Hiking Pants - any recommendations?
 

Anyone have a recommendation for women's hiking pants? Preferably ones you've worn traveling already. If you wore them on the Inca Trail, that's a bonus!

I'm looking for ones to wear all around Peru for three weeks (multiple pairs, of course). Sandboarding, walking, trekking, Inca Trail...

There are just so many brands out there I don't know where to start!

Columbia is a brand that I've found to hold up well if you buy the better quality ones. They have a 100% nylon fabric that wicks, washes without breaking down, and isn't too stretchy.

The REI pants I formerly owned were nicely designed but the fabric and stitching didn't hold up.

My wife wore Royals Robbins zip off hiking pants on the Inca Trail in January. She loved them. It is so much easier to climb steep steps in shorts. And they dried very quickly when it rained. I would give you a link but we bought them in Canada.

My wife and I both wore Craghoppers Kiwis http://www.craghoppers.com/ on a year long RTW trip covering just about every climate imaginable (inc. trekking in several places in the Andes, and they were excellent. Made of polyester they are lightweight and dried very quickly when washed or wet. They are very hard wearing and, importantly when travelling , they have built in zipped security pocket removing the need for a money belt etc.

I also took a pair of Kiwi shorts as i am not keen on zip offs

I have 5 or 6 different brands by now. They're all fine really, including some from. Llbean, but of all my favs are ex officio buzz off (not so much for the insect repelling properties as fit and quality). They are zipoffs, so i use them as my sole pair of shorts also. But more frequently than shorts , I like capris, so also have a couple pairs that can roll up to capri length (always a little cooler)

Pants made with proprietary fabric called Schoellers is great because they stretch and give , which make them so comfortable.

REI has a pair called Acme hiking pants which works well for me.

Another source we don't think of often is LL Bean -they have carried good styles for women for reasonable prices.

I agree a good pair of hiking pants is not easy to find !

My favorite pair of hiking pants are North Face Horizon Tempest. They are made of ripstop nylon and roll up to capri length with buttons so they won't unroll. I have another pair (REI Sahara) that are zip offs, but I don't really like how the thick zipper area rubs my thighs. The NF have a zippered front pocket and both back pockets are buttoned. They wear great and are easy to wash out in a sink and will be dry by morning. I wore them hiking all over north Arizona in early April this year and they worked great. They work great on the trail, but also look fine with a nice shirt for dinner out. Even has a drawstring waist (along with belt loops) so I don't always have to wear a belt. I got my tan pair at REI, planning on getting another color soon.

Orvis carries insect repellent pants. You will want these on the Inca Trail and at MP. IME they work.