The 16 Best Technical Pants For Men
The average wardrobe is built around a few key categories when it comes to pants, right? Classic jeans, the best chinos, sweatpants or joggers, and (increasingly less so these days) dress pants, yes? Well, there’s another unexplored dimension that demands your attention, and that’s the fast-growing world of technical pants for men. Yes, we said “technical pants.” Think of these trusty, durable pants (often made from stretch fabric blends) as the worst nightmare of your jeans and chinos. Or perhaps, to put it more simply, think of the best technical pants as a nice change of pace when you want all the style of five-pocket pants, but none of the drawbacks.
After all, even the most comfortable jeans can leave something to be desired, especially when worn for long trips or long days working from home. That’s where technical pants enter your wardrobe in dramatic (or just stylish) fashion. The best are meant to go where no pair of pants has gone before: They can function handily out on the trail, they’ll pull their weight as a pair of road trip pants and of course, you can wear them to work from home or head into the office without missing a beat. To get you started in your search for your new favorite pants, we rounded up our picks for the 16 best technical pants for men.
Public Rec Workday Pants
Public Rec made a name for itself by blending timeless silhouettes with next-level fabric and comfort. The Crosstown Bomber Jacket is a favorite of ours, and the Workday Pants are sure to become a favorite in many a rotation of stylish technical pants, too. Wear these on the road or to the golf course, or better still to the office. Stretch fabric, a tailored fit and that five-pocket design check all the right boxes.
Western Rise AT Slim Pants
If there’s a brand that deserves plenty of praise as far as technical pants are concerned, it’s Western Rise. These pants, crafted from two-way stretch fabric, are hard-wearing enough to the point that they can replace either your work pants or jeans, and they’re also water and stain-resistant. Five versatile colors really help seal the deal — they could just become your new favorite pants.
Mack Weldon Radius Pant
You’ve tried Mack Weldon’s famed boxer briefs and buttery soft T-shirts, so why not give the brand’s equally famed Radius Pants a try? The Radius Pants are unlike any tailored pants you’ve tried, complete with water, wind and stain-resistant fabric and a trim fit. Pair them with everything from a stretch dress shirt to a Mack Weldon tee.
Olivers Passage Pants
If you’ve shopped Olivers, you know the brand has you covered as far as durable and performance-ready workout gear is concerned. It’s also refreshing to know that the brand has your back for pursuits away from the gym, and the Passage Pants might just be Exhibit A in that regard. Made with CORDURA threads and Italian hardware, these pants seamlessly blend versatile style and performance fabric.
Vuori Meta Pants
When you want pants that are as comfortable as your tried-and-true sweatpants and yet as durable as your favorite jeans, that’s where the Vuori Meta Pants will come in handy. Vuori made these pants with every bit as much technical detail as its much-loved workout gear, which means the Meta Pants feature anti-odor technology and come in five easily wearable colors.
Topo Designs Tech Pants
Technical pants are great for a good deal number of things, be it hiking or grabbing a cold beer back in town (or both), and as luck would have it, the Topo Designs Tech Pants are made for both of those occasions (and plenty more). We love the T-lock belt for ease of use on the go (no need to worry about a leather belt getting in the way of your climbing pants) and the cinch cord ankle opening for a perfect fit anywhere you rock ‘em.
KUHL Silencr Pants
The KUHL Silencr Pants are quite unlike any technical pants you’ve tried out yet, and we think that’s a very good thing for those who value style and adventure in spades. That’s all owing to the fact that the Silencr Pants really are “different by design,” as the brand says, made with UPF 50 sun protection for the great outdoors and a blend of stretch and recycled polyester for comfort back home.
Everlane Performance Chinos
The best technical pants come in many shapes and forms, including via a hybrid design that blends the style points of a chino with the performance-minded nature of outdoors-minded pants. The Everlane Performance Chinos toe the line nicely between both work and play, featuring a blend of cotton and elastane for ease of movement, plus that classic chino styling potential.
Rhone Commuter Pants
You can assuredly wear Rhone’s Commuter Pants just about anywhere you please: On a road trip and then out to dinner, grabbing a quick weekend coffee or to the office. Best of all? You won’t look out of place in any of those pursuits, thanks to the tailored fit and of course, the stretch-filled Flex-Knit™ fabric and your pick of a half-dozen classic color options.
Patagonia Quandary Pants
Some pursuits call for you to take things to the next level if you want consistently reliable performance. For instance: Your old hiking pants might be in need of a refresh the next time you plan an outing, and that’s where the Patagonia Quandary Pants come into play. They’re everything you could ask for in a pair of technical pants, featuring a recycled nylon fabric blend and handy zipper pocket functionality.
Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants
The best technical pants on the market should be geared to do everything but slow you down, which is what makes the Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants so covetable. Made to perform in a similar fashion to the lightweight shell jacket you might wear on your top half, these weather-resistant pants are a favorite for fans of the brand.
Lululemon Commission Pants
If you thought Lululemon only made sweatpants and workout gear (highly functional workout gear, that is), then think again. The brand is on a mission to take over the rest of your wardrobe, starting with the tailored Commission Pants, made with proprietary quick-drying, breathable fabric.
Mission Workshop Mission Jeans
If ever you’ve tried out the incredible Mission Workshop line of outerwear, you know that the brand always exceeds expectations and builds tough gear that fuses technical performance with modern style. The Mission Jeans are the epitome of that approach, using water-repellent, four-way stretch Italian fabric to offer an unprecedented update to classic blue jeans.
Western Rise Evolution Pants
Western Rise continually impresses us with its entire range of performance-minded menswear, with each piece offering something ever so slightly different than other products from this Colorado-based brand. Case in point: The Evolution Pants, crafted from a lightweight fabric and a streamlined design that’s meant to replace your favorite chinos.
Proof Foundation 5-Pocket Pant
Try any piece of gear from Proof, be it one of the brand’s much-loved merino T-shirts or the performance 5-pocket pants shown here, and there’s a good chance you might want to replace the rest of your wardrobe with only Proof gear. In the case of the Foundation 5-Pocket Pants, it’s not hard to see why, because the use of Primeflex fabric from Japan gives these next-level durability and rebound time, wear after wear.
Bluffworks Ascender Chino
You’ve got your stretch dress shirt and blazer from Bluffworks, and now, we know exactly what you’ll need to complete that perfect, commute-ready ensemble. The Ascender Chinos are an easy answer for the guy on the go, made with wrinkle-free fabric in a versatile shade of grey that comes with a cool name, to boot.
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