These Are Our Go-To Adventure, Travel, and Hiking Pants

Whaddya want in a do-anything pair of pants? Wrong! The answer is comfort. Oh, did you think it was extreme durability? A gazillion pockets? Gore-Tex? Nope. What you want is a pair of pants that are comfortable and perform in most situations. They should stretch a little, breathe a little, pack down small, handle a little bad weather, and look good in a restaurant in another country, after hiking their local mountains all day.

That’s, for my money, the prAna Alameda pants. These bad boys are basically the recycled version of prAna’s celebrated Zion pants, made for hiking and climbing. They’re 95 percent recycled nylon and 5 percent spandex. They’re not festooned with gizmos. The normal pants pockets are here, plus one zippered side pocket just about palm height on the right leg. Good for a phone, a compass, a multitool, something like that.

They’re rated to UPF 50+, are water resistant, and are thin and light as air, so they breathe wonderfully. That thinness could mean trouble down the road if you spend lots of time scraping them against sharp rock, but after months of hard use, they still look brand new. They’re the most comfortable pants I own, period, and the most well-rounded, which means they’re always the first thing I toss in my duffel packing for any kind of adventure. That makes them the perfect adventure pants.

At about $80, they’re not cheap, but not really a splurge. Highly recommend.

• BUY $79

– Justin Housman, online editor