Men’s Travel Pants: The unicorn of the travel wardrobe | What to take and how to avoid overpacking are some of the most vexing problems in travel prep. Having durable clothing that looks good, doesn’t get dirty, and performs well from the city to the trail definitely makes packing and planning easier and this is why nearly every minimalist traveler is on the search for the perfect pair of travel pants.
Having the perfect travel pants is one piece in a system that let’s you travel the world with only a carry on backpack, avoiding baggage fees, the risk of losing baggage, and making the process of getting into and out of airports much easier. The perfect travel could be your single pant for an entire trip – making your bag smaller and lighter and your life a bit more simple.
Unfortunately, the perfect travel pants don’t exist, but there are plenty of options, depending on your type of travel, style, and individual needs. To find the best travel pants for your needs, style, and adventure, we first need to understand what contributes to a great travel pant
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15+ Great Men’s Travel Pants for Every Style and Budget
CONTENTS
What determines a Good Pair of Men’s Travel Pants?
Materials & Construction & Construction, Style, and Travel Appropriateness…
…or click here to jump to the list of Best Travel Pants Options for Men
Materials & Constructions in Travel Pants
When it comes to assessing a potential pair of travel pants men need to judge the pants on a few, select traits to ensure a comfortable, durable, and stylish pair of pants suited to their unique travels and adventures.
The perfect travel pants for men will have all of the traits listed below to some degree, but will never have all perfectly.
Hiking pants will be durable and breath foremost.
Travel ready chinos will have a refined cut, be stain and wrinkle resistant, and be able to go days without washing.
Travel ready jeans will be comfortable and stylish, while being lightweight, drying quicker than normal, and adding a bit of stretch.
The bottom line: When looking for the perfect travel pants men need to prioritize the traits for the travel and activities to come and the style/materials necessary. Use the following list as a checklist of what to look for in those perfect pants
- Breathable: Do the pants allow air (and water vapor from sweat) to pass through easily? Or is moisture easily trapped?
- Moisture wicking: For sweat that accumulates next to the skin, does the fabric transfer it out to dry? Or trap it next to the skin.
- Quick drying: How quickly do the pants dry? How well do they dry in the shade or in lower temperatures?
- Durable: How well does the pants’ fabric stand up to abrasion
- Odor Resistant: How many washes can you skip before the funk becomes too strong?
- Dirt and stain Resistant: resistance to dirt and grim will let you skip washes when on the move
- Water resistant: Small spills rolling off the pants and light rain being shed quickly will ease your life
- Slight stretch: Slight freedom of movement makes the pants more suitable for active activities and comfortable on long flights
- Packable (low bulk and weight): When folded or rolled, how much space do the pants take up compared to other clothes?
- Reinforcement in high stress areas: Gusseted crotches and additional layers of cloth at the knees will let you use these pants a little harder without worry and save you the time and money of replacing them anytime soon
Style & Cut in a Pair of Men’s Travel Pants
Style and cut arguably has the most influence on how versatile a pair of pants are. If trimmed too baggily and with too much a hiking cut, you won’t be able to blend in at that nice restaurant you’ll go to from time to time. If the cut is too trendy and fashionable, you’ll be out of style by the time you return from your trip or the cut will restrict your movement making the pants unsuitable for hiking and adventure activities (I’m looking at you skinny jeans).
The best men’s travel pants will have a timeless, neutral fit, not too baggy, not too slim, with just enough room to let you move. This approach will lead to a pair of pants that you can wear for years virtually anywhere without issue
Key Points to Look for in the Style and Cut of Travel Pants
- Neutral styling – fits in the city but isn’t restrictive in the backcountry
- Slightly active cut for freedom of movement (aided by slight stretch in the Materials & Constructions)
Pants that are styled & cut like jeans, chinos, or minimalist hiking pants tend to be more suitable for a wider range of circumstances and stand the test of style over time.
Travel Specific Features that Improve a Pair of Pants
If you had all of the above, you might have the perfect pant, but not the perfect travel pant…yet.
The best travel clothing companies add their own tiny features that enhance or ease how you travel. A few examples include
- Hidden security pockets: Travel pants with hidden pockets ward off pickpockets and make it easier to travel through public spaces with
- Zippered or buttoned pockets to ward off pickpockets
- Stow pockets: that allow you to stow the pants into themselves
- Extra comfort: Soft waistband, slight stretch, and soft lined internal fabric make for a pair of comfortable travel pants. Mens pants normally prioritize function – adding comfort makes for a pair of pants ready for daily wear.
Pro Tips for Picking Up a Great Pair of Travel Pants
1. Search the used market for high dollar brands
Ebay and and Reddit used gear forums are great options for picking up great, lightly used gear within your budget.
2. Ditch the Traditional Jeans when Traveling beyond city limits
Once upon a time, Levi Strauss’ jeans were a wonderfully high tech innovation. Its not that time anymore. Traditional cotton jeans are heavy, dry slowly, and restrict movement in a way that make them horrible for the outdoors or any activity that’s potentially wet or has a lot of movement. If your travels are confined to the cities, jeans may work. If you adventure beyond city limits, do yourself a favor and ditch the jeans in favor of one of the travel upgrades below.
3. Pick a pair pants that are suited to your activities and travel style instead of a pair of pants that do everything
If you’ll spend most of a vacation hiking, then your pants don’t need to look like slacks, just stylish (like the Foehn Brise Pants). However, if you don’t plan on trouncing through the woods, a techy pair of slacks (like the Bluffworks Ascender Chinos). But if you do need to adventure everywhere and do everything, paying a little extra for an unbeatable pant (like the Western Rise Evolution Pantshttps://western-rise.pxf.io/at-pant). Aim for pants that fit your task, your adventure, your style, and that’s it, and it will make finding the perfect travel pants mens easiest travel task.
Now, let’s get into our list of the best travel pants for men…
The Best Travel Pants Available (A Running List)
- Western Rise Evolution Pants | Perfect “Onebag” Travel Pant
- Foehn Brise Pants | The Perfect Travel Hiking Pants
- Prana | Brion | Stylish and Outdoor Ready
- Prana | Stretch Zion Straight | Stylish, Outdoor Ready, and Comfy
- Uniqlo | Dry-ex Ankle Pants | Cheap and Effective
- Bluffworks | Chino | Classy, Office Ready, and Made for Travel
- Western | Rise AT Slim | Stylish, Travel Ready, Ready to Move
- Mission Workshop | The Mission Jean | An overbuilt and amazing tech jean
- Outlier | Futureworks | Classy slacks that are made for hiking
- Outlier | Slim Dungarees | Comfortable, very fashionable, and versatile
- Outlier | Strong Dungarees | Tough as nails, ready for anything
- Eddie Bauer | Horizon Guide 5 Pant | Cheap, comfortable hiking pants
- Eddie Bauer | First Ascent guide pro pants | Comfortable hiking pants with a refined look
- Lululemon | Commission Pant Slim
- Lululemon | ABC Pant Slim
- GORUCK | Challenge Pants | Tough as nails, ready for hard use, lifetime guarantee
- GORUCK | Simple Pant |Ready for hard use or daily life
- Oliver Apparel | Passage Pant | Stylish and versatile travel pant
- Patagonia | Stonycroft | Hiking pants that are obsessively designed
Western Rise Evolutionhttps://western-rise.pxf.io/Evolution-pants Pants ($149)
The Most Perfect Travel Pants for Men I have Ever Tested…
- Price: $149
- Style: 5 pocket jeans with a slimmer cut, without being too slim. Would fit perfectly for a night out or a day in the office
- Materials & Construction
- Custom made Supplex nylon combines hundreds of extremely tiny, strong, and air texturized threads combining them into a single, durable, yet soft fabric. Tough enough for use in rock climbing gear. Repels stains, dries quickly, packs small, and is extremely light.
- Durable hardware throughout
- Travel Readiness Features:
- Two hidden zippered pockets
- Water resistant finish
- Repels grime, dirt, and stains like no other
Foehn Brise Pants | ($130)
The perfect travels pants (mens) for hiking, adventuring, and casually styled travel
- Price: $130
- Style: Jeans styling with a hybrid track pant-hiking pant construction. Best of all worlds.
- Materials & Construction
- Durable Water Repellant Finished 100% polyester fabric designed for stretch, hard use, and abrasion, finished with YKK hardware
- Travel Readiness Features:
- Stretch fabric and soft feel make for tons of comfort
- Zippered thigh pocket with internal mesh organization proves useful for passports and tech
GORUCK | Simple Pant ($165)
Tough pants with a lifetime warranty, designed for hard use.
The design of jeans built with a 2-way stretch GORUCK’s “ToughDry” fabric that packs down small and dries fast (Same fabric as the GORUCK Challenge Pants in a jean cut for understated, everyday wear)
- Price: $165
- Style: Jeans
- Materials & Construction
- 94% nylon, 6% spandex
- Made in the USA
- Lifetime Warranty
Bluffworks | Chino ($125)
“Stretch, breathability, wrinkle resistance, and comfort, but without leaving you looking like part of the tourist herd.” Designed to be an
- Price: $125 on Bluffworks.com
- Style: Chinos
- Travel Readiness Features: Anti theft “secret pocket”
- Materials & Construction:
- 100% polyester, quick drying with nylon pockets
Also Consider the Bluffworks Originals for ‘only $98
Western Rise | AT Slim ($128)
“Extremely durable, stretch nylon canvas with air-texturized fibers makes them both lighter and more durable than cotton denim. The AT Cloth sheds water in a light rainstorm, dries extremely fast when wet… “
- Price: $128
- Style: Jeans
- Travel Readiness
Features: Rear
right hidden zippered pocket
- Materials & Construction: air-texturized rugged nylon canvas with slight 2 way stretch (97% nylon, 3% spandex), finished with a durable water repellent. YKK Zippers
- Made in America
GORUCK | Challenge Pants ($195)
- Price: $195
- Style: Hiking
- Travel Readiness Features
- Zippered cargo pockets with drain holes
- Materials & Construction
- 94% nylon, 6% spandex
- Abrasion resistant with two way stretch
- Diamond gusset (diamond shaped piece sewn into the crotch area) for
extra stretch during high steps and squats - Articulated knees for greater range of motion
- Made in
USA
- Lifetime Guarantee
Prana | Brion ($80)
- Price: $79.99
- Style: Jeans
- Materials & Construction
- “Stretch Zion fabric” with 97% Nylon, 3% Spandex
- Travel Readiness Features:
- Mesh Pockets
Prana | Stretch Zion Straight ($89)
- Price: $89
- Style: Jean/Hiking (yet…pretty stylish for a hiking pant)
- Travel Readiness Features
- Mesh, flow through pockets
- Materials & Construction
- 97% Nylon / 3% Spandex
- Durable Water Repellent Finish
- Quick dry stretch performance fabric
- Abrasion resistant
- Also See: The Stretch Zion Pant – for a fuller fit
Uniqlo | Dry-ex Ankle Pants ($10)
A budget friendly pair of travel chinos that are completely synthetic, odor fighting, and ready to be your single pair of travel pants. If you manage to find something cheaper, let me know.
- Price: $29.90 (on sale for $9.90 at time of writing)
- Style: Chinos
- Quick Drying
- Anti-Microbial
- Anti-Odor
- Nylon/Polyester/Spandex blend
Mission Workshop | The Mission Jean ($285)
- Price: $285
- Style: Jeans
- Materials & Construction:
4 way stretch- Abrasion-resistant, breathable, wicks moisture via Durable Water Repellent
Finish, and retains shape - 55% Cotton / 35% Polyamide / 10% Elastane
Outlier | Futureworks ($140)
Much cheaper and durable than the famed Outlier Slim Dungarees and though they lack the
Read more in our Review of the Outlier Slim Dungarees
or
- Price: $140
- Style: Chinos
- Materials & Construction:
- Lightweight and breathable, while the light DWR
- 2 Way Stretch
- 97% Nylon, 3% Elastane canvas from Cordura yarns woven in Sweden
Outlier | Slim Dungarees ($198)
A high-tech
Read more in our Outlier Clothing Review: Assessing Slim Dungarees, Strong Dungarees, Futureworks, and the New Way Shorts for Travel.
- Price: $198
- Style: Jeans
- Materials & Construction
- Made from Outliers’ Workcloth Doubleweave Canvas of
82% Nylon, 16% Polyester, 2% Elastane - 4 way stretch
- Stays dry in light rain, yet dries fast if it does get wet
- Stain resistant
- Made in Portugal with Swiss fabric
- Made from Outliers’ Workcloth Doubleweave Canvas of
Outlier | Strong Dungarees ($198)
Designed from a tough technical “Strongtwill” to be the bulletproof pants that Levis Strauss intended to make. Add slight stretch, quick drying, and odor resistant properties and you have a damn tough pair of travel pants. I wore mine for 3 months and still didn’t break them in.
Read more in our Outlier Clothing Review: Assessing the Slim Dungarees, Strong Dungarees, Futureworks, and the New Way Shorts for Travel.
- Price: $198
- Style: Jeans
- Materials & Construction:
- Made from
Strongtwill , 96% Nylon, 4% Elastane,
dubbed by Outlier as “a tough as fuck fabric.” (From my experience wearing them, I’m inclined to agree) - Slight 2 way stretch
- Slight water resistance
- Made from
Eddie Bauer | Horizon Guide 5 Pant ($50)
- Price: $50
- Style: Jeans
- Materials & Constructions
- 94% nylon/6% spandex
- Water Repellent Finish
- 2 Way Stretch Fabric
- Lifetime Gurantee
Eddie Bauer | First Ascent Guide Pro Pants ($60)
A traditional guide pant designed for all season use, updated with technical fabrics, streamlined fit, and
- Price: $60 at Eddie Bauer Online
- Style: Hiking Pant
- Travel Readiness Features
- Secure zip cargo pocket
- Materials & Construction:
- 94% nylon/6% spandex
Two way nylon, spandex stretch - Durable water repellent finish
- Lightweight fabric packs down small
- 94% nylon/6% spandex
- Lifetime Guarantee
Lululemon | Commission Pant Slim ($128)
- Price: $128
- Style: Chinos
- Travel Readiness Features
- Hidden zippered hip pocket
- Materials & Construction
- Sweat-wicking
- 4 Way Stretch
- Synthetic
Lululemon | ABC Pant Slim ($79)
- Price: $79 at Lululemon.com
- Style: Jeans
- Travel Readiness Features
- Hidden zippered hip pocket for stowing
phone
- Hidden zippered hip pocket for stowing
- Materials & Construction
Sweatwicking - 4 Way Stretch
Oliver Apparel | Passage Pant ($158)
- Price: $158 at Olivers Apparel, $150 on Amazon
- Style: Jean
- Materials & Construction
- 4-way stretch.
- Durable CORDURA threads
- Italian Hardware
- 12 Month Return Policy
Patagonia | Stonycroft ($62)
- Price: $89 at Patagonia.com, $62 at REI.com
- Style: Hiking Pants
- Materials & Construction
- 4 Way Stretch
- Durable Water Repellent (DWR) finish
- 95% nylon (67% recycled)/5% spandex
- Travel Readiness Features
- 2 front hand zip pockets; 2 rear zip pockets; zip thigh pocket holds a multitool or your lip balm
Other great travel gear articles
- My 10 Favorite Travel Shirts
- 15+ of the Best Carry on Sized Backpacks
- The 21 Best Packing Cubebs for Backpacking
- Great Men’s Travel Shorts for Every Style, Budget, and Adventure
- The Best Tactical Backpacks for Travelers
- Outlier Clothing for Travelers: A Review of the New Way Shorts, Slim Dungarees, and Futureworks Slacks
- The Carry on Packing List: Everything you need for travel, in a single backpack
- Best Packable Daypacks: 27 of the best compressible daypacks to carry conveniently by day and stow when flying
- Best Boots for Travel: 15 Lightweight, comfortable, and travel friendly boots
- Best Backpacks for Techy Travelers: 17 packs for digital nomads and wanderers with plenty of electronics
- Best Shorts for Travel
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carlos is a nomad, slow traveler, and writer dedicated to helping others live abroad and travel better by using his 7+ years of experience living abroad and background as a management consultant and financial advisor to help other nomad and expats plot better paths for an international lifestyle. Click here to learn more about Carlos's story.