Anyone recommend a good field pant. Something that is tough and waterproof at least in the lower legs.

They don't offer a hunting-specific pant, but check Duluth Trading Co. for one of their Fire Hose options.

I really like my underarmor field pants. Wax the bottoms.
Very comfortable, good pockets, good belt loops, not snaggy, breathable. Things I thing you should look for.
I just pitched a pair because I wore them through. I had a tons of miles on those.
Glad to switch to my backup set. Probably better options, but I like mine.
When I go into a hunt loaded with briers, I use some old school camo wrangler jeans that have vinyl-ish lower.

I don’t know of any waterproof pants but I hunt in Duluth Firehose pants, the new ones aren’t nearly as good as the original but still pretty good pants, and old Carhartt double front dungarees.

I wish the double front Carhartts were still available as mine are nearly faded to white. I don’t like the loose fit of most cargo and “hunting” pants and I don’t feel the need for camouflage pants.

The best thing about the Duluth’s to me are the super deep pockets, no worries about your pocketknife slipping out if you sit down at an odd angle.

These?:

Double front

I bought a pair of pants from Duluth and they pilled something horrible. Not the fire house, but the customer service just ignored me completely. I sent pictures and everything. So I swore I would never buy from them again. So they are not an option.

L.L. Bean is a good place to look.

I love Carhartt double front, but when they get wet they are bad news. Great pants though for work and dry weather.

I think LL Bean are liberals nuts aren't they?

EDIT: It was shown later in this thread that they have shown support for Trump. Great news!

I have some of the older Duluth fire hose pants and they have worked fine. I cannot bring myself to purchase more because I am trying to avoid China purchases. Now I know that is going to present a real problem since most clothing is now made in China.

I think I read the Carhartt double front jeans were still US made.

Take a look at 511 tactical.

Filson Oil Finish Tin Canvas looks nice but pricey!
https://www.filson.com/men/pants/hunting-pants/oil-finish-double-tin-pants.html

I have a Filson Oil Finish billed hat and it's great.

Yes that’s them. Strange that every store that sells Carhartt that I’ve asked at told me they were discontinued. FYI a quick look shows that Carhartt has them on sale cheaper than the link to cabelas. They’re still USA made too.

Not that I recall. Here's an article from a couple of years ago.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/01/09/llbean/jU1bOW73QqRhmYAN5pSj4N/story.html

Excerpt from the article:

L.L. Bean pleads: Don’t boycott us over Trump donation

L.L. Bean doesn’t sell flak jackets, but the Maine-based purveyor of just about every other kind of outdoor gear might need a few after finding itself caught in the middle of a political skirmish over its namesake heiress and her support of President-elect Donald Trump.

Some customers vowed to boycott the family-owned company after learning last week that Linda Bean, the granddaughter and heir of company founder Leon Leonwood Bean and a longtime Republican activist, bankrolled a political action committee in her efforts to support Trump.

That led L.L. Bean’s board chairman, Shawn Gorman, a great-grandson of L.L. Bean, to do something unusual for the company: address a political controversy head-on.

If you're looking primarily for lower leg waterproofing and protection, a good set of gaiters might be cheaper and more versatile than pants.

I took a cotton military field jacket and turned it into a decent rain jacket. It's not the latest in teflon polymer technology, but does breath.
I plan to make rain overpants.
Snow Seal. Its a mix of bees wax and forgot what else. It goes on easy with a flexible wide putty knife. I lay on the thinnest amount possible and test. The more you add, the less it will breath, but increase water repellency. The fabric should not be heavy, but the weave must be dense.

Another option is a set of removable brush guards.

I use wrangler stuff. Do not know if they are still made but wrangler had some jeans that have a second layer on front and wrapped around the calves. That part was ripstop nylon. They called them a field or upland pant IFIRC. Best pants for going through rough and damp brush.

They also had riggs wear double front pants.These had a little less cotton although a little lighter and more comfortable. Hunted elk in them for years.

It washes out, but water seal sheds water, it's stiff.

They probably support BLM on top of being liberal asshats

Avoid gatorade too

I used a military field jacket just for trips to the junk yard. Carry all you basic tools, fill the pickets up with knobs, controls, switches, relays, lamps and bulbs. Cut a slit on the inside liner for things like power window motors, blower motors, washer pumps.

The Loot Suit

Duluth and carhartt are good. I’ve also had good luck with the hiking/mountaineering brands: Columbia, north face, Patagonia. Some of it might not be your style, but the construction quality is good even if the materials tend to be lighter. Not formbushwacking, but great for long hikes.

Real men wear Wranglers

I’ve taken to wearing pants that are made of soft shell type material. Like the material a soft shell ski jacket is made of.

Sheds water. Mud brushes of when it dries. Very comfortable because the material stretches. There’s an ad that runs non stop on fb for summit pants or something like that. Run about $50-60.

I also use arcteryx gamma pants. There are great as well.

Wear these with a light poly long underwear and you’re good to go. Vary the bottom layer temperature depending.

Going to buy a couple pairs of kuiu and try them out this fall as well.

Hate most any other pants now.

Gaiters.

DWR (durable water repellent).

They wick up a lot of moisture in wet conditions.No bueno. Gaiters do help.

I like my sitka and first lite but expensive and not very durable upland hunting in briars and crossing fences

. I think wrangler outdoor is great pant for the money and can pick on sale for $20

Seeing as you live in Ak. I would think a quick drying synthetic mountaineering pant would be a good choice combined w/gaiters. I have been using Mammut pants w/ Outdoor Research Croc gaiters for several years now and I think they are great. Modern climbing/outdoor gear has come along way. Light, tough stretchy synthetic fabrics are the way to go and absorb no water and are wind and water resistant while being breathable.


mike r

Do it yourself is a good idea!

That's great. Loot suit...lol. They're real practical with those good mil spec button pockets.

Mine has sentimental value so I wouldn't toss it when it started to wear out. It went to Korea and my uncle wore it back with no bullet holes after the war.
My girlfriend was a seamstress and sewed on a new collar, fixed the cuffs and I converted it to an oil skin jacket. Gave it a second life.

The only truly water proof pants I have other than rubber rain pants are Cabelas dry-plus soft shell pants. You can sit on wet ground with these, for a while anyway, and stay dry. Soaked underbrush and raining.. you stay dry. They'd be no good in warm temps though they'd be too hot.

Normally I don't worry about waterproof and get by fine with water resistant or at least quick dry. For nice thin very light hiking type pant I've got 5.11 both in tactical and hiking pant style. Same material extremely comfortable, beads a bit of water off but they will get wet. But will dry in a snap given a chance. Next step up I've got some Kuhl soft shell pants that are a lot more water resistant and almost as maneuverable. If its not wet out and not too much gymnastics going on often its plain old Carhartts.

The synthetics dry fast but are still clammy as hell when wet. I hate that feeling. They also are not that rugged.

Sometimes it's too warm to wear poly and I have to shave my legs else I get beals. It's too early to shave my legs.

They are comfortable.

It's amazing how many members make comments and know nothing about what they post.

The retail industry on Thursday was once again dragged into the crosshairs, after President-elect Donald Trump sent out a tweet thanking L.L. Bean heiress Linda Bean for her support.

L.L.Bean got a big vote of support on Thursday morning from the president-elect.. Donald Trump tweeted his support for the outdoor clothing company in response to outrage and boycott threats aimed.................


Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L.Bean for your great support and courage. People will support you even more now. Buy L.L.Bean. @LBPerfectMaine — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017............

Grab Your Wallet, an organization dedicated to leading boycotts against companies that support President-elect Donald Trump or are affiliated with his family, called for a boycott of Maine-based sportswear company L.L. Bean.

Outdoor apparel manufacturer L.L. Bean can expect an uptick in sales, President-elect Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday morning, thanks to the public support one of the heirs of the company ..

Dan’s makes some really heavy duty stuff.
Made in USA. Prices are not outrageous, either...

https://danshuntinggear.com/

Did you never hike through devils club with a synthetic. It's much much worse than briars down south.

These field pants are on sale for $59.99 at L.L. Bean.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/73891?feat=sr&term=field%20pants&csp=a

Thanks for posting that!

You're welcome.I hope OldHat reads it as well.

I have those and work ok if not in rainy wet conditions

I did, and thank you for posting it. I did pose it as a question and I'm glad I was wrong.

You won't catch me running around just wearing gators and no pants.

I have a lot of Filson stuff. Nothing's perfect, but they provide me the best balance of comfort and durability I've found. Just be prepared for a little break-in time.

Tru Spec.

I've been buying Filson for years and it's absolutely some of the best I've ever had. It works as they say and wears extremely well. They have great customer service too. You feel like you have armor on when wearing it!

One option, already mentioned by others, that I just pulled back out are some black gaiters.

I really like the design. You might too.
They are made of Cordura nylon.
They have a liner.
Bottom rounded hooks to the boot laces.
It straps around the calf all the way to the knee.
Velcro closure option for snow and wet grass. Durable enough for brush.

They might last a lifetime.

I like the design because If it gets too warm during a summer hike, they're easy to put on and remove to stow in the pack. This option allows more flexibility than my dedicated brush pants which I also like.

The cotton brush pants with nylon up the thighs have good coverage, but not intended for water. They'll dry from the morning dew, but not for rainy days. They might(?) be a candidate for the wax/oil skin treatment.

This is my main decision.

If I need something for rain and moderate abrasion in woods or fields, the wax/oilskin works well.

If I need highest abrasion protection and don't want to snag my good hunting clothes or field jackets, I will opt for the abrasion resistant Cordura. When I get around to it and get my machine set up for the industrial nylon thread, I plan to make hunting field wear that should allow getting around briar patches without getting hung up so much and shredding.

Check out dungarees.com for great prices in Carhartt's
https://dungarees.com/mens/pants/carhartt?filter[Brand][]=carhartt&redirect=1

https://m.llbean.com/llb/shop/83093?page=mens-upland-field-pants-with-gore-tex

These; with Filson tin chaps over if it’s really wet have worked for me.

I wear Filson Tin Cloth chaps over whatever pants I happen to be wearing.

In really cold weather I go with cheapo flannel lined pants from Costco that go for around $20.

Anything Filson can be a bit warm early in the season though.

These are also nice, if you can find them. Pricey though.

https://www.fjallraven.com/eu/en-gb/men/trousers/hunting-trousers/lappland-hybrid-trousers-m

How about Arborwear, anyone worn them? I think they are imported like most other clothing today.

Just an FYI if any of you guys are interested. Duluth has camo Firehose pants on sale for $40 a pair. I’m not usually a camo pants guy but at half price I ordered some.

Do you sing god save the queen every morning??

Levi’s 501’s with trash bags taped on the lower legs works pretty damn good..

You need to use duct tape when taping trash bags to lower pants leg..