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Each year introduces new styles and materials, and we try to reflect the best on the market of that year. Some trousers remain on the list, year after year. They are either so good, or so good of a deal, that they are tough to topple.
There are few other products we test at GearJunkie that are considered non-negotiable in society. Outside the house, you gotta wear pants (or shorts). And if you’re choosing shorts, you’re probably not looking at the right pants. Travel pants are part of our everyday uniform allowing us to test them daily. We test pants for the office grind, after school errands, dispatching weekend chores, and yes, of course, travel. We constantly log testing hours in pants to find the best travel pants on the market.We scored each pant for both its ability to adventure, wear in coach, and hit the streets. Some pants, like DUER’s Live Free Adventure have a bias for stout use. The heavy material is coated with a solid DWR and is our choice for adventure trips where you can’t sacrifice durability. Athleisure has stretched its gym-toting, sneaker-sporting style into our everyday wear for years now. Online brand Public Rec has leaned into the theme and carved out a niche in ‘work-leisure’. The panels are stitched together to create incredibly comfortable pants. They’re light enough to wash and hang dry overnight, and ready to rinse and repeat for another day of exploring. We found the Mission Pants to be lighter than other commuter pants on the market. The 232gsm fabric breathes well and moves with the body without feeling like a protective shell. They wear easy at the office and feel at home on the street. And if you grab a bike by the horns, both cuffs flip up to reveal reflective hits to keep you seen on the go. Almost every pant on our list has a great fit. If they didn’t, we’ve shared the cons. Both the Clothing Arts‘ and UNIONBAY’s ran a little long. On the other end, Public Rec offers a variety of inseams for a dialed fit (from 28-36″), Aviatorwill hem your jeans to your personal fit, and the rest were spot on for length. (Photo/Emily Malone) Function
Tied up with the drawcord (which we loved), the Everywhere 2 pants fall closer to a jogger than a chino. The material forms to your body after a few days of wear, relaxing into a comfortable fit.
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True to size, the nylon-spandex blend offers just enough stretch for a full range of motion. The pants keep around the waist with a button and have traditional belt loops if you want to class them up with a belt. The ability to secure your essentials makes these some of the best men’s travel pants available. The only real downside of the Ascender pants is that they’re highly sought after, and popular colors in slim sizes can be hard to get. But they’re worth the wait!
The material should be lightweight and, in our preference, darker to minimize showing the dirt collected along the way. That said, we were astounded by how well a fresh DWR can resist stains on even the fairest beige pants. (Photo/Steve Graepel) Fabric Weight While these pants aren’t ‘triple secure,’ the material is triple crown. Lightweight, stretchy, and durable, the proprietary nylon is made specifically for Clothing Arts. They wear easy around town and on hikes, and ours dressed up nice enough to visit the French Royal Residence (well, to tour Versailles). Editor’s Note: We updated this guide on October 25, 2023 to include additional information on our testing practices and history, and ensure that our selection is still accurate. The Best Men’s Travel Pants of 2023 The pantis primarily made from a summer-weight cotton blend that is soft to the touch but with a little give, thanks to the spandex. They are finished with a DWR, but they won’t dry as fast as fully synthetic pants, but are touted to dry 25% faster than traditional denim. Variety is the spice of life, and that applies to your wardrobe in the same way it does to your dinner plate. You wouldn’t eat the same food every day, so why would you wear the same outfit. Many of us can fall into the habit of just throwing on the same jeans wherever we go. But, try diversifying this year with a pair of cargo trousers. Cargo trousers?If you don’t work in an office, and spend most of your time outdoors or doing manual work, finding the right workwear can sometimes be difficult. But, due to their comfy nature, which provides easy movement, and their sturdiness, cargo trousers make an excellent work wardrobe addition. Easy daywear Most of the pants on this list are woven from synthetic fibers. Synthetics tend to stand up to more abuse than their natural counterparts. For example, Ornot’s Mission Pant is incredibly durable and are built for men who abuse pants while in the saddle. Instead of the typical button or snap closure, Roark chose a non-traditional boardshort lace belt. Borrowing from the surf world, the drawstring threads through the waist and zigzags in front to tie the pants over the zipper fly. Lost some weight? Overindulged in the local food scene? It doesn’t matter. Airports can be uncomfortable, so do yourself a favor and spend your travel days in the most comfortable pants you can find; (photo/Steve Graepel) How We Tested Men’s Travel Pants Sustainability is core to LIVSN’s line of clothes, and the Ecotrek Trail pant walks the talk. The material is woven from Oceanflex fabric (70% recycled fishing buoys recovered from the ocean), and the YKK zipper taping is made from recycled ocean plastic. The rest is 25% nylon and 5% spandex for stretch.