Compared to my typical pants choice (Dickies, Carhartts, Mountain Khakis) the Granite Camp Pants save weight and are a more versatile outdoors option.
From big hikes on the trail, to work appointments downtown, you want a pant that has your back (and bottom).
Enter the Western Rise Camp Pants 2.0 ($109): A Swiss Army knife of pants that’s versatile and technical, but designed with fashion in mind. You can go from your adventure’s main objective to Main Street’s main attraction without giving up performance or style.
In short: The stretchy nylon pants are UPF 50-plus and DWR-treated to block sun, repel water, and dry fast.
Reviewed: Western Rise Pants
Western Rise, based in Telluride, Colo., makes apparel for life in the mountains. While most of its line is more lifestyle than summit-ready, the brand applies some features of alpine-style gear into its everyday clothing.
The pockets are deep, sleek, and made from polyester mesh so they drain easily and quickly when creek stomping.
Back pockets have magnetic snaps for accessible security. Plus, the back-right pocket has a hidden zippered pocket, and the right-front pocket features a semi-hidden cell phone pocket.
Big Pockets, Stretchy Comfort
The Granite Camp Pants were my go-to pair on a recent trip to Austin, Texas, to attend a cousin’s wedding. I was able fit all my belongings—wallet, pocket notebook, pen, cell phone, headphones, travel docs, etc.—in my pockets cleanly and without uncomfortable bulge or tug.
Also, I am a one backpack type of traveler. Baggage fees and the accompanying travel anxiety over lost gear is a brutal part of flying. I needed a do-everything, packable pair of slacks.
The Granite Camp Pants were comfortable and unrestrictive on the flight. Best of all, I had just a single pair for classy brunches, and stomping around town for street tacos and honky-tonk music.
Additional features include a drawstring waistband, cinchable and reinforced reflective flip cuffs for biking, creek crossing, or panache, a chalk-bag clip for climbing… these pants have it all. Oh, and the big callout, they are comfortable as all get out.
Quick Dry, Water-Resistant Pants
The snow in the Colorado mountain town where I live has finally melted off the streets. But sloppy, mixed conditions exist on trails above town. I hiked in the Granite Camp Pants and found the stretchy nylon great when navigating muddy, snowy sections and lunging from boulder to boulder.
I also plan to take them with me on river trips this spring and summer. The DWR treatment will surely come in handy and the pants pack down into a small, tight roll. Compared to my typical choice (Dickies, Carhartts, Mountain Khakis) these pants save weight, space, and are a more versatile outdoors option.
I am certain that I’ll use them rather than my board shorts for early season floats. They dry quickly and ski pants have covered my pasty, sensitive Irish thighs since last fall. Exposing my milky skin to the sun needs to be done in slow stages.
Western Rise Granite Camp Pants: Form Meets Function
Levi’s and long walks don’t mix. After five minutes uphill, you can cook lasagna inside denim.
Western Rise walks the thin line between form and function. The Granite Camp Pants 2.0 don’t look like those dweeby, trail nerd, zip-off cargo pants made by larger outdoor retailers. But they don’t sacrifice the performance of said geek trousers. Western Rise camouflages the functionality.
If you are looking to streamline your wardrobe and are in need of one pair of pants to use any and everywhere, these are the slacks for you. Truly, Western Rise has made it easier for you and I to be better, nay, classier dirtbags. And for that I commend them.
