotch for ease of movement.
All the major seams are triple stitched and stress points around the
pockets are bar tacked. The pants close
at the waist with a 5.5 in (14 cm) zipper and an antique-brass riveted shank
button at the top. There are also six 2
in (5 cm) belt loops around the waist.
The inside of the waistband, as well as beneath the front zipper, is
lined with 0.5 in (13 mm) grosgrain.
The pants have two front pockets which have a squared-off opening at the
bottom. The insides of the pockets are
constructed of a nylon mesh fabric. The
front pockets are approximately 6 in (15 cm) deep. The right front pocket also has a zippered
security pocket with a 6 in (15 cm) zipper with a Mountain Khakis logo hanging from the zipper pull. The pants also have a right rear zippered
pocket with a 5 in (13 cm) zipper (also with the Mountain Khaki logo). This rear pocket is also lined with the same
mesh fabric as the front pockets and measures approximately 6 in (15 cm) deep.
On the left leg,
there is a cargo pocket 11 in (28 cm) below the waistband. This pocket measures approximately 7 x 7.5 in
(18 x 19 cm) and has a flap covering it which measures approximately 3 x 7.5 in
(8 x 19 cm). This pocket closes with two
small squares of hook and loop fastener.
In addition, this pocket has a small pleat on the rear portion of the
pocket. Inside this pocket is a smaller
zippered security pocket which measures approximately 5 x 5 in (13 x 13 cm).
Lastly, I also noted that the lower rear portion of each leg has a double layer
of fabric which measures 3 x 10 in (8 x 25 cm).
Product Review:
The Mountain Khakis Snake River Pants appear to be very well made. The stitching looks to be just about
perfect. I do not see loose threads or
uneven stitches. The zippers all operate
smoothly. There are some very nice
features that leads me to believe quite a bit of thought went into designing
these pants. The triple stitching of the
main seams, bar tacking around the pockets, and double fabric on the lower leg
are just a few things that make me believe this.
The fit of the pants seem just about right.
I thought that the inseam might be a little long but my wife tells me
they are just right. I also measured the
inseam and it appears to be right at 30 in (76 cm). The fit around my waist is good. I usually can wear a 34 in (86 cm) waist and
these fit just fine. The fabric is light
and has a fairly smooth feel to it.
The pockets are in good locations and are large enough but not too deep. I hate pockets that are so deep that I feel
like I’m bending over to grab something at the bottom. The rear hip pocket easily holds my wallet
and can easily be zippered closed. The
left cargo pocket is not as large as those found on military uniforms but will
easily hold a cell phone and some snacks.
Even the inner security portion of the cargo pocket can hold a cell
phone or keys. I also like the zippered
front pocket. I often use this type of
pocket to ensure I don’t lose my keys while day hiking.
The gusseted crotch is a main feature of the pants and I can’t say that I have
noticed any particular advantage but I haven’t hiked in them yet. I will see how this works out over the coming
months.
I’m not clear what the function of the grosgrain around the waistband and under
the front zipper is. The manufacturer appears
to use it on most of their other products but I’m not sure if it is comfort
thing or what.
The washing instructions indicate that the pants are to be machine washed in
warm water and tumble dried on low. The
instructions also indicate that the pants could be steam ironed with medium
heat. We’ll see how that ironing things
goes while on trail – not.
Field
Report
Report date: January 4, 2010
Field Conditions:
Over
the past couple months, I have worn the pants on six day hikes. All these hikes were in parks in central Maryland, including the Seneca
Creek State
Park and the C&O
Canal Historical
Park. The hikes ranged from 4 to 8 miles (6 to 13
km) and two of the hikes were on very rocky trails while the other four were on
relatively smooth tread, no off-trail hiking during this testing period.
Weather conditions have varied pretty wildly over the past two months
here. The temperatures I encountered on
the hikes ranged from 25 to 60 F (-4 to 16 C).
I also encountered light rain and snowy conditions on a couple of
hikes. No major downpours or snow, just
light varieties of both.
I have also worn the pants around town running errands and as a spare pair of
casual pants while attending a conference in Nashville.
Product Review:
These are a very comfortable pair of pants.
I enjoy wearing them around the house as much as I do while hiking. When I am out the trail, I feel like I have a
greater range of movement while wearing these pants. I believe that this is due, at least in part,
to the crotch design on the pants. This
is most noticeable when I have to take a large step up or over something.
The fabric has held up very well. It
seems to be a more heavy duty fabric than I have found in other nylon hiking
pants I own. I have not seen any tearing
of the seams or signs of the fabric wearing though. All the zippers seem to be functioning
properly. I typically find wear on my
pants on the inside of the leg at the ankle but haven’t seen that yet on the
Mountain Khakis. I have been wearing
low-cut trail shoes but as the weather is colder I will probably be more likely
to wear boots and will keep a watch on how well the fabric holds up. I did wear the pants in a light rain and they
got wet but dried pretty quickly. Not
unexpected for nylon pants but it certainly confirmed my expectation.
The
arrangement of the pockets is good and I really like having the cargo pocket on
the leg. The inner pocket usually holds
my cell phone, and since it is zippered, I don’t have to worry about it falling
out and getting lost. I find that the
rear hip pocket is a little hard to get into.
The zippered opening on this pocket seems tight and I have a tough time
reaching in to get things out.
I have washed the pants numerous times which hasn’t seemed to affect them much,
other than I notice some very fine pilling of the fabric. On close inspection, it is hard to tell if
this is coming off the fabric or if it is small bits of lint stuck to the
cloth. In any event, I have to look
closely to see it, so I don’t have any real problems with it.
After washing and drying the pants, I do note that they can come out with
wrinkles. This is also true if they have
been folded or rolled up (as in a pack).
If I plan on wearing them around town, I have found that a little ironing
helps. I felt this was necessary once
when wearing the pants at a conference just before I was to fly home. I didn’t feel that they looked good enough to
take out of the suitcase and wear as is, without some ironing. As for wear on the trail, I think straight
out of the drawer is fine.
Long-Term
Report
Report Date: March 2, 2010
Field Conditions:
Over the last couple months I have use the Snake River Pants on four day hikes
in the central Maryland area. The hikes
ranged from 4 to 8 miles (6 to 13 km) in length. All these hikes were on well maintained but
often rocky trails in Seneca Creek State Park
or in the C & O
Canal National
Historic Park. The temperatures ranged from 20 to 45 F (-7
to 7 C) and usually clear or overcast skies.
I did take one of these hikes during a light snowfall with approximately
six inches of snow already on the ground.
I used these pants during one orienteering event in Greenbelt
Park here in Maryland.
This race was 3 miles (5 km) in length and was definitely off-trail. This park should be known as greenbrier park with all the thorns there. I also have continued to wear them on a
regular basis around town.
Product Review:
These pants have continued to wear very well.
I wanted to see if there were any more wear when I hiked in boots,
rather than low-cut shoes. All the hikes
I took during this long-term test period were done in hiking boots. I was particularly interested in the lower
inside leg and I have not seen any undue wear on the pants up to this point. There are some small scuffs but nothing that
has me concerned in the least. All the
zippers continue to function smoothly and al the seams are holding fast. I haven’t seen any worsening of the small
pilling of the fabric that I mentioned in my Field Report. My overall assessment is that these pants are
very well constructed.
Wearing these pants while orienteering gave me greater confirmation about the
range of leg movement. During this event
I was often stepping over logs and rocks and I felt that the Mountain Khakis
provided good range of motion without binding.
Another thing that I noticed was that I found that I didn’t get as many
leg cuts and scrapes as usual. Orienteering
is notorious for cuts and scrapes, especially on the lower legs (orienteers usually wear padded gaiters). It seemed like the pants could withstand the
briars a little better than I would have expected.
With the colder temperature we have been seeing here in the last couple months,
I noticed that the pants are a little warmer than other nylon pants I
have. The fabric is heavier and I guess
that shouldn’t be unexpected. I did hike
in the coldest weather with a light baselayer
underneath the pants and found that there was no problem with the
layering. The pants had ample room for
an additional layer.
Summary:
The Mountain Khaki Snake River Pants are nylon hiking pants with a
diamond-shaped crotch area which allows for increased freedom of movement. The pants have a total of six pockets, three
of them with zippers, including a cargo pocket located on the left leg. The nylon fabric is very sturdy and dries
quickly. Some minor problems that I have
seen are some fine pilling and wrinkling of the fabric and that I have a hard
time getting my hand into the rear hip pocket.
Things I like:
1. Sturdy fabric
2. Cargo pocket
3. Good range of movement
4. Dry quickly
Things I don’t like:
1. Rear pocket hard to access
2. Some pilling of fabric
This concludes my testing of the Mountain Khakis Snake
River Pants. I would like to thank Mountain
Khakis and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this item.