For the past two seasons I’ve been wearing the Orvis Pro LT Hunting Pants. I’ve worn them from opening day through the end of the season. Aside from a tiny hole on the seat of one of them, from getting hung up on some barbed wire fencing, they still look new.
I love these pants.
They’re made of a fairly thin, “stretch-woven Cordura® fabric with advanced hydrophobic fibers woven in for better moisture control,” and are easily the most durable and comfortable pants I’ve ever hunted in. I wouldn’t say they’re “stretchy,” but they don’t bind when hiking up 45% slopes for an hour, as we did a couple of days ago. Despite how thin they are, I don’t get cold in them, but then my legs never get cold (I wish I could say the same for the rest of me).
They’ve got some functionality I don’t use, but it’s not a detriment to the pants (but might add some unnecessary cost): hidden drawstrings in the pant cuffs, and a “quick-release tab” for a cell phone. I don’t carry my phone in my pants when hunting because it’d shatter in the first mile. Oh well.
My previous favorite pants, L.L. Bean’s Technical Upland Pants, seem to weigh at least twice the Orvis pants, and aren’t nearly as durable. I’ve busted through extensive hawthorn thickets, brushed against coarse basalt, and taken copious soil samples with the Orvis Pro LT pants, and — as mentioned — they honestly still look new. The Bean pants’ soft-shell and Cordura fabric pilled up before the end of their first season, but the Orvis pants just keep taking it.
They’re a bit pricy ($149 as of today, although I just noticed they’re on sale for $119), but given how comfortable and tough they are, I’m okay with that.
Finally, in case you wondered, I bought these pants at full price with my own money, and even paid shipping (the same goes for all other gear I’ve reviewed). I wouldn’t say no to a “pro deal” with Orvis (or any other gear company, in case someone who matters is reading), but I don’t spend my time pursuing that sort of thing. Birds, books, bagpipes, and beer are way more interesting.