babybunny-

What features do you really want in your hiking pants? My current favorite hiking pants are modified wind pants. I found a pair of drawstring-waist pants on clearance. The outer layer was a woven polyester or nylon that had been "peached" to a cottony feel. The sewn-in liner was a cotton knit.

My modifications: Cut off the waistband, roll the edge and insert a less complex simple elastic waist band into a "tunnel" that I sewed for this purpose. This waistband was far lighter than the original and cut out the top of the cotton liner. Next, I took out the stitching on the cuffs, removed that elastic, and added a narrow hem. This got the liner removed entirely with little effort and cut the weight of the pair of pants in half. Finally, I sewed a button hole in one end of each of two lengths of matching color 1/2" (or so) grosgrain ribbon, and sewed the non-button-hole-end inside the pant legs on the outer seam, about midway up the thigh. I added a button that fit the button hole on the outside of the pants, through the attached ribbon, right at the "top" of it. Voila! I had a pair of pants with roll-up legs, so the function of zip-offs was there, but without the hassle of the extra zipper weight or of getting the legs off over my shoes/removing my shoes, safely stowing them, etc. It was great to be able to roll up the legs when I wanted to cool down or drop them again when about to walk through an overgrown area of trail.

Adding a fanny pack to my kit took care of the missing storage of not having patch pockets. With the clearance (slightly oversized ) wind pants, elastic, ribbon, and two buttons, the pants cost me about $10, weigh less than 8 oz, and are comfortable and quick to dry. The fanny pack ended up being more convenient than stuffing pockets, since I can grab it to take with me into my hammock or a store, whatever.

If your REALLY want zip-off pants, I sometimes see 2XLT and XS sizes at REI.

Good Luck!

CamperMom