Montane Mens Terra Route Pants RRP £95

Product Information

Montane Terra Pants are the most popular technical hiking and adventure pants in the UK. While they’re amazingly lightweight and comfortable, the Terra Pants are too warm for late spring or summer hiking in New England where you’d sweat to death if you wore them. But they are ideal for our shoulder seasons in spring and autumn, when cooler temperatures, wet conditions, and cold winds are the norm. Technical Pants Often labeled as technical hiking pants, the Montane Terra’s provide an excellent fit as well as having built-in adjustability. The webbing belt is ultra-lightweight and low profile so can be worn under a harness. The ankles have 2 press stud levels to give you open, medium, or close-fitting options. You can also control the breathability of the pants with the thigh-high air vents which is such an underrated feature in most hiking pants. You can further increase breathability by opening the 1/4 length lower zips while keeping the press studs closed. I love a good breeze! You can get a stretch version here. The lower zips allow you to put them on without taking your hiking boots off and the button poppers let you tighten up the ankles for low-cut hiking shoes. Overall they are very comfortable and give you great freedom of movement without being too baggy. Adjustable and Breathable

The first feature that comes to mind for me is the stretchiness of these trousers. Like described before, when I’m outdoors I want to be comfortable and be able to move. The Terra Route Pants enable this very well. There isn't currently a female fit version of these trousers, but they do come in a big range of men's sizes from S to XXL and in two leg lengths. if you’ve got some trips lined up and are looking for some softshell trousers that are as warm, comfortable and practical as they are durable, you’ve come to the right place.” The reinforced panels of Cordura material on the seat, knees, and ankles are essential for any long-distance hike or heavy usage over time. They protect the points that are at the most risk of being damaged, without feeling any different or heavier than the purely TACTEL fabric areas. Wind and Water Resistant Hiking Pants The Montane Terra Pants are also available in heavyweight (Super Terra Pants), stretch (Terra Stretch Pants), and two styles of shorts ( Terra Shorts / Terra Alpine Shorts). How much are they?The Montane Terra Pants are obviously tailored towards hikers. The active cut is ideal for the challenges and repetitive leg movements of long-distance hiking. High-rising crotch allows you to get your knees up high when you need to and avoids the fabric bunching up. There is no stretch in the standard version, but the articulated or pre-bent knees do compensate for this somewhat.

The fit is active, with a high gusseted crotch and pre-bent knees to make it easy to take large steps for scrambling, climbing, and mountaineering. The waist is part elastic for a comfortable fit with a button and zip fly closure and removable webbing belt. Hiking in Montane Terra Pants Performance The 110g/m² lightweight nylon TACTEL is super tough and able to put up with an endless barrage of hard wear and tear. No matter how many times you scuff, scrape, snag, or catch your Terra Pants on rough or sharp objects, it never seems to leave a mark. I have managed to put a tiny hole in one pair thanks to some barbed wire but that small hole has never gotten bigger or compromised the strength.

Thigh Pocket

Constructed from tough GRANITE fabric providing durability, stretch, water repellency, a fast dry time. Aside from the aforementioned belt, soft-lined waist and reinforced patches, you’ll find ankle zips and poppers rounding out the feature set, allowing you to achieve the perfect fit over boots. Montane Terra Pants Verdict This Montane Terra Pants Review has been a long time coming because I have been wearing them for years now. They are my go-to choice for lightweight hiking trousers which are breathable for summer and perfect for layering up in winter. Made from a combination of TACTEL fabric with TEFLON surface finish and reinforced CORDURA patches on the bum, knees, and ankles. The pants are machine-washable at 40°C. As the fabric is very thin and doesn’t absorb much water, they dry very fast. Testing

While we tend to mostly showcase the latest and greatest new releases of the season in the Outdoor 100, we’re not adverse to featuring a bit of an old timer. So long as it can still more than pull its weight amongst the newbies. It’s as if they are custom fit. They are incredibly comfortable, even after 12 hours of hiking, kneeling and rolling around on the ground. Even though these trousers aren’t designed specifically for cold temperatures, I was very comfortable in -12C. The wind proof aspect of the GRANITE STRETCH fabric helped on this front.

Material

The Montane Terra Pants are remarkably wind resistant and warm, even though they feel so thin. I’ve taken them down to the 20 degrees (F) on hikes without feeling cold and feel confident that I could take them down even further without having to put on a long underwear base layer. I attribute this to the tightness of the weave which prevents the wind and cold from getting through and helps hold on to some of my body heat. It’s worth noting that Montane recommends washing the Terra’s with Nikwax Tech Wash, which is the way I’d normally care for a hard shell pant (to preserve the DWR) and not a pair of hiking pants. While this makes the Terra’s a bit higher maintenance to care for, it speaks to the fact that they share many of the performance characteristics of a softshell pant, such as water and wind resistance, without the associated price or weight. That said, I’ve been washing the Terras with regular detergent with no ill effects and plan to continue doing so because I wouldn’t count on them in the rain anyway. I carry hard shell rain pants year-round for that purpose. This goes for the Terra Route Pants too. I can honestly say that these will be my go to outdoor trousers for film and photo shoots. I probably wouldn’t use them again for extreme cold temperatures, but it’s comforting to see that even if I did, they’d offer more protection than I originally thought! For this review I opted for size small and the regular leg length. This is my usual size and the sizing in this case came out spot on. Around the thighs and lower leg there is just enough material to keep them loosely fitting but without loads of excess material. I really like the inclusion of the press stud around the ankle to bring the trousers in around the hem. I have this constantly buttoned up as it gives you a slightly neater fit at the ankle, which I like for climbing. The Terra Route Pants have been cut in Montane’s Classic Fit, Legwear that has been designed for all-round mountain use. The trousers are available in a variety of leg lengths, so in practice, they should fit a wide range of body shapes and types. The extra room in the trousers can make them more comfortable than some other outdoor fit trousers that take a slimmer fit approach, but Montane made sure not to add too much material to make for a baggy fit, the last thing you’d want when out in the mountains, especially when it gets windy.

From kneeling down, and lying on the ground to film lower angles, the stretch of the fabric makes in very comfortable and easily manoeuvrable. Some outdoor trousers I’ve experienced with a good amount of manoeuvrability, then compromise on the longevity of the fabric. However this isn’t the case with these because they’ve reinforced the stress points - namely the knee area.

Pre articulated knees allow for ease of movement, especially when stepping high during climbing and scrambling, and triple stitching is used in vulnerable areas to increase durability. I wore the Terra Route Pants in size Large, with Regular leg length. Much like the XT Hoodie, I found the Terra Route Pants fit very well. I like how Montane have a simple, yet a wide choice of sizing; they offer XS - XXL, in addition to offering a short, regular or long leg length fit. An additional feature that they included was a simple, removable belt which is always a bonus for me.