When out and about on your travels, you bring along maybe two to three pair of bottoms. Because you wear those pants without washing more frequently than your tops, having a solid pair of pants for the road matters more than most think.
A good pair of pants can make or break your journey.
As always, we have a unique set of criterias when evaluating which is actually the best.
- Comfort – How comfortable are they? Do they remain comfortable after long periods of time travelling?
- Style – Sorry, but no baggy, 10-pocket cargo pants, no matter how functional they are. We look for slim (not skinny) sleek-looking pants that you will look good in whether you are travelling or not.
- Easy to Pack – They should roll up easily and take a small space in your one bag. They should ideally be lightweight and wrinkle and stain resistant so you don’t have to worry about keeping them clean all the time.
- Versatility – If you have a pants for every occasion, that wouldn’t be very minimalist. We don’t believe in travel-centric extra features that don’t make sense in everyday situations. A versatile travel pants should make you look good in almost all situations.
Below is what we think are the best travel pants for the minimalist traveller. Travel light with less.
Mountain Hardware Men's Hardwear AP™ Pant
This pant is made for all-day wear, not just travel. Made from a blended canvas fabric that’s 75% cotton, 23% nylon, and 2% elastane, it comprises of the perfect combination of qualities that we have as a criteria. Comfort, durability and stretch lets you use this in almost all situation, whether on a plane for long hours, or climbing at the local gym or at the bar with your colleagues for a cold one after work. The sleek minimal profile looks great, but with the stitched across the thighs, it looks slightly more “tech” compared to the rest.
Uniqlo Slim Fit Chino Flat Front Pants
Imagine you could have a piece of clothing that is low-cost yet sleek. Uniqlo is just that, and with so many outlets in so many countries, replacing one is as easy as can be. This chino pants is a great budget pick with stretch fabric so you don’t have to worry about tearing a hole like with other slim chinos. The style is classic, perfect for dressy or casual occasions.
Bonobos Tech Chinos
Like all the other pants in this list, Bonobos’ offering is a moisture-wicking breathable tech fabric that is made up of cotton, polyamide, and elastane, and features 3XDry Advanced Moisture Management technology. The combination of material helps you stay cool and dry all day. Not only that, these pants are water, stain and dirt-repellent, so it’s ready for all your wildest travel encounters.
Outlier Slim Dungarees
Designed to be the “21st Century Jean”, is made to be the only pants you need. For those new to tech fabrics, Outlier Slim Dungarees is considered by most to be the benchmark, with durability and versatility like a pair of sturdy jeans yet come with useful features like water and wrinkle resistance. The pants stays dry in light rain and you can wash off stains easily without compromising its core style. Go through all the elements and still look sharp for your dinner date with the Outlier Slim Dungarees.
Outlier Futureworks
Yep, Outlier is one of the best brands when it comes to travel pants. The Futureworks was an attempt from them to take the classic office-suitable look, and mash it with a technical movement in a lightweight yet durable pant.
They breathe great, making them one of the best pants for hot and humid climates, yet they’re also water resistant treatment to helps keep them clean and dry, making them a pretty darn perfect pair of travel pants.
Outlier Strong Dungarees
Last one from Outlier, I promise. This one is a denim killer. But, it’s no denim.
For those who can’t get past their worn out denim jeans, this might be a good step up to the world of travel pants.
There are hard-wearing, travel-ready pants made to be bombproof.
Western Rise Evolution Pants
After three years of searching for the perfect fabric, the Evolution Pant was created to be a highly-functional pair of pants designed to be the only pants you need for travel, outdoors and everyday.
With a unique stretch nylon fabric, The Evolution Pant is stronger, softer, stain-proof and packed full of travel features to allow you to do more with less! This is literally the only pants you need.
That’s it.
As we have always said, we rather show you a shortlist of items we really like, then a long one making it hard for you to pick the one you want. So, this is all that we feel confident to say that we endorse and as always since we know we are particular when it comes to choosing what to show you. Here are those that didn’t quite make our cut. We are not saying these are bad, but just that they are not our cup of tea. Maybe they are yours.