It’s hot, but it’s also chukar season, so I managed to get out for the first time this year just a few days ago. I donned the pants I got a couple months ago at Cabela’s – their Early Season Upland Pants. If you’ve seen my video “Chukar Hunting in January,” you’ll notice that my old trusty pants have two big purple patches on the butt (gotten on the day of the “Chukar Idiot” last December). Anyway, my wife insisted that if she’s going to continue taking pictures and video of me chukar hunting I should have some pants that don’t make me look stupid. Thus, these pants.
For $50, I am way impressed. This is the first pair of lightweight bird pants I’ve used, and my main question about them is: why did I wait so dang long? They’re made of lightweight cotton ripstop, which is a perfect weight to be durable but allow your legs to breath on those steep ascents. The crotch is gusseted so you can lunge straight uphill without having the pants bind you, and the solid nylon guard layers on the front and back lower sections performed superbly at keeping cheat grass, cockle burrs, hawthorn stickers and other dried vegetation from penetrating or sticking to the pants. Lots of pockets with long, easy-to-grab zipper pulls, a well-designed series of belt loops, and quality construction (at least it appears that way after one pretty good test) make these pants a winner. I’m even thinking they’d be my go-to pair in winter since I can wear some poly long-johns underneath them. On top of all these positives, I crossed a calf-deep creek early in my hunt and was surprised when I got to the other side to notice that the pants had not absorbed any water at all! They must be treated with some of that DWR stuff, which I’m expecting will wear off. But it sure was nice not to have to slog water-logged legs up the steep slope awaiting me on the other side. Highly recommended.
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