Travel pants

I use nothing but Royal Robbins Global Traveler pants. They wash and dry overnight, have some moisture resistance and have a zipper pocket inside the right hand pocket. Packing Light is the best source I can find.

The Packing Light website actually has a store in Sacramento. It is called Holloway Travel. If you are in Fairfield, CA it wouldn't be too far to come check it out. They have a very good selection of clothing and anything else travel related you are looking for. Can you tell I have been there a few times?? :-)

Dale, I use travel friendly Tilley clothing extensively, and find that it works well. They're designed to be washed in a hotel room sink and be (more-or-less) dry the next morning, without too many wrinkles. Some versions have a "secret pocket" sealed by Velcro inside one of the pockets (it's very tough Velcro and takes some effort to open it). Cheers!

I find the travel clothes brands - Ex-Official, Robbins, Magellan, etc., are over priced for average quality. (No experience with Tilley other than a hat) Just keep a sharp eye as good travel pant can be found anywhere. My favorite pants is an Outerrim brand from Sam's Club. But have not seen the brand in a couple of years. REI has a clothing line called Adventure Travel that is very nice and reasonable. Look first to local sporting good stores oriented to backpacking.

The more wrinkle resistant clothing is the chances are that it has more polyester in the blend. Polyester doesn't breath so if the trade off in hot weather is wrinkle resistance vs. comfort, I'd put up with some wrinkles.

My husband likes to shop at the Columbia Outlet and Academy (sporting goods store). Academy has their own line of clothing that is as nice as Columbia, at least that is his opinion.

I go to Europe every summer for a month and wear ExOffico pants (along with their under ware,socks, and some shirts) and have been wearing the latest group of pants for maybe 10 years now. ExOffico is not a cheap brand and I have gotten most of their wardrobe when I find their stuff on sale. Breathable, lightweight, sink washable with overnight drying, and not too many wrinkles which do not bother this traveler at all.

I don't bother with "travel clothes" any longer because I just don't think its worth it. If you must buy travel clothes, go with Tilley's because even though expensive, it feels more natural and is of good quality. The 100% synthetic pants from Royal Robbins and Ex Officio looks much better hanging on the rack than on a traveler (very baggy, makes swish-swish noises while walking, and does not last).

I buy clothes that work both for travel and home, generally noncotton, wash-and-wear clothes. Last trip both pants were flat-front, slim-fit slacks bought at Macy's on sale. One was sage and the other tan. I stopped wearing cargo pants years ago (as well as "convertible" pants); they're fine for casual but aren't flexible enough to wear when you want to look a little more dressed up. Since I pack light, each item can be worn in a wide range of situations. Although my slacks aren't much different than a pair of Dockers, they are nice enough to wear with a tie and blazer when called for. Non-cotton not only washes/dries well but has a little more dressy look. Extra pockets IMO simply mean more security issues to worry about - even hidden pockets (the kind in pants that have "hidden" zippers, not the "hidden pockets" that are essentially money belts) aren't "safe". I keep important stuff in a safe place (money belt or neck wallet), then reduce everything else to one "handle" to keep track of, whether carry-on, daypack, or shopping bag. One type of pants I really like are golf-pants. They're designed to be comfortable and easy care. Right now, most come in a relaxed-fit, which I'm not currently wearing. The slimmer versions of golf pants are still too expensive for my budget.

"makes swish-swish noises when walking and do not last" or so someone posted here. I have been wearing ExOfficio travel pants for over ten years when in Europe every summer for a month and that is "long lasting" for me. I have never noticed a "swish-swish" sound when I walk in them. Maybe I will have to turn up my hearing aids next year to see if I can hear that sound.

Just one or two pair of jeans. You can wear them multiple days, they are comfortable, and you blend in with the crowd. I never wear anything else, traveling or elsewhere. As for drying, I don't own a dryer, and all of my clothes dry in one day, including my jeans.

I send all my pants and collared shirts to the dry cleaners and get them heavily starched. When packed in plastic bags, they in no way wrinkle. And you can wear a pair for a week. We only travel with 21" wheeled carry on luggage, and don't use 1/2 our packed clothes in 2 weeks. I use Rick Steves' zippered security pouch stuffed down my pants, and never carry a billfold while in Europe. Pickpockets are accepted members of society over there.

My favorite pants are LLBean travel pants 72% cotton. Zippered pocket in right front pocket. Can be washed in sink and dry overnight. I prefer black as they blend with everything and fit in we'll in Europe. Don't wrinkle even after a long plane ride. My wife wears the money belt but the zippered pocket has been quite secure. Strongly disagree with the jeans suggestion. We travel very light. I also take a pair of 100% nylon ( also LLBean ) that have the zip off legs in case of hot weather which can also be used as swimming trunks in case you need a quick dip in the Duoro Valley or a steam bath in Morocco.

David, Could you elaborate on the LL Bean travel pants you mentioned. If possible, I would like the stock number and or proper name of that model. Thanks.

I was afraid of this. I pulled them out of the closet and tried to find on the web site. The only ones I could find have the velcro in the back. http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/49301?feat=506778-GN2&page=timberledge-zip-off-pants - these have a nice zipper. I like them. I can't find the cotton / Nylon blend on the site with the zipper pocket. These are the closest: http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/75095?feat=504250-GN2&page=knife-s-edge-pants&attrValue_0=Ink Black&productId=1245578 After reading some of the other comments I am going to try one of the other brands I think. I don't like / use the cargo pants zippers on the leg, I am partial to a zipper inside the right pocket.

David, Thanks for your hard work. I found the Timberledge pants. The seem to have a zipper at the bottom of each leg, I guess to be able to put them on over your shoes. Who does that?

Monte - yeah the zipper at the bottom of the leg comes in handy if you need to zip off the bottom of the legs to turn them into shorts while you are sitting on a park bench... LOL. My wife reminded me that these are nylon and do dry faster than the cotton / nylon blend.