| 639 | Gi Pants - Patagonia | 2012-05-09 |
Old Gi Pants and the New Gi (gray)
In the nineties, I purchased a pair of Patagonia Gi pants. They were made from a soft denim fabric and had a webbing belt. The pants were very comfortable and I liked the pants enough to buy two other pairs.
The name of the pants was odd - Gi pants. I pronounced the name as letters - G I; but was reprimanded and told they were called 'Gee' pants. I am unsure how Patagonia got Gee from Gi, but one thing I did notice was Patagonia designed the pants well. A friend at an outdoors store, the one who also corrected my pronunciation, said the G - I stood for gusseted inseam. The unique design made the pants equally appropriate for rock climbing, hiking, or lounging.
I still wear my old Gi pants from time to time. They are still very comfortable but are threadbare in a few places. Then, this spring, while searching for a pair of pants to wear in the canyon country of Utah (part of our upcoming summer trip), I saw the Gi pants were still available and in fact had been re-designed. If the new pants were half as comfortable as my old Gi pants, they would be just the pants that I needed.
I found a pair of Gi pants at our local store, Cumberland Transit and was able to try them on to test the fit. They were not as comfortable as my old pants, but that was mostly due to the different fabric. Nylon just does not feel as comfortable as cotton. The new pants did move well and they had some interesting design features.
A few Gi pants tips ...
The pants are actually designed for hiking and water sports.
I don't think it would be much fun swimming in the pants, but they are very lightweight.
They dry very fast. In the desert they should even dry faster!
For drainage, the pockets have a section of mesh.
The taslon nylon fabric is treated with DWR (durable water repellent) making them water resistant.
The pants protect from your legs from the sun. UPF 50.
The belt closure is different. It snaps to close.
Oddly enough, the pants do not have a traditional side seam. Instead there are two side seams, one forward and the other 5 or 6 inches back. The redesigned side seam probably eliminated some of the wear but it also moved the front pockets to an almost unusable position (I like to put my hands in my pockets).
There is a zippered back pocket and a zippered side of the leg pocket.
The legs roll up easily.
With a regular fit, the pants seem true to size.
For the weight conscious, they are 10.3 ounces (size large).
I like the pants a lot. We will know more after our trip to the desert. My one complaint was that I did not like the position of the front pockets. The redesign of the pants will probably offset my lack of a place to put my hands. Overall, the Gi pants seem like a great warm weather addition to my outdoor wardrobe.
Happy Gi trails