Performance ***

Style ****

Value for Money *****

CGR puts the durable Sprayway Havanna Pants to the test on the hill.

Earlier in the year we tested the Sprayway Crux jacket, to compliment this they also sent a pair of the durable and hardwearing Havanna Pants. They’re billed as a … ‘Durable, nylon trousers with DWR and plenty of pockets that look great on and off the hill.’

My first impressions were that they were, indeed a stylish pair of walking trousers. They were well cut and comfortable, I was sent a size medium/32 and regular length. I’m usually between a 32 and 34” waist and they were a generous fit, so a Medium would fit up to a 34” waist. I needed to wear a belt with them. The regular length was a 31” inside leg so a good all round size. They were a tapered cut with a generous 1” hem, so there would be room for letting them down up to ¾”. The trousers did look stylish and I felt I could wear them casually, whilst on holiday wandering around Keswick, drinking coffee and look smart enough.

The waistband was double stitched, has plenty of belt loops and was closed with a solid metal button fixed with bartacked tape, so you shouldn’t be losing that. The fly was fastened with a YKK zip, I found the zip tag too small and fiddly to grab when caught short. The crotch and seat seams were double stitched, as were the outer leg seams, the manufacture looked to fit the durable image, they felt well made.

There were 5 pockets, two front, two back and one thigh, on the right hand leg. The front pockets were large enough to fit hands plus other small items such as a Buff. The rear pockets were excellent, they were just open pockets, easy to stuff hankies, wallet, phone and all sorts of niknaks. Rear and front pockets aided ventilation  as they were half mesh lined, they high wear area next to the leg was made from the same material as the pants and the other half was mesh. The thigh pocket was bellowed and large enough to fit plenty of small items such as hats and gloves into. It was wide enough to fit a laminated OS map into as well as compass and GPS. The button fastening ensured that items were kept secure, but I found them awkward to use on the go. The buttons were the same as the wait closure and proved difficult to open and close effortlessly, it always seemed to be a faff. After an while I left them unbuttoned, I felt it would be better to have had velcro fastenings.

The nylon material felt very nice next to the skin, almost like hard wearing cotton in feel and look. The weave was tight enough to keep out a reasonable amount of wind and felt breathable when labouring uphill. They dried out very quickly when sweating and didn’t feel sticky. The 3M DWR did a good job of shedding light showers but soon became saturated, they dried out super quick with the lightest of breezes. The fit was generous enough for scrambling and even good for rockclimbing.

They were easy to wash and I just popped them in the machine with my normal washing. 30mins in the tumble drier bought the DWR back to an acceptable level.

So a great 3 season walking pant, suitable for most hillwalking adventures and stylish enough for mooching around town and country too.

They come in 4 colours and there is also a women’s version.

RRP £??.??