Our Favorite Hunting Pants for Men and Women

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Your hunting pants are arguably the most important piece of clothing in your kit, yet many hunters will spend hundreds on peripheral gear, then walk into a big-box outdoor outfitter and grab the cheapest pair of cotton pants on the rack. (I was guilty of this for years, convincing myself that cheap cotton bibs were comfortable and durable.)

Thankfully, hunting apparel has become more technical (if not much more affordable) in the past several decades, and even budget options offer stretch materials and performance fabrics that help you manage moisture and hunt more comfortably for longer. There are plenty of pants designed specifically for certain types of hunting and weather.

At minimum, a good pair of hunting pants will be comfortable, keep moisture out while letting body heat and moisture escape, and be quiet enough so as not to give you away. If you hunt in particularly cold weather, you may want some insulation, but I prefer to stick with lighter pants and use active insulation layers to add warmth as needed.

You really only need one good pair of pants, but if budget allows, you may want to add others. I like to carry a dedicated rain pant so serious precipitation doesn’t drive me out of the field. If you can afford it, it’s nice to have pants for other purposes, like a more durable pair for hunting in heavy brush and a down pant for layering when in cold, static situations such as a tree stand or long sits glassing for big game.

There is no one pair of pants that will be perfect for every occasion, but check out my recommendations below for offerings that might be just right for your location and style of hunting.

Best Hunting Pants

• Best Overall Hunting Pants: Sitka Traverse Hunting Pants

• Best Overall Runner-Up Hunting Pants: Kryptek Alaios Lightweight Hunting Pants

• Best Budget Hunting Pants: Mossy Oak Tibbee Flex Hunt Pants

• Best Rain & Snow Hunting Pants: Sitka Dewpoint Pants

• Best for Mid- to Late-Season Hunting Pants: Under Armour Ridge Reaper Raider HD Pants

What to Look For in Hunting Pants

Layering Systems

While layering isn’t as essential for bottoms as it is on your upper body (keeping your core warm keeps your extremities warm), you can still use layers to address wild swings in ambient or body temperature, such as hiking up a steep grade with a pack on and then spending hours motionless in a tree stand. Several of the hunting pants recommended below are designed to be used in a layering system and wouldn’t make sense as a standalone garment.

Layering isn’t generally of any value when hunting during warmer seasons, but in colder weather or any situation with wild swings, it’s easier to adapt to conditions when you’re wearing layers than it is when you’re wearing a single garment. The downside here is that you will at some point be carrying extra clothing which requires more pack space and some additional weight. With bulky insulated bibs, for example, that space and weight requirement can be fairly substantial, so make sure you need the layers before you commit to them.

Patterns and Colors

Hunting apparel companies offer more types of camouflage than ever, and you can spend days researching the purported benefit of one camo over another. Since Realtree, one of the first popularizers of modern hunting camo patterns, debuted decades ago, there has been an explosion in concealment R&D, and the marketplace offers dozens of patterns from manufacturers as well as third-party pattern companies such as Kryptek, Realtree, Mossy Oak, and others.

An in-depth discussion of camo efficacy is way beyond the scope of this article, but my baseline advice for choosing camo is to look for a brand that caters to your specific region and type of hunting. Not only will you get a camo pattern that’s in line with your hunting environment, but also the garments will be designed for your style of hunting.

More and more long-range rifle hunters are eschewing camo altogether since the patterns are less important at long distances than some basic concealment and stillness. Thankfully, apparel companies are catering to this audience, providing more solid colorways in earth tones. Buying solids has the benefit of making your pants capable of double-duty for work, play, or casual wear beyond the hunting seasons.

Materials

As the saying goes, “cotton kills,” and that’s because cotton absorbs moisture like a sponge and, worse yet, doesn’t dry out quickly. Moisture transfers heat much more readily than air, so wet pants will both pull your body heat off you and draw the outside cold into you. Aside from cotton, there’s no material that you need to avoid at all costs, nor is there any “best” material for every pair of hunting pants.

Most modern technical hunting pants use blends of materials such as nylon, polyester, elastane, spandex, and merino wool. The manufacturers try to balance breathability, durability, stretch, comfort, warmth, and many other factors to create the ideal fabric for each application.

If you hunt in wetter regions, you may want to look for pants with a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating. Many hunters carry separate rain pants for when precipitation hits, but a basic level of water repellency is a good idea—unless you hunt mostly in drier areas.

If you need maximum weatherproofing in your pants, you’re likely in the market for a pant that uses specialized fabric-membrane combinations such as Gore-Tex. These high-tech garments borrow tech used for years in snow sports and mountaineering and provide high levels of wind- and waterproofing while remaining breathable, unlike a rubberized rain slicker.

Keep in mind, however, that while these layers perform great, they have some drawbacks, such as stiffer, noisier materials and higher price points. They also will never be as breathable as thinner, lighter fabrics that aren’t waterproof but allow body moisture to escape freely.

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Nice-to-Have Features

Hunting pants come with lots of little features that get touted in product descriptions, such as purpose-built pockets, built-in kneepads, quiet pocket snaps, and durability-minded details such as reinforced fabric on high-wear areas.

Pockets I’m usually fine with almost any arrangement of pockets on my hunting pants, as I tend to always have a pack and prefer to keep frequently used items, such as my phone and binoculars, on my upper body. The classic five-pocket setup you’d find on blue jeans works just fine. Look for cargo pockets if you know you’ll use them. I don’t like anything substantial on my legs as it can swing around and snag while you’re hiking.

Kneepads Lots of hunting pants come with kneepads, and you might love them or hate them. While I find thick built-in kneepads annoying at first, I usually forget about them after the first mile of hiking and am glad to have them when I need to stop and stay low. Folks with bad knees or any hunters spending time above the tree line where rock is the predominant ground may want to filter their search down to only pants with kneepads.

Likewise, many pants will feature articulated knees that keep the fabric from binding when you flex at the knee joint hiking or getting low. Some pants, including the Under Armour model recommended below, have extra material around the knee. This is actually my preferred setup, as I don’t ever feel like I need full kneepads, but I do enjoy a little extra cushioning there.

Reinforcements While lots of modern pants focus on being ultralight and breathable, you’ll get more years out of them if they have reinforced fabric in certain areas. First and foremost, I like pants with reinforcement in the rear end, which is usually the first place to go threadbare if you often sit on rocks and rocky dirt that slowly abrades the fabric. While I almost never use rear pockets, they can often act as de facto fabric reinforcement if the rear isn’t otherwise fortified.

Other areas it’s nice to have extra material: the cuffs at the ankles, which can rub against each other and wear, and the knees, which tend to bump against things when you’re hiking or rub against rocks and dirt when you’re kneeling.

How We Selected These Hunting Pants

I’ve personally worn a wide range of hunting (and non-hunting-specific) pants in various conditions—everything from cotton bibs and jeans to some of the most expensive, technical hunting-specific pants on the market.

To make these recommendations, I considered pants I own or have owned, as well as tested a half-dozen current models from the most popular and widely available hunting apparel brands.

I also spoke with other hunters, brand reps, and store owners about their opinions of the different materials and brands available. My category picks offer guidance if you’ve already narrowed down your search.

Traverse Hunting Pants

The Traverse pants from Sitka are the first technical hunting pants I ever bought and they’re still one of my favorite all-around lightweight, active options for almost any season. For high-exertion Western hunting, they’re hard to beat since they’re thin and breathable but durable enough to bust through occasional brush.

These also have a DWR coating so they will repel light afternoon showers without the need for you to pull out the rain gear. (The bottoms can wet out if you’re hiking through dew-covered vegetation without gaiters, but they’re light enough that they dry easily during the day or at a safe distance from a campfire.)

The heavy elastane content in the fabric makes them very stretchy. They don’t restrict your legs hiking or require contorting yourself into odd positions while glassing or waiting to get a shot on an animal.

For me, these are primarily an early season pant, but if you want to own just one pair, the fit is relaxed enough to easily accommodate a solid base-layer bottom for cold-weather hunting.

Alaios Lightweight Hunting Pants

Kryptek is perhaps best-known as a popular high-tech camouflage pattern technology, and it’s the only one tested and approved by the U.S. military for concealment.

The brand actually produces a lot of outerwear, and I’ve found its pants to be not only well-made but also a bit more affordable than a lot of the big names in the space. There are also some smart features I love that aren’t usually available in pants at this price point, like reinforced belt loops and mesh-backed heat-dumping zippers at the hips.

The Alaios pants also have eight different pockets smartly placed to stay out of your way and prevent snags. I particularly like the zippered cargo pocket that sits high on your quad, which keeps it from impeding your knee flexion when hiking or kneeling. The reinforced knees are durable enough with an extra layer of fabric, but they’re also ready to receive the sold-separate kneepads if desired.

Tibbee Flex Hunt Pants

Luckily for budget-minded hunters, the tech pant revolution has started to trickle down into lower-priced garments. Mossy Oak is known for its long-standing camo hunting patterns, but also sells cheaper hunting apparel. There are pants that are less expensive, but almost all of them are noisy, stiff cotton styles that absorb water and can send you home early if they get wet.

The Tibbee Flex pants deliver modern technical hunting pant performance in a budget option made from all synthetic materials that handle moisture well and keep the pants lightweight and stretchy.

The cut and style are still fairly traditional, with hip and rear pockets and button cargo pockets, but there’s no cotton, and the pants stretch with you as you move. The sizing covers a broad range of waist sizes, but all waists feature a 32-inch inseam, so it’s harder to get a precise fit, and lankier hunters might be left out on this model.

Dewpoint Pants

Good rain pants are an investment that you hope you won’t have to use often, but you're glad to have on hand when needed. I like to carry a rain bottom in my pack to quickly slip over my regular hunting pants when weather moves in so that I can prevent wetting out my more active pant layer.

Sitka’s Dewpoint pants are a lightweight 3L Gore-Tex construction similar to lightweight ski pants that repel water, but are still breathe to avoid the clamminess of a traditional rubberized rain suit.

The pants are not cheap for how infrequently I wear them, but they pack down small thanks to a zero-pocket design. I never let them leave my hunting pack, as not having them can end a hunt quickly.

The Dewpoint pants have long zippered sides, making them easy to put on over other layers and the seams and zippers are sealed so as to not give water an easy way in. These are loose enough to accommodate layers underneath but have an athletic enough fit that you can hike in them (and vent as-needed).

Under Armour Ridge Reaper Raider HD Pants

Under Armour is one of the few non-endemic brands to do hunting apparel right. Far from being athletic wear painted camo and rebranded, Under Armour hunting gear is performance minded and well-thought-out. I wore the Ridge Reaper Raider pants across multiple hunting seasons last fall and found them to be a good all-around weight.

I’d probably opt for something lighter for desert climates and hot early-season archery hunts since the highly elastic material is fairly thick, but I was able to layer under them despite a performance fit and wear them for even my coldest hunts of the year. The articulated “moto” knees provide essential padding for more active hunts without having to stuff bulky, annoying kneepads in.

Cadence Women's Lightweight Hunting Pants

Lots of hunting apparel brands are meeting the rising demand for women’s-specific hunting clothing, and the Cadence pant is a perfect all-season pant.

I’ve only tested the men’s Sitka pants but the Cadence are similar to the men’s Traverse pants which are a straightforward, versatile technical hunting pant for early to mid-season hunts (and beyond with proper layering).

These ultralight, highly breathable pants are ideal for high-exertion hunting and thus are best suited to more active, Western-type hunts where breathability trumps weather-resistance.

That said, by layering under and on top of the Cadence pants, these are a viable option for any season and any type of hunting from waterfowl hunting in marshes to chasing elk in high desert.

Grumman Down Pants

Packing a down bottom layer might seem like a small luxury to add, but if you’re hunting in cold weather, it can be hard to keep warm enough to stay on your glassing spot as long as you need without this. Hiking in insulated pants is restrictive and can have you sweating out your base layers in minutes, so I like a layer such as the Stone Glacier Grumman Down Pants because they easily layer on top of a more active hunting pant after you’ve settled in and started to cool down.

Unlike camping-oriented down pants, the Grummans have full zip-offs on both sides so you don’t have to remove and replace boots and gaiters to take them on and off. Those same zips also allow for massive venting if you need to do some hiking to change up your spot and don’t want to fully remove the pants and then put them back on.

Stone Glacier does a phenomenal job with down layers and the combination of a DWR-treated Pertex shell with 850-fill goose down is no exception. The down is treated so it’ll retain its warming capabilities even when wet. At just one pound, these compressible pants are easy to just throw in your pack so you have them when you need them.

Intercept Pant

Bowhunting big game, especially in the Western U.S., usually involves covering lots of ground and dealing with wide temperature swings both in the ambient air and your body heat as you exert and cool down.

Because of how close you need to get to be in bow range, odor control is also an issue and the Intercept pants employ a merino/polyester backer to help naturally control your scent through wool’s natural odor-control properties. In addition to being relatively thin and breathable despite the backer, the Intercept pants have substantial side vents.

Perhaps most important is how quiet the durable nylon face fabric is. After wearing the Intercept pants for most of this year’s elk archery season, I couldn’t help but notice how noisy my hunting partners’ pants sounded in comparison.

If there’s a downside to these pants, it’s that the wool blend backer makes them run hotter than lighter pants such as Sitka’s Traverse pants, but the hip vents mitigate that pretty well.

Ferrosi Multi-Sport Pant

Hunters that aren’t set on sticking to specific camo patterns and hunting-specific brands have lots of options for pants that can be worn when not hunting and can usually save some money as well.

Outdoor Research’s well-loved Ferrosi pants are a versatile, lightweight multi-sport pant that’s neutral enough to be worn casually as well. There are no camo patterns available here but most of the colorways are muted earth tones that won’t give you away in the woods.

These are ultralight, breathable pants weighing less than 2 ounces so they’re a great early-season option that packs down very small when backpack hunting or in luggage for pleasure travel. They’re technical with zipper pockets and four-way stretch fabric, but they look casual enough to pass in relaxed office environments or out to dinner.

PRO Brush Pant

One area where lightweight, technical hunting pants tend to come up short is durability. While most hunting pants will endure snags without falling apart, they are likely to experience pulls that can damage the pants bit-by-bit over time.

For upland bird hunting and other pursuits that drag you through dense brush and brambles, a more durable pant is recommended. The Kuiu PRO Brush pants use lightweight and breathable polyester but are reinforced Primeflex high-density double weave panels on the thighs and both sides of the lower legs.

Unlike many other upland brush pants that use heavy-duty canvas for durability, the PRO Brush Pants use an ultralight proprietary fabric Kuiu developed with Toray that’s tough but still flexible and stretchy enough for active hunts. There are several small details included as well including a hook to secure the cuffs to your boot laces, inside and outside thigh vents, and removable suspenders.

Our Expert, Justin Park, on Insulation, Durability, and His Favorite Hunting-Pants Feature.

Do I need insulated pants for hunting?

Though personal experience in the field will best determine your answer, there are a few types of hunters that will likely want insulated pants. Treestand hunters in cold climates will almost always benefit from insulated pants, since long hours of inactivity make it hard to fight off the chill when the mercury drops. Likewise, late-season Western hunters may want insulated pants, especially if they don’t have strenuous hikes to their hunting spots.

Too much insulation combined with heavy exertion can lead to excessive sweating and damp garments that will end up having the opposite of their intended effect, chilling you when you stop moving and cool down. If you’re worried about sweating out insulated pants but need warmth for longer sits, consider a zip-on insulated pant you can put on after the heavy breathing is done.

Are lightweight technical fabrics durable?

My experience wearing lightweight modern hunting pants through several seasons of heavy use is that most brands are fairly durable. They are much more susceptible to snags and pulls than, say, waxed canvas, but you are trading that extreme durability for lighter weights, range of motion, and breathability.

If you regularly hunt in heavy brush, I recommend looking at a durability-first pair of pants, such as the Orvis Pro LT,which is still remarkably lightweight and breathable but features a stiffer, more rugged material designed to hold up through brambles.

Your one must-have hunting-pants feature?

While it may seem nonessential, the inclusion of zips for dumping heat are a feature I use frequently in almost any season. If you tend to exert heavily getting in and out of your hunting zones like I do, you will get too hot and sweaty no matter how lightweight your pants are. Having zips (ideally mesh-backed) on the outsides and/or the insides of your thighs is the best way to dump heat quickly and avoid steaming your pants out, which can lead to serious chills if the weather shifts, you start staying put, or the sun goes down.

How long should hunting pants be?

Most hunting pants have a standard inseam of 32 inches unless otherwise indicated. If you’re particularly tall or short, you may want to look for pants that offer short or tall sizing to ensure a proper fit. Many brands have models with tall sizing, but it’s harder to find short versions, however, it’s not a huge problem to deal with some bunching if the inseam is a bit long for you.

How many pairs of hunting pants do you own?

While testing for articles such as this one, I often will have as many as 10 pairs of pants in my possession, however, I try to limit my personal rotation to no more than three pants I regularly wear.

Currently, that consists of Sitka’s highly breathable and stretchy Traverse pants for early season hunting, Under Armour’s Ridge Raider Reaper pants for late-season hunts, and a pair of rain pants that never leave my pack unless it’s actively raining. If temperatures are really low, I carry Stone Glacier’s Grumman Down Pants in my pack as well to layer over whatever pants I’m hiking in.

When I visit my folks in Upstate New York, to dabble in fairly static whitetail hunting from a treestand, I borrow my dad’s Sitka Aerolite Incinerator Bibs when staying warm is the most important thing. For most people, it’s completely reasonable to own one good all-season pair of pants tailored to your personal style of hunting and the weather you deal with regularly.

If you hunt in different states and climates for different types of game, it’s almost inevitable that you will end up with multiple pairs of hunting pants like me. Having options is convenient, but wearing the same pants day in and day out will help you feel comfortable in the field knowing where your pockets are and how you’ll feel in them in different situations.

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