I am so in love with the Columbia Saturday Trail line of pants! I previously purchased the convertible and insulated versions and LOVED them. Although I just received these pants today and have not had a chance to test them out beyond trying them on and wearing them around the house for a while, they are made of the same material and are stitched the same way as the convertible pants, and I would say I'm a qualified expert on how this fabric performs! I go on long walks/hikes at least 4 days a week, and go on weekend camping trips several times s year and I literally wore the convertible pants on every walk/hike and camping trip I took from May through mid November (including a 27 mile hike 1-day hike in October!) I wore them in every conceivable spring-fall weather condition (except snow), in temperatures from the low 40s to low 100s, and was ALWAYS comfortable in those pants! They keep out chilly wind, yet are breathable. You can walk through a section of shady trail out into the blazing sun and feel equally comfortable. The Saturday Trail pants are extremely durable. They protect your legs from the sun, dirt, mud, bugs and brush but are light as a feather. I wore them among sandburs, thorny rose bushes, scrub, rocks, and barbed wire and didn't get so much as a snag in them! I crawled around in the woods and kneel a lot on paved sidewalks while taking care of my dog, and have no wear on the knees of these pants. They seriously feel weightless, on your body as well as in your luggage/backpack, and can easily be packed down into a teeny tiny space. These are the best pants I can imagine for travel! No matter what you put them through, these pants look great! They are wrinkle resistant, dirt brushes right off, and stains easily rinse out-even with a just a fast food napkin and a melted ice cube...yeah...that happened...more than once. I was able to wear them for more times in a row than I will publicly admit, and whenever I finally did decide to wash them, it was just because I felt obligated to for the sake of decency, not because the pants actually looked, felt, or smelled dirty. And they dry quickly! You can wash them in the sink with a teeny bit of whatever soap is available, wring them out by hand and hang them to dry overnight and you will have dry pants in the morning. You can have an entire 32 oz water bottle spill on your car seat while you are driving on the interstate and, after sitting in the puddle for 15 minutes until you've basically absorbed all 32 oz, get out of your car and walk in the sun for 20 minutes and have a dry bottom again... yeah...that happened too. You can get caught in a light rain for short periods of time and stay completely dry! (Note: These are water resistant, not water proof. the fabric repels water, but if exposed to high volumes quickly or light amounts over a long period of time, they will eventually become saturated.) They have just enough stretch and are smartly designed so that you have complete range of motion and comfort. I ran, walked, biked, climbed, sat on chairs and on the ground, squatted, jumped, crawled, knelt, did Pilates, rode in the car, and laid on the couch like a bum in these and was always comfortable and never restricted. And besides all this? These are probably the most flattering pants I've ever owned- that goes for ALL pants- including jeans and dress pants. The fabric drapes nicely and doesn't cling- no wedgies or pantylines! The cut is very flattering- it's difficult for me to find a flattering cut. The design isn't overtly "athletic”- you can wear them off the trail and not look like you are wearing "sportswear." The fabric isn't shiny or "plasticy" and there's not a lot of sporty stitching or zippers. These pants can convert into capris, and do have little straps to hold the rolled pantlegs up, but if you are not using this feature, you'd never know it's there. The straps are on the inside of the pant leg, and the button that connects the straps to the outside of the pants is ingeniously hidden under a little hidden flap. The pockets also are discrete. In fact, if it weren't for the small Columbia logo printed on the back near the waist, The Saturday Trail pants would fit my office's business casual dress code. I am 5'6, 125-130 lbs with an hour glass figure and average- bordering on short legs and wear a size 8 average in jeans. I like my pants to be slim fitting but not tight, and a tiny bit long, so I sized up to a size 10 regular. I love the way they fit! They are a teeny bit loose at the waist and I usually wear a belt, but I can wear them without a belt without them sagging too low. They fit slim (but not tight) around my thighs and loose (but not super baggy) at the knees and calves. When wearing shoes, the hems cover the opening of the shoe, and allow you to sit without the "calf gap), but the hems do not brush the ground. If you want them to fit as described by the product description, order true to size. I ordered the India Ink color- I judging from the name of the color and the picture, I expected a sort of muted down navy blue, but instead it's a slate grey color with a blue tinge. I love the color and it matches EVERYTHING! The only drawback to the color is that it does show light colored dirt. My pants arrived out of the package with some white "warehouse dust" on them, and it was very obvious. (It did brush off easily, though! My other 2 pairs are in the Grill color, which is light grey with a greenish brown tinge, and they don't show the dirt nearly as badly.
