Hiking & Outdoor Pants - Functions and Types

In general, Hiking Pants and Outdoor Pants need to fulfill the basic Purposes of Outdoor Clothing and help you maintain your Thermal Equilibrium and protect you against the possible roughness of Outdoor Activities. In this section, we will look at the different types of Hiking Pants starting from the bottom up and going from lightweight shorts to pants used in Mountaineering.

Short & Long (Thermal) Underwear As explained in the Three Layer System section, the first layer will be the one mostly responsible for extracting moisture away from your skin. Thermal Underwear for your legs can come either in boxer short length or full length. For underwear, it is very important that they protect your delicate areas from chafing.		Tights Fall in the same category as Long Thermal Underwear and often have the same moisture-extracting qualities needed for the Base Layer. Recent technological advancements have seen developments in activity or conditioning Tights that support key muscle groups and help prevent lactic acid buildup.
Shorts Unlike Thermal Underwear and Tights which provide snug fit, Shorts offer about as much freedom as you can have. Shorts offer great ventilation and overall comfort but are of course only of use in good weather conditions and reasonable temperatures. Some avid hikers go so far in their love for shorts that they will just keep on using their shorts even in bad weather.		Long Pants These type of pants are mostly meant for use in combination with normal or short thermal underwear and are normally sold under the name of Hiking Pants or Outdoor Pants. They often combine multiple of the Three Layer functions in one light fabric. They are mostly breathable and water- and wind resistant. Many of them come with convenient bottom parts with zipper that allow you to convert them into shorts. These types of pants could be considered as suitable for three seasons.

Insulation Pants Insulation Pants form the second layer in the Three Layer System. For Outdoor Pants, they can be found in the form of fleece pants and other insulating materials. They are often combined with the Base Layer to form a slightly thicker layer with a snug fit similar to Tights.		Outer Shell Pants As the name suggests, Outer Shell Pants are the third layer in the Three Layer System. They are waterproof and breathable. Outer Shell Pants are often used together with a combined base and insulation layer pant to form the full Three Layer System. In extreme conditions, you could go for a separate full length thermal underwear, insulation layer pants, and an outer shell but in those cases, it might be better to go for Mountaineering Pants.
Mountaineering Pants / Expedition Pants These pants are used for the worst possible conditions. You could climb Everest with one of these! They often resemble Sleeping Bags when it comes to materials and construction. They often have a baffle system to guarantee an equal insulation.

These are the different Types of Hiking and Outdoor Pants. Know the features of each type so you will be able to determine what kind suits your needs.