Finding a high quality budget hiking pants might be challenging, but it’s definitely possible. In this article, I will provide a list of the best cheap hiking pants. If you want to know what’s important when buying hiking pants, keep reading until the end where I will give a detailed explanation.
List of the best cheap hiking pants
I have seen a lot of “best hiking pants” lists. One of my issues with most of these lists is that most of the options are pretty expensive. I was mainly interested in finding budget friendly hiking pants. However, you don’t want to compromise too much on quality when buying hiking equipment/clothes. Finding the best value for money picks is what it’s all about. Good news, I have done my research and created a list with my 8 favourite budget hiking pants.
I have to mention that certain pants are only budget friendly in certain colours and sizes.
Overview
1. PrAna Stretch Zion Pant
The prAna stretch Zion pants are made from 97% nylon and 3% spandex. Spandex is very popular in hiking pants because they allow the pants to stretch a bit, which makes them pretty comfortable for hiking.
Similar to the Columbia Ridge Pants, these pants are not always “very cheap”. It really depends on the size and color combination. Once again, I would recommend to ignore the looks (since you are on a budget and all).
The main benefits of these pants are the fact they are stretchy, comfortable and they come with a DWR finish. DWR stands for Durable Water Repellent. This means that they will perform better in the rain. However, DWR won’t hold forever, you can check out this article for more information.
If you want to keep these pants waterproof, you will have to reapply the DWR once in a while.
These pants are pretty high quality and very few hikers actually had complaints about them. If you intend to use these pants for many years, these pants might be a very good investment.
One thing that more expensive pants might be better at is providing ventilation. It’s not as if these pants are not breathable at all, but there is some room for improvement. However, I am nitpicking here.
They are not the cheapest option on the list, but remember, durable gear might save you money in the long run.
These pants are available on amazon for both men and women:
Women: prAna Women’s Halle Pant
2. Nonwe Men’s Outdoor Cargo pants
These pants are very cheap, one of the cheaper options on the list.
They are made from 88% nylon and 12% spandex.
These are the main features of these pants
- Zip off legs
- Two front pockets + back and side cargo pockets.
- Breathable
- A little water-resistant
- Quick dry fabric
- Sun protection
There isn’t too much else to say about these pants, they simply perform good as hiking pants. They are stretchy, comfortable (not as comfortable as the Prana, but still) and pretty durable. Getting all that for this price is actually pretty impressive (prices are changing all the time so you better click the link below to get the latest price).
In my opinion, these are the ones to get if you are shopping on a very tight budget!
All and all, fantastic value for money. These pants would definitely be one of the best options for hikers on a very tight budget.
These pants are available on amazon for both men and women:
Womens: Nonwe Women’s Hiking Pants
3. Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pant
The Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants are definitely one of the best hiking pants you can buy when you are on a limited budget. Depending on what size and color you choose, these pants can be anywhere between “affordable” and “really cheap”. If you want to go hiking on a budget, you really shouldn’t care about your looks. My recommendation would be to select the right size and then go for the cheapest color.
The fabrics used in these pants are: nylon Silver Ridge ripstop for the body and 57% recycled polyester/43% polyester mesh for the mesh panels. As you already know/will learn in this article, both nylon and polyester are good fabrics to use in hiking pants.
This is what they have to say about their fabric:
Columbia’s Silver Ridge Convertible Pant features Omni-Shade UPF 50 fabric for maxium protection against the sun and Omni-Wick technology that pulls moisture away to keep you cool and dry.
And they did not disappoint!
I personally really like the fact that these pants are convertible. However, I know some people don’t like that. It’s definitely a personal preference. That said, if you never unzip the lower parts you could just use it as a regular hiking pants.
The only real downside is that some people claimed the sizing was a bit off. Some people have given the advice to get one size bigger on the waist area. If you are thinking about buying these pants, make sure to double-check the sizes.
One thing that a lot of hikers don’t like about these pants is that they are not stretchy at all. Which feels like a limitation when you have to make large movements during a climb for example. Also, they are not water resistance whatsoever.
I would say these pants are more suitable for summer hiking than winter hiking. All in all they do provide a lot of value for money!
You can check out these pants on amazon:
Men: Columbia Men’s Silver Ridge Convertible Pant
These pants are not available for women. However, they have good alternatives for women as well:
Women convertible: Columbia Women’s Saturday Trail II Convertible Pant
4. UNIONBAY Men’s Rainier Pants
The Unionbay Rainier pants are even cheaper than most of the alternatives in this list. The sad thing is that these pants are not available for women. However, if you are a man on a budget, these pants might be exactly what you are looking for.
They are made from 94% nylon and 6% spandex, we know that both nylon and spandex are great fabrics for hiking pants.
Let’s go over some of the main features:
- Stretch, lightweight, quick drying fabric for comfort and east of movement
- Stretch fabric is quick drying, water resistant and UPF 50
- Mesh lined pockets 1 side leg pocket with zip closure zip back pockets
The only somewhat negative about these pants is that the pockets could have been more convenient. The back pockets for example are simply placed a bit too low, so that you cannot sit down when you are using these.
These pants would be my second recommendation for hikers on a very tight budget.
These pants are available on amazon, but only for men.
Men: UNIONBAY Men’s Rainier pants
5. Outdoor Research Men’s Ferrosi Pants
These pants are very similar to the Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pant. The women’s version of these pants seem to be a lot more appreciated than the man’s version, but there seems to be no clear reason for that.
The fabrics used in these pants are: 86% nylon and 14% spandex. Once again, no surprises there.
The Ferrosi pants are the best pants when it comes to comfort and breathability – even when we don’t care about our budget. These are the most important features in pants in my opinion. Sadly, depending on size and color, these pants can get pretty expensive.
However, if you are lucky and you can get these for a bargain, go for it! These are probably the highest quality pants on the list when looking at the core features.
There are a few complaints about the sizing and about the lack of pockets. If you like plenty of pockets, these pants might indeed not be perfect for you. As for the sizing, make sure to double-check before buying.
These pants are available on amazon for both men and women.
Men: Outdoor Research Men’s Ferrosi Convertible Pants
Women: Outdoor Research Women’s Ferrosi Convertible Pants
6. Nonwe Men’s Warm Hiking Pants
My next recommendation is somewhat different from the others. These hiking pants are enhanced with fleece, which makes them perfect for cold weather hiking. Nonwe provides crazy value for money, once again, these pants are very cheap.
The fabrics used are once again polyester (95%) and spandex (5%);
Overall, hikers really love these. However, there are a couple of negatives to mention.
- Some people complained about the sizes being off
- A couple of complaints about poor quality on the zippers
- For a product that is being sold as a ski pants, it’s not that warm
Keep in mind that most people do not have any complaints at all, these just provided issues for a small percentage of buyers.
These pants are available on amazon for both men and women.
Men: Nonwe Men’s Warm Hiking Pants
women: Nonwe Women’s Warm Hiking Pants
7. Columbia Men’s Rapid Rivers Pant
The next budget hiking pants is a rather odd option. Why? Well, it’s 2% elastane and 98% cotton… I will almost never recommend cotton for any type of hiking clothing. So why did these pants still made it on the list? Great question, and I have a great answer!
The shortest answer possible would be, you would almost not be able to tell that these pants are made out of cotton. They are breathable, comfortable and even don’t perform terrible when it comes to wicking moisture.
So does this mean that we should all start buying cotton pants? No, definitely not. These pants are an exception to the rule and to be fair they still can’t compete with synthetic hiking pants. However, it might be a very great “hybrid” option because you could still use this pants for everyday use. Well, I guess it’s rather personal, but I would be more comfortable to wear this pants while shopping for example than any other pair on the list.
Therefore, I think this is great for allround backpackers who combine nature with urban experiences. Definitely a pair that I would consider bringing on my next trip.
Of course, these pants are also affordable, but you should still be careful with what color and size you select. As the price can hugely be affected because of these options. The pants are currently available on amazon for a very acceptable price, but sadly only for men.
Men: Columbia Men’s Rapid Rivers Pant
8. LEOKKARR Pants
The leokkarr pants are the cheapest (at least at the time of writing, prices are constantly changing) pants that I could find that are still decent.
They are made out of 100% nylon which is great when you care about a quick drying pants. That said, there is 0% elastane/spandex included in these pants, which means that they are not stretchy at all. A lot of hikers -including myself- prefer hiking pants to be a little bit stretchy in order to easily make large movements.
If this is one of the things you care about, the Nonwe is probably a bitter fit for your needs (at only a small surplus). If you are fine with the fact that your pants are not stretchy, this is actually a really decent option.
They are convertible, have convenient pockets and are pretty lightweight.
However, before buying, make sure to read about the sizing on amazon. The biggest complaint about these pants is that the sizing can be way of.
If you manage to get them in the right size, these are going to be one of the best pants to get on a very tight budget.
The lowest price can usually be found on amazon: leokkarr pants
9. CQR tactical pants
The CQR tactical pants are a nice balance between being cheap and maintaining pretty high quality.
They look good, are lightweight, comfortable, has ripstop, is water resistant, have sun protection and the materials don’t feel cheap – even though the product is pretty cheap. Also, the pockets are very convenient and a big plus in adventurous situations.
The CQR tactical pants is a very good option for hiking and most other outdoor activities because of these features.
The pants are made up by 65% polyester and 35% cotton.
Not only are there plenty of colours to choose from, you can also decide whether or not you want a flexible fabric. In the flexible edition of these pants they included elastane in the fabric mix to make it more flexible. Most people do seem to prefer this for hiking longer distances -and so do I- but it’s not needed for everyone.
The lowest price can be found on amazon: CQR tactical pants.
How much should you spend on hiking pants
The answer on this question is not that simple because it really depends on your size/color prefernce. Certain pants can be a lot more expensive in certain sizes. However, I feel like I do have a good idea on how much you should spend.
After I did a lot of research, I found that you would have to pay at least 30 dollars for a decent pair of hiking pants. Once again, you would have to be lucky with the size. I would also say that if you are on a budget, you should be able to find a good quality hiking pants under 60 dollars.
So my answer to this question would be: between 30 and 60 dollars. That said, in certain situations, it might be beneficial (in the long run) to spend 20 dollars more or so.
What’s important when buying hiking pants
There are a couple of things you should keep in mind before buying a hiking pants.
Fabric
The most important thing you want to check before buying hiking pants is the fabric that was used. Picking the right fabric will influence the weight, warmth, durability, comfort, water repellency and moisture wicking ability of your piece of clothing.
Basically, everything starts with picking the rights fabric. By now you should know that nylon is the most popular fabric to be used in hiking pants, and with good reason. Most of the time it is used in combination with spandex, this will make the pants stretchy.
You should avoid hiking pants that have cotton in them, they might even have good ratings and reviews, but this means that they are getting rated and reviewed by non-serious hikers. Maybe they only use those kinds of pants for everyday use, and they can be great for that, but not for long distance hiking. Cotton has many issues, one of the main problems is that it does a very poor job of moisture wicking.
Durability and overall quality
Durability and overall quality are obviously very important as well. This might be the biggest issue when you are shopping on a tight budget. It’s also pretty hard to find valuable information about durability since most people review a product shortly after they have bought it. Try to find the opinions of hikers who have been using pants for multiple years and have used it a lot.
This is also why I mentioned that in certain situations it might be beneficial to spend a bit more in exchange for a more durable product. It would save you money in the long run.
Hiking pants are not the same as rain pants
Keep in mind, water repellent pants are not the same as waterproof pants. In extreme rain, your hiking pants will soak. If you want to prevent that, you could consider bringing a rain pants (you would wear this over your hiking pants). So waterproofing is not important in hiking pants. That said, DWR can prevent some water from getting through, which might result in a more comfortable experience in light/medium rain.
Can you hike in pants that are not optimized for hiking?
Since you are reading an article titled: “Budget hiking pants: The best cheap hiking pants”, I’m going to assume that you are on a budget. And if you are on a budget, you might be wondering, “hey can I not use regular pants for hiking?”. The answer is rather predictable: it’s possible, but it’s far from optimal and I wouldn’t recommend it.
If you would use non-optimized hiking pants, I would suggest you try to find jogging pants made from synthetic material. In fact I have used a synthetic jogging pants on my latest 2-week trek in the Italian alps, where we faced lots of snow and cold temperatures. I can actually say that these type of pants are a somewhat decent alternative to hiking pants. The only issue would be that these type of pants are more fragile and they could rip a lot faster than real hiking pants.
For short pants, the impact isn’t that big, you might consider it. However, when it comes to long hiking pants, I would always advice against it. You want to make sure that the pants you are hiking in is made out of synthetic fabrics (preferably nylon). The more serious your hiking trip is (obviously), the more I would advise to buy a proper hiking pants. The best cheap rain pants for hiking can be found here.
Be on the lookout for promotions
As always, being on the lookout for promotions can make a huge difference. I would suggest to click the links that I have included for the budget pants that you liked. Amazon often has promotions on these types of products, especially when you play around with sizes and colors.
When I’m looking for the most budget friendly products I will often end up buying a product on discount. Obviously, most pants that were included in this list are pretty cheap, even when they are not on discount, but still, it’s always better to get an even cheaper price.
Conclusion
You don’t need to spend a small fortune on a decent hiking pants. You should be able to find a high quality hiking pants for under 60 dollars, sometimes you might want to go a bit higher (depending on your size, etc.). However, you should be prepared to spend at least 25 dollars (unless you are lucky enough to find a better deal).
The most important thing you want to check is the fabric. Try to find hiking pants with both nylon and spandex, this combination seems to be the most popular one.
Also looking for budget hiking footwear? Take a look at the following articles:
If you are interested in even more budget hiking gear, I have covered most hiking products in this guide: Where to buy cheap hiking gear online
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