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April 20, 2009
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Witness (Courtesy of Arc'teryx)
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I'm going to be traveling around South America this summer and need pants that will be up to the rough life of backpacking, without looking like they were made for my boyfriend.
— Alexandra
Seattle, Washington
 My all-time favorite pant to wear when traveling rugged terrain is the Arc'teryx Witness ($89, arcteryx.com). It may bear a slight resemblance to your boyfriend's best pair of khaki cargo pants, but the fit is much more feminine, with a hip-hugging waist and two butt-diminishing back-flap pockets. A rock-climbing pant by design, the Witness, which comes in oregano, raisin, and sesame, has articulated knees, a gusseted crotch, and a side pleated cargo pocket on each thigh (where I stash my notebook and pen). The best part about the Witness is that it easily dries overnight. While khaki is cool, I'd recommend the darker oregano or raisin so you don't feel like you have to wash it every time you kick up a little dirt, say, on the way to Machu Picchu.
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Do you have a question of your
own?
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For flying long distances, I like a wool, yoga-style pant because they're warm, comfortable, keep their shape, and feel good. One great option is Ibex's Loose Tights ($135, ibexwear.com). The 89 percent merino wool tights, which look much more like pants than tights, come in basic grey, black, or brown. They have a comfortable three-inch waistband, a zip pocket at the waist for stashing extra cash, and a boot-leg cut. Just because it's wool, doesn't necessarily mean you'll overheat, especially in high-altitude. Machine-washable, you can hike in it by day then wear it out the same evening without feeling like a hippie Gringo, even in those nightclubs above Bogota.
Stephanie Pearson: The Gear Girl
When it comes to gear, contributing editor Stephanie Pearson lives by one rule: What you own, owns you. That's why the skier, hiker, biker, runner, canoe paddler, and sometimes yogini is on an eternal quest to find gear and clothing that will enhance her life rather than make her a slave to dysfunctional stuff. During her seven-year stint as a travel editor at Outside, Pearson received three honorable mentions in The Best American Travel Writing series for stories on Guatemala, New Zealand, and Bhutan. Now that she's no longer in the office at Outside HQ in Santa Fe, Pearson hopes to be on the road more and is always in search of functional and aesthetically pleasing gear that's easy to use or clothing that's elegant to wear. Pearson is based in northern Minnesota and Santa Fe. Her latest adventure was on the fringe of the Amazon Basin in Brazil.
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