Trek/Travel Pants

Trek and travel pants define a broad category of versatile styles for men and women. Planes, trains and automobiles take their toll on clothing - as do long days spent on the trail or in town. Easy packing, easy-care, quick-drying and breathable fabric blends top the list for travel and trekking wear. The category includes durable canvas jeans by Mountain Khakis and convertible "zip-off" styles for men and women from Columbia and The North Face.

In addition to requiring you to make the most from a small amount of clothing, travelling often demands that you remain presentable without regular laundry access. Good travel wear handles the dust and grime of the road with ease and packs well. Many styles include stain resistant treatments and tight weaves that repel dust and dirt. Not all travel wear needs to say adventure travel, either. Ex Officio, Royal Robbins and The North Face have easy packing, comfortable options that stand up to travel and keep you looking good at the same time. Look for lightweight synthetic fabric blends for pants that stand up to abuse and that can be washed in the hotel room sink and dried overnight.

When your travel plans include adventure or your destination is an adventure in its own right, you will be ready with a convertible, cargo style pant. Convertibles offer one pair of trousers with two functions - long pants and shorts. Most convertibles utilize hidden zippers that allow you to zip off the lower leg to create shorts. Several women's models have a roll-up feature that uses buttons to create capri or knee length pants. Next time you find yourself waiting on the side of a hot, dusty road for the next bus, you can actually convert to shorts and beat the heat.

Trekking and backpacking require that you pack light, be ready for weather of any kind and, yes, try to remain presentable. The trekking pants from Columbia, The North Face and Prana can handle all of the above. Comfortable, long-wearing 4-way stretch fabrics are the best for trekking or hiking. Lightweight synthetic blends handle an afternoon shower, dry quickly and breathe well when the sun shines. When the day dawns cool and crisp, convertible pants let you evolve with the day's temperature. Lightweight 4-way stretch fabrics allow for unrestricted movement while hiking or scrambling in the mountains.

Head for the hills and faraway places in style with a new pair of comfortable, long-wearing travel pants.