Bushcraft Pants?

landscraper75

landscraper75

Scout
Bushclass I
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Jan 28, 2012
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With all the talk about Railriders all over the internet, I'm curious to see if I'm then only one too cheap to shell out that kind of money for bush pants. What do you wear? Where'd you get them? Thanks in advance
 
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Nylon warm up/track pants or zip offs. They dry quick and last a year or more for me. I picked up a new to me pair of railriders this fall. Got them for a third of the internet price. So far they wear well, but not any better than some of my pants from columbia river or generic nylon zip off's I got from costco for 19.00.

Good Will or Thrift stores usally have tons of nylon track pants. It's a great place to start.
 
My normal trekking pants are some Coyote colored BDU clones that are poly-cotton. I was getting them for like $18 and they are expendable!

I also have some 5.11 Pro taclite pants in coyote that I like but they are more expensive. I get them through the military exchange for free shipping and a lower price.

Railriders look nice but the price is more than my retired income can support!
 
a pair of EMS (eastern mountain sports, for those unfamiliar with the brandname) zip offs. i wear them in the summer as shorts, spring/fall full length, and in winter with long johns. they're made of quick drying nylon ripstop material, which is why i like them so much... the local raspberry and greenbriar will tear up a pair of jeans in no time, despite how strong and durable denim is, but these are still in pretty good shape.
 
I will only wear 100% wool, alpaca, or cotton. I do not wear synthetics for comfort and fire issues.

In warm weather, I wear 100% cotton rip stop cargo trousers. I bought them at Amazon, and they were 36 dollars with shipping. I couldn’t find anything but cotton blends at the local Army Navy stores, so online was my only option. I plan to get a pair of them in kaki as well for the heat of the summer. I do not wear shorts in the woods. The belt was cheap enough…

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In cold weather I wear Swedish military surplus trousers. I believe that they’re 16 oz Melton wool. Wind doesn’t cut through them and the rain beads up and falls off, usually… These were 35 – 40 dollars about two years ago, but I’ve noticed that they’ve gone up to about 50 now.

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I believe that I’ll simply switch to the German wool surplus trousers for winter. They seem cheaper right now.

I used to have a couple pairs of Swiss wool surplus trousers in what looked like a 9 oz. weight. They were nice and cheap, ie 10 dollars or less. A huge gear loss wiped me out two years ago, and I’m slowly replacing it. I also miss my thin summer weight 100% wool dress trousers that were military surplus. They were comfy in the 50F – 75F range. I can't remember if they were East German or Italian military though.

The Swiss trousers look like this. They’re ok in the 30F – 65F range.

http://niedbalskioutfitters.com/pants-shorts/swiss-army-wool-pant-used/


Take care all,
C&S
 
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I treed a couple of Rail Riders pants but they didn't fit well. They were well made but too pricey IMO.

I've been using various incarnations of the LAPG "Operator Pants" for at least a year and a half and really like them, especially for the price. They fit well, wear well, dry out really fast, and have good pockets.

ETA: This post makes me sound cheap, but the reality is I gladly will (and do) drop the coin on good gear. In this case the cheap stuff just works better for me.
 
No Railriders but those are the style I like. Ultralight and quick drying high tech fabric that is easily packable. I usually find REI or The North Face brands are the best bang for the buck. I think you will find they are comparable for half the price.

I don't do cotton pants at all. Just takes too long to dry and taking an extra pair of cotton pants takes up a ton of space in your pack. I will do cotton shirts during the very hottest part of the summer just because of them staying wet for a long time will help in evaporation cooling. Still if you get a couple of days of rain you risk not having any dry shirts to put on.
 
I wear Dickies cargo pants, made of heavy 65/35 poly cotton. They look sharp, dry quickly, and are nearly indestructible. They're a bit stiff at first but they soften after a few washes.
 
Wranglers, Levis, Carhartts, and BDUs. Works for me but I'm not real picky in the clothing department. I really wish I could get my hands on a wool shirt though, no luck at the local thrift stores.
 
pants

most of the time i wear shorts but my new fav long pants a Army ACU pants w/riggers belt...they fit well and are comfy to me vince g. 11B Infantry:42:...
 
Dickie's imitation Carhart carpenter pants. Wallyworld gots em for about $15 bucks. When they wear out I make shorts out of em. Who am I kidding, I make shorts out of them right away...

Viva El Cheapo!
 
I have lots of pairs of pants I have picked up at goodwill columbia and timberland ect but I really like Wrangler Riggs they are heavy duty I also really like these Northface zip offs I have. I guess that the Boy Scouts have a pair of pants that are very similar to Rail Riders
 
I really like the duluth trading firehose pants duluthtrading.com, I either wear those or an old pair of jeans, bdus, or cryes crypresicion.com
 
BDU's, dickies cargo, or jeans in the summer. If I know I won't be off trail in the summer then cargo shorts.
 
I used to just wear jeans or shorts, but I got a pair of TNF convertible pants on clearance for like 25 bucks and they're my go to camping pants now. They're super quick to dry, have a built in belt, and pockets galore. If I can find another pair for a reasonable price I won't hesitate to pick them up.
 
Fair-weather conditions = tan or OD BDU style rip-stop (no camo patterns)
Cool to cold weather = wool (surplus)
Heavy timber = Carhartt canvas carpenter jeans

I only wear shorts when traveling by canoe, but change into pants once on land.
 
Depending on weather, but the same stuff I wear daily anyways: cargo shorts from various thrift stores or a pair of jeans (Wrangler or whatever I found on sale or in the thrift store). I have one pair of Duluth Trading firehose work pants that I like very much and use in cold weather. Also have a pair of Duluth hot-weather zip-offs that I don't like so much...useless belt loops mainly...too wide and not placed anywhere close to right for belt accessories (knife, holster, cell phone etc).
 
I'm just gonna say it. Railriders ARE what they claim.
I have a few pairs and even sent a pair to a member here on the forum.

You just can't make 'em say uncle. short of throwing them in a fire, I guess.

My only gripe with them is I am at the very uppermost part of their sizing. I gotta wear the pants with boots and the sleeves don't come down to my wrist on the adventure tops...but I got a few of them too - they are really good stuff.

I bought them years ago...before the kids became teens...started driving...and I became broke! :D
 
Wrangler jeans. I know the saying that "Cotton Kills" but Wranglers don't kill my wallet and all the 'speciality' clothing will.

The reason that the old-timey guys (Sears, Kephart, et. al.) wore wool was that was what they had.

I have Wranglers.
 
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