What weighs 1/3 the amount of a pair of jeans, is twice as strong, and also repels water? These Titanium Expedition travel pants, that’s what.
It used to be that the only way to reduce the amount of weight you were carrying when you traveled was to pack less, buy smaller sizes of cosmetics, and get a light bag. Now the clothes that you pack can make a huge impact as well. Considering you could pack three pairs of these Columbia Sportswear pants for the same weight as a pair of denim jeans, multiplying decisions like that across your wardrobe can make a huge difference.
You get a whole lot more performance out of these as well. They’re not called Titanium just for marketing spin. In my tests on the road they repelled a spilled glass of wine, beaded up in a drizzle, and also stayed looking good for a week: a damp rag cleaned off a bit of dirt that was showing one day.
They’ve got four pockets—always a good thing—but three are mesh inside to keep things cool while the back one is zippered for security. It’s hard to find pants with any innovative “features,” but these do have something cool I haven’t seen before: the leg pocket has a removable pouch inside with a drawstring. You could use this to fly through security at the airport by putting all the metal inside and then just tossing the pouch in a bin. On the other side, stick it back in with the Velcro. Or you can remove it and toss it on a dresser at your hotel to keep keys and the like in one place.
The pants have 50 SPF sun protection in case you’re so pale you can get burned through your pants and there is a fleece lining around the waistband to keep it comfortable. What I like most about these pants is the double-duty aspect. They look good enough to wear into a “no jeans” restaurant or club but can hold up to what you throw at them in the outdoors. You can put these Columbia Titanium Expedition travel pants on in the morning and know they’ll work for whatever you’re doing until bedtime. They come in colors meant for matching: khaki and gray. OK, so they don’t convert to shorts when it gets hot on the trail like some travel pants, but they don’t say, “I’m a tourist” either when you walk into a bar.
They’ll run you 70 bucks if not on sale, which puts them in designer jeans territory, but you’ll probably still be using these in five years, no matter what is happening in the fashion world. I would take these on a year-long round-the-world journey knowing they’d still be in great shape when I returned—even if I wore them every day or two.
Get more details at the Columbia Sportswear page for these travel pants. This particular model is for men, but Columbia makes plenty of great pants for women.
Columbia Titanium Expedition Pant – Men’s at Backcountry.com
Related post: Columbia’s Fashion and Function for the “It Girl”
#1 by Germán - June 18th, 2010 at 09:37
Just to tell you that my Columbia Titanium pants (with less than a year using them) has a defect in the material… And the Europe Support wasn’t able to give me a solution… If you want more details, I can send you the pictures!!!
#2 by Allen Craig - October 24th, 2010 at 11:02
These ARE excellent pants, I’m online now looking for a new pair as I’ve been wearing mine in south america for 1 1/2 years with no problems. I just want another pair I like them so much.
But I would no wear them in a bar (if I wanted to meet someone at least) and NEVER would I wear them to an office, despite what the marketing lit will tell you. They scream “outdoorsy traveler”. But walking around in sandals or sneakers in a small pueblo or big city keeps you relatively discreet and comfortable, not to mention clean and smell-free. They seem to repel dirt, small and tears—I wear mine in pretty stressful conditions that would have seriously worn other pants. I love these, but find them at an outlet stores as $70 is just ridiculous.
#3 by Tim - October 24th, 2010 at 20:06
Allen, what would it take then for them to be worth $70? Sounds like they’ve gone above and beyond cheaper options, no? In my continued experience, they’ll take almost anything you throw at them, and I’ve probably worn them more than any others the past four months.