Black Diamond Credo Pants

I have been on the quest for the Holy Grail of climbing pants for the last two years, and I have yet to find it. Some come close, but no pants I have found have the right balance of stretchiness, durability, and comfort. I decided to give BD a try, having not owned any of their clothing aside from a couple mid layers and t-shirts. 

1. The Fit (6'2", 190lbs, 32/34 in most pants). 

Boasting a 98% cotton and 2% elastane mix, I was way more excited than I should have been to try these on after they arrived in the mail. That being said, my joy was temporary- shimmying into them, I noticed that even though the size M fit my 32" waist, they were a couple inches short of my 34" legs and they were way too tight on my quads. Thicc thighs may save lives but they make buying pants a PITA. I sent them back to BD in exchange for the size L in "Dark Curry." Size L fit my thighs, too big on my waist, and still about an inch short in the legs. To combat the extra room in the waist I have to cinch the built-in belt as tight as it goes, which makes the waist get a little screwy. Wearing a belt doesn't help with this because the belt loops are few and far between, none of which are near to the button/zipper. TL;DR, Tough finding the right size, not perfect but comfortable enough.

2. The ~Features~

This pair of pants is geared towards climbing. There is a small division of the rear right pocket that fits a hold brush snugly, and the elastane lends itself well to even the most tenacious high feet placements. These pants (as previously mentioned) have a built-in belt that is very lightweight and seems pretty durable. I haven't had any issues with it so far. The ankles feature drawstring adjustments for if and when you ever want to tighten these pants above your calves, although some other reviews mention that these are not durable in the slightest. I haven't had any issues with them as of late. These pants have reinforced knees, which was a nice and unexpected feature. There is also a zipper pocket at about mid-thigh level that's just large enough for your keys. I personally don't use this pocket because if you put bulky things in it, they stick out at an odd angle.

3. Durability

Or lack thereof. I climb some sport and mostly trad (if you can count getting hauled up 5.6s) so obvs I'm wearing a harness. I'm wasn't surprised when my favorite pair of climbing Daisy Dukes started to show some wear and tear in the crotch from all the rubbing that my harness did down there. Though the wear specifically in this region is to be expected eventually, I expected to get more than a month and a half of weekend-warrioring before a quarter-sized hole appeared amongst my nether regions. For someone who isnt a huge fan of underwear, this is a bit of an issue. It's along the seam, so I can sew it up in a couple of minutes, but I was still somewhat annoyed that my $90 pair of pants marketed towards climbers couldn't withstand thirty pitches of the softest 5.4s in the north east.

TL;DR Comfy, but not durable. I'd instead suggest buying a pair of prAna Stretch Zion Pants. 

I'm with you on the search for the Holy Grail of climbing pants but I think these are some of the closest I've been able to find. I think they make work better if you're thinner. I'm 6' even and around 155. I'll give it to you that they're a little shorter in the legs than I'm used to but I honestly don't give a shit about that part of it. The pockets hold stuff, the zippered pocket in the leg works for me well, and the adjustable waist means I don't need a belt. The only other contender I've found is the Arc'teryx Palisade but I'll only ever buy them when they're deeply discounted. 

Why do you assume there are holy grail climbing pants? If I'm climbing multipitch with chimney/offwidth I'm not going to put on my single pitch pants, just like I'm not going to put on my sport climbing shoes. Zions are the most overrated pant.

Tim Opsahl wrote:

Why do you assume there are holy grail climbing pants? If I'm climbing multipitch with chimney/offwidth I'm not going to put on my single pitch pants, just like I'm not going to put on my sport climbing shoes. Zions are the most overrated pant.

real climbers wear their Lederhosen when they climb, but I’m just trying to find a good pair of pants in the meantime. For sure different pants are better in different situations and environments, but a nice all-around pair for cragging is my “Holy Grail.”

Dickies or carhartt work pants are my favorite. 

Wrangler outdoor pants are pretty solid especially for the price.

That's an affirmative on the wranglers. And they are stretchy

Weird. I have a few pairs of credos and wear them every weekend for bigwall leading and cleaning and fixed line jugging. I've never had any issues with durability in the crotch region whatsoever. 

Fail Falling wrote:

Weird. I have a few pairs of credos and wear them every weekend for bigwall leading and cleaning and fixed line jugging. I've never had any issues with durability in the crotch region whatsoever. 

Maybe I got a lemon? There’s no way I’m putting more wear on them than you. I’ll patch them up and see how it goes

Will Murdock wrote:

Maybe I got a lemon? There’s no way I’m putting more wear on them than you. I’ll patch them up and see how it goes

Yeah, Bdel isn't really known for the consistency of their QA these days. 

The Zion Straight are my favorite crag pants. I just got some Credos and the only thing that has annoyed me, so far, is the button on the back pocket doesn’t open so my wallet can fit in there. I don’t ever carry a brush in my back pocket so it’s useless to me. I have a few pairs of the Wrangler Outdoors and they are great for work, but I prefer to climb in the Zions. I’ve worked as a carpenter in the same Wranglers for two years and none have a scratch on them, though. They really are great pants(especially for $22 at Walmart) and they are comfortable for climbing, just not my personal favorite climbing pants.