The old "Rockcraft" pant was my favorite, but was discontinued, this seems to be the replacement. I picked up a pair and just climbed them at Shelf in it last weekend. Of course, those of you anywhere in front range Colorado or Wyoming know that the rain has been a constant problem/distraction, which is mainly why I chose to post a review...
I'm a kinda skinny guy, wearing a women's RPS. In black.
Generalities...
This pant is a very lightweight and stretchy pant, with a generous cut, mostly (or entirely) straight leg, no taper. Did I say stretchy? Love this sort of material for those sport climbs where you need to step up to waist level or wide stemming. Fast drying, airy for those hot days. Unlike the old Rockcraft pant, the cuffs have cinch cords. They have also added a adjustable system for the waist sizing.
In the field...
The water was flowing through all those riverbeds in Shelf, which is rare apparently. We waded across the water, the pant cuffs with cinches did a REALLY excellent job of keeping the pants capri length. Since the legs are pretty straight, I'm sure you could keep the pants up on your thighs if the water was that deep. I'm quite grateful for this feature because I often opt to wade instead of tyrollean. There's no hardware for the cinch, it seems to be done with an internally contained friction knot - very nice and it works.
It rained on us. See the attached pic, impressive water repellency for such a light summer pant! I was super happy to not have wet pants after the rain rolled over. This is a really thin pant, the wind before the rain arrived was fairly uncomfortable to experience in these pants. I would probably not wear these on the mountain if cold winds were possible, although...I have worn my old Rockcraft pants with the thinnest Capilene underneath, that worked well.
Under a harness I found the pants very comfortable, with a very flat fit.
While climbing, I never noticed that I was wearing the pants, even for those wide stems (climbing Killer Queen). I look forward to many summer days in these! I stopped wearing shorts because of my poor legs - so much shin and knee skin damage. I see no mention of SPF on the website, I wonder what it achieves, and too bad it wasn't designed with SPF 50 or something...
This really is my favorite light climbing pant indoors and out, primarily because of it's light stretchy design and good function underneath a harness. Additionally, it is available available at a price point less than some other climbing pants you might be considering. And so far, I have a good amount of faith that this pant will last long enough to justify owning it.
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