As an outdoor apparel designer I often come up with ideal pieces in my head, my latest dream need has been the desire for a svelte softshell pant. Not the kind we generally make in the outdoor industry. My brain had imagined a piece made from a 4-way stretch double weave softshell fabric, something that would fit and look as good as a pair of lululemon pants meeting skinny jeans, something that I can wear a skirt over the top of, something I can backpack in, instead of those not so attractive brown pants that we are always offered. I wanted something I can fish in, wet wade in, and put underneath my waders too. Since this dream pant would be a softshell it would naturally be resistant to brush and burrs along the rivers edge, or while bushwhacking for that matter. This dream pant would also be equally at home on the street and on the town at the end of an active day. I wanted to take it from the river or the trail, to the bar.
Until yesterday it only existed in my head. I went into
West End Bikes to talk about riding in the rain, as we discussed getting really hot while riding the co-owner Mark took me to the back of the store and suggested that I try on this pant from
Outlier. I love Outlier, so I was intrigued, but hadn't yet purchased anything from them.
Imagine my surprise when the pant he pulled out was...my dream pant! In fact I was so in shock at first that I didn't even really get what he was showing me. It took a little while to sink in, maybe because they were $180 *gasp*, so I began to think about why I would pay $180, these were the dream pant, I quickly calculated that I would likely wear them a 100x (can you tell I'm excited) in just the first year that's $1.80/use, and if you factor in that they are a durable softshell, with Nanosphere, these pants are gonna last a long time, so if you average it out over say 3 years, that's .60 each time I wear them, practically a thrift store deal when you break it down properly!
So I left West End Bikes with a silly smile on my face went home and jumped into my new
Women's Daily Riding Pant, still haven't wiped the smile off my face... The photos don't really do them justice, you have to try them on. These pants are also exactly what I have been asked for by climber girls that I have interviewed for design projects too, outdoor girl nirvana has been found, I love it when that happens.
