Mountain Khakis Granite Creek Pant

Posted: 11/01/2010 In Category(s): Reviews :: Product Reviews

Mountain Khakis was long known for its twill and heavier-weight pants, but a funny thing happened on the way through life – the company realized that a lighter-weight pant could be a good addition to the already popular line. We at SNEWS® can tell you there were plenty of times we would have loved to tuck a pair of Mountain Khakis into our luggage or packs, but nixed it due to weight and bulk.

That scenario changed with the new 100-percent nylon pant called the Granite Creek (note: it was originally called the Snake River).

We had three verrrry different testers use the pants in different ways – traveling, hiking, working, urban lounging, wine-tasting….just kidding about the wine-tasting… well, OK, we admit, also wine-tasting. And all three came back with only minor nits to pick. All three – one medium-height and stocky (read: 20 pounds too heavy) 60+ man, one short and more fit 50ish man, and one thin, fit woman (ageless of course) – won’t even consider passing them along or giving them away, they like them so much.

All in all, the pants proved durable, well-fitting (in fact, quite flattering!), and easy to wash and wear – with only a couple of exceptions we’ll point out later.

Most impressive was how well they fit through the waist, hips and legs – making all three testers look and feel really good – and that’s important! Sometimes a pant like this doesn’t work as well for women because bulky pockets or seams may not be designed with her needs in mind. Mountain Khakis paid attention to her preferences in the woman’s pant (not just downsizing the man’s), eliminating back pockets for a smoother line and lowering the waistline a bit and not adding a flap on the side leg pocket, while adding a curved panel on the rear panel for an extra-nice fit. Great touches!

Our slightly stocky tester, a hunter and generally conservative outdoorsman, called them “too nice” to take hunting or backpacking – even though he had the convertible version -- but gladly packed them along or wore them on driving trips, outings to the ballpark, lounging outdoors, walking for miles in parks and trails, and other simpler activities. “They were totally comfortable and hung out nicely with no wrinkles,” we were told.

Our other two testers used them mostly traveling as well as on day hikes, plus city rambling – sometimes for days on end without washing (we all had the ash gray color). Not only did they still look great, even in a city, but if a spot occurred from sitting on a dirty stump on the trail, the pants washed out well for the next day. And after a number of wears, they washed out easily in a hotel sink, hanging to dry overnight for wearing the next day if needed. 

Two of our testers had a complaint about a scratchy, irritating back tag, but for the two men it proved less of an issue since they normally wore shirts tucked in. Our woman had to actually use a seam-ripper to cut out the entire back label after some chafing during wearing. After that, she was home-free, feeling as if they were made for her. But that is a problem the company will easily remedy.

Our other male tester, who took them on an international trip, loved the small zipped security pocket in the side seam (a feature not on the women’s pant due to bulk), where he could stash small change, money, ID or metro tickets. The side leg pocket had a zipper and a flap with hook-and-loop closure for extra security. However, that pocket was sadly not deep enough to hold a passport, which proved to be a bit of a problem. In addition, although the one back pocket had a zipper, when traveling in tightly packed trains, he felt a flap over that too would have added to security – OK, his butt may not have looked as sleek but that’s what you give up for security.

The woman, who also traveled with the pants in Europe, found the side pocket very practical for small maps, metro tickets and coins, even though it was a bit narrow for many brochures.

Simply put, these are super pants that fit, wear and wash so well that they will become permanent parts of our testers’ wardrobes.

SNEWS® Rating: 4.5 hands clapping (1 to 5 hands clapping possible, with 5 clapping hands representing functional and design perfection)

Suggested retail: $72.95

For more information: www.mountainkhakis.com

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