Molehill Mountain Equipment
Yampa Pants
Retail Price: $29.99 – $39.99 sizes 2T – 14
Findings: Any mother of boys will tell you that finding pants that stay intact is quite a chore. The knees in my son’s pants often only last 2 weeks! Then I sew patches on the knees hoping to get another couple weeks use out of them. So when I received the Yampa pants, I expected much of the same. However, the rip stop nylon and double reinforced knees are still holding without even a hint of a tear after 6 weeks of heavy wearing. (When I say heavy wearing, I’m talking about rock climbing, rolling down hills, sliding into mud, bush whacking kind of heavy wearing.) I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. The nylon dries quickly even when submerged in mountain lakes. Mosquitoes can’t bite through the material. And so far anyway, they wash up nicely. My only recommendation is to add more of the loop end of velcro to the pants bottoms so you can cinch it tighter around ankles. This is especially helpful when in buggy terrain. The pants are priced reasonably especially when compared to other nylon pants. We give these pants a hardy two thumbs up!
Yampa Pants in action on the Resurrection Pass Trail, Alaska.
UPDATE! December 10, 2008
So my son has been wearing these pants everyday since we got them. Ok, maybe not everyday, maybe only 6 out of every 7 days. He wears them to school. He wears them to play. He wears them skiing, skating, and hiking too. And we finally have holes in them! Six months of constant, borderline abusive wear and these are the only holes to show for it. I don’t know what magic kind of nylon Molehill uses, but it is good stuff.
6 months of constant use and these are the only holes!