Last week, we took a look at The North Face Paramount II hiking pants. Today we want to continue on in that vein and look at another great pair of year round hiking pants.
Let's take a look at the Marmot Minimalist Pants. You can guess from the name that the goal for these pants is to have zero needless features and be as efficient and fit for purpose as possible.
With that in mind, let's see if they make the cut.
Marmot Minimalist Hiking Pants for Men
These are an excellent pair of hiking pants from Marmot. Comfortable and very functional, they tick all the boxes for the average hiker.
Summary
Brand and Model | Marmot Minimalist Hiking Pants for Men |
Price | |
Our Rating | |
Pros | Very water resistant and breathable using Gore-tex, lightweight, zippered pockets and ankle openings allow easy access to your hiking boots |
Cons | No venting zips on the side |
Best Uses | Day hiking, general outdoor use |
Review
Let's start with how the pants look. Pictured are the minimalist pants for men in black, probably my favorite color when it comes to hiking gear. Overall, they look the part and have a nice cut and look about them
Moving onto features, the pants are waterproof using Gore-tex. You can't go far wrong with Gore-tex in my experience and opinion so these pants should be able to take on tough downpours while keeping you dry.
Gore-tex is of course breathable so again, you should have no problem letting moisture, that is sweat, from the inside out. The pants will also be able to take a fair amount of beating in high winds too.
Again, as the pants are made from gore-tex 100% polyester, they will also be very lightweight so easy to pack away for carrying in your kit and of course will enable you to maximize your speed out on the trail.
Storage wise they have four pockets, two front and back. These can be closed with a water resistant zipper which is nice, zippers are usually better than flaps I find.
The elasticated waist is fully adjustable with a snap closure. A nice feature on these pants are the articulated knees, very nice to have if you go off trail into tougher mountainous terrain where you need that extra bit of flexibility in your movement.
The final feature to mention on these pants is the ankle zippers, pictured to the left, which will enable you to get at your hiking boots much easier should you need to tie a lace, adjust a gaiter or whatever.
On the downside, there are no venting zips which is something I personally like to have. Also, I think these are a good all year round pair of hiking pants but maybe not ideal for a hot summers day.
No biggy but just something to keep in mind. If you want an all year round pair of hiking pants and you hike in hot summers, you may be better looking for a pair with detachable bottoms.
Best Uses
The best use for the Marmot Minimalist pants is pretty much any kind of hiking, backpacking, etc. While they are ideal for any hiking activity, they will work fine for most outdoor activities.
I'm not 100% convinced these would be great as casual pants, they look a bit too technical for that. However, they might work just fine with a pair of sneakers ambling about town.
Customer Reviews
From 20+ user reviews across various retailers, as of the day of this post, the Marmot Minimalist pants are scoring an average of 4.5 out of 5, across multiple retailers, so decent scoring. Check out some user comments below.
Average User Rating: 4.5 (Out of 5)
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Very water resistant and breathable using Gore-tex
- Lightweight
- Zippered pockets
- Ankle openings allow easy access to your hiking boots
Cons
- No venting zips on the side of the legs
Marmot Minimalist Hiking Pants for Men Features Summary
- Shell Fabric: GORE-TEX® Paclite® 100% Polyester 3.6 oz/yd
- Waterproof, windproof and breathable
- Recommended use: Hiking and camping
- Weight: 10.3 oz (292g)
- Warranty: Lifetime guarantee
Conclusion
So, in summary the Marmot Minimalist pants for men are another very good pair of year round hiking pants you should have a look into if you're considering purchasing a pair.
As mentioned, they may not be truly year round in that they may not be as ideal for hiking in lower altitudes in very hot weather. However, you're never really going to get one pair of pants that does the whole year round, there will always be the odd exception where it's either juts too hot or too cold and you need an alternative solution.
They're from a well respected and trusted brand name and are, in my opinion, reasonably priced. On top of that, they come with lots of great user feedback so overall I think you could do an awful lot worse that the Marmot Minimalist Pants for men.
As a final note, if you are just starting on the road to buying a good pair of hiking pants, check out the hiking pants buying guide, that will walk you through all the things you need to think about before buying a pair of hiking pants to meet your needs. Also, you can check out some top hiking pants recommendations here.
Have you used these pants on the trail? I’d love to hear about your experience with it in the comments below.
