Here we go: http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/mens/mens-pants/mens-casual-pants/95109.aspx


I think this covers all the bases- synthetic fiber from DT, and expressly business casual. There are also some "covert cargo pants with pockets concealed along the thigh inseam - 5.11 and REI have examples.

Note that some of DTs Fire Hose items are treated for water repellancy. That has worked for me, which is no surprise since for the last few seasons I have been digging indoors in air conditioned comfort. I generally prefer synthetics in outdoors situations although sometimes traditional cotton denim seems to work the best - just don't get caught in bad weather.

Hikermor, those look good. The price looks good too. I may have to order a pair. Thanks for the link.

Note that I didn't say don't ever wear cotton. Blue jeans, Carharts etc are fine for some things. I'm wearing jeans as I type and am about to go out to do some chores. It's sunny and about 40 F (4 C) out today, but we still have about a foot (.3 M) of snow on the ground, which is getting pretty slushy in the sun. At night it has been dropping to below freezing. I'll probably get a little wet doing my chores, which is no big deal, since I can easily go in and get dry.

However, if I were in a survival situation it would be a different story. Trying to build improvised shelters in conditions such as today, one would likey get wet. If you were wearing cotton you could be in serious trouble when the sun went down.

In climates that are always (or almost always) dry, cotton is OK. Likewise in climates that are wet but always warm. But in my part of the world, I generally stick to synthetics for any activity where there is any significant chance I may be stuck outdoors.

Duluth has TV commercials?

Here we have the occasional shower in the desert. And wind. I've been out in it in denim, and nearly naked on occasion. Cotton is good untill then. And I have synthetics, wind and warmth layers in my gear.

No. The "gasket" is hardly worth a thing.

Thanks.
Conway Yee

I wore 5.11's for quite a while, but then I bought my first pair of VersaTac-light Pant from RailRiders. The 5.11's don't see much use these days. I also have the VersaTac Ultra light and the Winter Weather pants -- good stuff, 100% nylon.

The toughest pants I've ever had are the military issue 50/50 cotton/nylon BDU pants, temperate climate weight. The "summer weight" ones are thinner. They're slightly heavy for hiking and such, but not bad, particularly if a lighter weight shirt is worn. Wearing both the upper and lower BDU uniform on a hot day wasn't much fun. The are 50% cotton, so they don't dry all that quickly, but they're good as work pants and the like.

I'm with AKSAR, though, for the outdoors I like 100% nylon. Light, tough, dries quickly.

HJ

Back in the day I wore a lightly different BDU, but I don't recall that they were fun to wear on any day, even including cold days (in Korea AKA frozen Chosen). I really like civvie style garments!

Back before there were as many choices in nylon outdoor pants available, I sometimes used BDU style pants in 50/50 cotton/nylon. I would coat the bejeezus out of them with water repellent spray. They sort of worked OK, the water repellent coating kept them dry longer and being 50% nylon they dried somewhat quicker than cotton. And they were tough. There was an outfit that made them in other than just camo, so I didn't have to look quite so much like a "tacti-cool" geek.

However, once the all nylon pants made specifically for outdoor use became widely available I quit using the 50/50 stuff. For serious outdoor use I've never looked back.

Having lived a good portion of my life in the PNW and locations of similar climate, I can say that I have spent a number of days in near hypothermic condition because of "death cloth" as we refer to cotton. That being said, I am pretty much in blue jeans, most of the polypro and nylon garments heat me up so badly that I am soaked and uncomfortable in them as well...