Trekking Trousers for the Himalayas

When deciding on trekking trousers for the Himalayas, there’s a lot to choose from. Loose and baggy or tight fit? How much do you need your trekking pants to be wind-proof and water-proof? Do you go with warm trousers or use lightweight trousers combined with a thermal base layer? Gore-Tex® hardshell or more breathable soft shell? And what about the zip-off-into-shorts style trousers? There are so many types of trekking trousers. What’s best? And what’s actually necessary?

But let’s keep it simple and have a look at some of the best trekking trousers out there. For 20 bucks or so, you can get a pair of normal plastic rain trousers. They'll be water- and wind-proof, but neither warm, comfortable, durable or very practical. So what else is out there:

Regular Hiking Trousers

For non-extreme trekking in the Himalayas, you can usually get away with a pair of conventional cotton-nylon hiking/trekking trousers. They are not warm, but combined with thermal underwear they’ll do the trick and allow you to adjust clothing as the temperature varies with altitude. Here are a few good options. The first is the Royal Robbins Bivy, trail-ready trousers. A simple, durable, comfortable and flexible design. Also wind-proof and water-resistant with zipper-locked pockets. Second one is for those who prefer the baggy trousers. They are super-lightweight (6 oz, 170g!) and still wind-proof. And third is the zip-off trousers that allow you to turn trousers into shorts on the warmer low-altitude parts of the trail.

Himalaya Trekking Trousers

Moving into the more advances trekking trousers, there are some really nice options making use of modern fabrics. I can’t say enough praises for the Schoeller Dryskin fabric. It is very lightweight, stretches to fit your legs in all situations and deals very well with wet conditions. Hard to explain really. When they get wet it doesn’t feel like anything special. Like your skin, it just dries up again quickly somehow. Getting a bit wet doesn’t matter anymore! Personally I have the summer versions from Mammut (3 pairs!) but haven’t been able to find them online. But there’s some similar ones here on the right. Number 1 and 2 using the Schoeller-Dryskin, number 3 using Gore-Tex. All really good for tough Himalayan conditions, exerting yourself uphill in cool conditions. Trousers for tough conditions

If you're trekking in the Himalayas during the monsoon season from June to August (May and September also see rain sometimes), or if you're crossing high-passes and moving through snow (typically December to February), you should take advantage of the newest material and techniques to keep yourself comfortable and dry in snow and rain. Something like either the Cloudveil soft shell pant, the Arc'teryx Sidewinder or Beta AR pants. They are all made of breathable Gore-Tex material, have build-in gaiters (covering your boots to prevent snow getting into your feet) and zippered pockets to keep your stuff inside and the weather outside.