Apricoat Adventure Pants Review

First Impression

When I unwrapped the Apricoat pants, I immediately noticed that the pants are made of high-quality materials, have many pockets but also that they’re a bit on the heavy side. The pants are made of a thin softshell fabric and feel very much like high-quality hiking pants. They also have a boatload of pockets, some of which are equipped with extra hidden pockets. Now, if I’m totally honest, I did ask myself who needs that many pockets when I started counting them. I was also surprised to see that the pants are equipped with an elastic waist and belt loops as well as a drawstring waist – as all three features do the same thing – keep the pants up. Despite that I thought that the pants are a bit overdesigned, I must say that I’m very happy with the quality. The Apricoat Adventure pants are made with high precision and utilize top-notch materials.

Material and Performance

The fabric of the pants is made of 92% recycled Nylon and 8% Spandex. Spandex makes the pants somewhat stretchy and thus more comfortable. The fabric is very thin and feels like a softshell fabric to the touch. I found the fabric to be very comfortable and so far, I haven’t experienced any discomfort such as rubbing or chafing while wearing the pants. The Apricoat Adventure pants are also treated with a DWR agent (Bionic Finish ECO) which is 100% fluorine-free and doesn’t use any chemicals that are harmful to the environment. Due to the DWR treatment the pants repel water instead of absorbing it.

I started testing the pants by wearing them on several short hikes here in Denmark. Since the pants are primarily designed for adventure, I especially focused on their breathability, moisture-wicking performance, durability, odor resistance and drying time. These are the qualities you’ll want when you’re buying a pair of pants for travelling, hiking and similar adventurous outdoor activities.

The first thing I noticed when I started wearing the Apricoat Adventure pants was that they are super comfy. They also provide very good breathability and nicely pull the moisture away from the skin during intense activities. Now, the pants are a bit heavier than lightweight hiking pants and thus they also dry a bit slower. They absorb more water and often stay wet in areas where the pockets are as these feature multiple layers of fabric on a small surface and thus dry quite slowly.

Throughout the testing period I was very satisfied with the durability of the pants. The fabric is very robust and doesn’t get easily torn.  I wasn’t particularly focused on odor-resistance while testing these pants, but I haven’t detected any signs of odor although I often wore them for several activities in a row before washing them.

Features

The Apricoat Adventure pants have no less than 11 integrated pockets. They have 10 external pockets and 1 internal pocket. Now, I do like that pants have pockets because pockets allow you to easily organize your gear. However, I do think that having 11 pockets is a bit too much. The problem is that in the end you forget in which pocket you put what. Besides, you don’t want to carry too many things in your pants because chances are that the bulk of these things will chafe you or restrict your movement in some other way.

The pockets I found useful are the hand pockets and the two side pockets, although the two side pockets are positioned a bit too low (they go all the way down to the knees) and thus only suitable for carrying very light things. Here you can see the full configuration of the pockets. I guess the required number of pockets depends on your personal preferences and which activities you do. I wish that  the zippers of the pockets would have pull loops as they make opening and closing the pockets much easier, especially in the cold seasons when you might wear a pair of gloves.

The pants have a comfy elastic waist and a drawcord in the waist. In case you also want to wear a belt, the pants also have loops for a belt. I always wear a belt and I was a bit annoyed with the drawcord. It just seemed so unnecessary. Nevertheless, you can always pull it out completely and that’s probably what I’ll do.

I was a bit disappointed that the Apricoat pants don’t have articulated knees or a gusseted crotch. This means that the pants don’t provide as good freedom of movement on technically challenging trails. Articulated knees would also be an excellent feature for bike commuting. I used these pants several times for bike commuting and while they were okay, I did wish for a bit more freedom of movement.

Sizing and Fit

The pants come in eight different sizes which are based on the width of the waist. You figure out which size you need by measuring waist of a pair of non-stretchy pants which fit you well. Then you find the right size in the size chart on Apricoat’s website. I got the pants in EU size 42 (US size 32). However, as soon as I got them, I figured out that I could easily go for size 40. The thing is that the Apricoat Adventure pants have an elastic waist and I got size 42 from pants without an elastic waist.

Therefore, I recommend sizing down, especially if you are between sizes. Nevertheless, since the Apricoat pants have a drawcord waist, it’s easy to fit them in the waist even if they’re a bit too wide. In terms of length the pants fit me perfectly. I’m 180 cm tall. The pants are designed to fit snugly but not tight. All in all, I was very satisfied with the fit.

Washing and Drying

The pants are machine washable at 30° C, but of course you should steer clear of softeners and bleach. You should also not tumble dry them. The pants don’t have to be washed as often as regular pants because they feature an anti-stain treatment in addition to the DWR-treatment. Should you ever wash the DWR-treatment out, you can reapply DWR-spray yourself.

Verdict

The Apricoat Adventure pants provide very good versatility and can be used for various outdoor activities. I’ve worn these pants for hiking, travelling, bike commuting and everyday use. The pants were good for all these activities. Of course, they can’t match pants that are specifically designed for one particular activity but if you’re looking for a pair of pants that you can use for multiple outdoor activities, the Apricoat Adventure pants are a great option. What I liked about these pants is their breathability, moisture-wicking performance and durability. The pants are also very comfy and have many pockets. What bothered me a bit about these pants is that they’re relatively heavy and don’t have articulated knees for improved freedom of movement. But besides this, I was very satisfied with the Apricoat Adventure pants.

If you have any questions about this product, drop me a line in the comments below.