> Can someone please give me a steer on BDU's? Are they all pretty much
> the same? Where do I purchase them? That info is probably back there
> somewhere, huh...

If they're real government issue, there are some variations in materials and weaves, but mostly they're all alike. I buy mine at government surplus stores in the various towns around here, so I can try them on. I've bought them in black, khaki, and navy, but not the camo patterns - I have no desire to look military. In solid colors, they just look like cargo pants.

I'd suggest trying a variety of makes, though: BDUs, REI, Ex Officio - whoever makes cargo pants. My preference is personal, and yours will be, too. I find heavier fabrics stand up better in use. The pockets on nylon and other thin man-made fabrics sag more than heavy cotton and don't maintain their shape when full of stuff; in the desert, I get some static electricity in unnatural fabrics that can be an unpleasant surprise, and while cotton absorbs sweat and lets it evaporate, some man-made fabrics don't absorb it and are very uncomfortable when I'm sweating like a pig.

I haven't bought pants that zip off at the knee, and I've lost track of how many guys I've seen wearing them - Many with the zipper pulled out at the seams, because the zipper is where your knee is when you're kneeling or sitting.