The North Face Paramount Convertible Pants review

Finding the perfect “all in one” pants for travel, trekking, and trail is really difficult.  The pants need to look presentable in while in airports and restaurants, feel comfortable, allow free movement, be quick drying, pack incredibly small, and wear durably once you get to the trail.

I won't win awards for my tailoring

The North Face Paramount pants zip off into shorts, are made of a quick drying and thick nylon fabric that looks good even after wearing them for days on end.  Dirt doesn’t show easily.  I figured I had a winner.

However, the pockets are place over the top of the thigh, rather than on the sides.  In addition, they aren’t bellows pockets like most cargo pants.  This made it difficult to store anything and access it while seated (for example during a flight).

Second, my pair didn’t last very long.  In fact, I got 1 two-week long trip out of them before I split the seam in the seat.  I’ve never actually had a seam rip on an outdoors garment before.  I’ve torn holes, I’ve abraded through cloth, but I’ve never had a seam blow out.  So, this was a surprise.

After repairing the split (this is why a repair kit is a good idea), I still use the pants, but no longer for travel.  They are strictly trail use now.

From The North Face and for the price, I expected a lot more from these pants.

Tags: Paramount Pants, The North Face