A lightweight pant suitable for trekking, travel and active mountain sports – and quite stylish too.

The chameleon of pants, these do it all. You’ll get through customs with ease (tidy no-wrinkle look), climb every hill and dale (four-way stretch fabric and gusseted crotch), and at trip’s end, celebrate with dinner out (after washing, they dry quickly).

The Khumbu region of Nepal is internationally famous for its trekking, mountaineering and Everest of course. For the Nepalese it where the Sherpa people make their home and it also the home of the famous Bhuddist Monestary of Tengboche is. No wonder Sherpa have a whole range named after the region.

We’ve been reviewing Sherpa Adventure Gear clothing for quite a while now and love the style and performance of the range as well as knowing our purchase is helping Sherpa families make a living that doesn’t just rely on the male members of the villages working as Sherpas.

The Sherpa Khumbu pants are  lightweight (345g), summer style trousers that have been a joy to wear. The cut is great for both travel as well as active wear, I’ve worn them throughout the season and they have performed very well. The Nylon/Spandex mix means that I can enjoy full freedom of movement is all but the most extreme of climbing moves. I also really like the fact that the articulated knees aren’t too pronounced so I don’t feel too technical in social situations.

The Khumbu pants have really felt at home both on the crag as well as in the bar and have excelled as a general travel pant. They pack up small, are easy to wash and dry super quick. All the seams are double stitched and the belt loops are bar tacked so they are proving to be very durable, I came down a very steep and slippy scree slope in The Aiguilles Rouges this summer and fell/slid several times on my backside and the Khumbu pants held up really well with no signs of damage at all.

The style is slim without being overly athletic. I tested a size 32” waist and I needed a belt to keep them up so the sizing is good – think American and not European and you should be OK. The regular leg size is more like a 31” inside leg (even though the size chart says 32”) so just right for my frame. The seat area was generous enough without feeling too baggy and the legs had enough room to feel comfortable walking yet not too restrictive under a climbing harness.  

The Sherpa Khumbu pants have 4 pockets, two hand warmer, a thigh pocket on the left leg and a back pocket on the right. They are all zipped with YKK Vislon zips and finished with nice prayer flag coloured cord (which was super thin but glove friendly). I would have liked to have seen mesh pocket interiors to aid ventilation on all the pockets instead of the microfibre and Nylon material that had been used. I often like to open all pockets when hiking up hill to help ventilate my legs so hopefully this will appear in future versions. The thigh pocket is big enough to fit a wallet, phone, energy bars or a camera but not a large map, again mesh would have been helpful.

The waist band is very comfortable in hot conditions, it is finished with microfibre to soak up perspiration and closes with a lovely Endless Knot rubberised press stud. The fly is also finished with a YKK Vislon zip and I think a slightly larger zip pull would have made it easier to use with a climbing harness on – I do appreciate, however, that this is quite specialise and zips are often standard, so a minor niggle!

The logo on the Khumbu pants has been printed on with the actual Sherpa logo hardly visible on the front left hand leg and the Endless Knot in reflective silver on the back. This is a shame as I love the red  Endless Knot embroidered logo and I feel the Sherpa logo should be at least a more visible colour.

In conclusion the Sherpa Khumbu Pant is a great lightweight trekking pant that has become a staple of both my travel kit as well as hiking and occasionally mountaineering. The only improvement that would make them even better are mesh pocket interiors, a very nice pair of trousers indeed.

Sizes S – XXL also available in short, they have a colours for the regular (Juniper green and Roti brown) and a long leg version.

SRP £56-80.

Available from the Sherpa website and various retailers.

Dave Sarkar has tested and reviewed climbing, mountaineering and outdoor equipment for almost 10 years. He works as a qualified MIA both in the UK and Internationally: working full time as a mountaineering instructor and expedition leader for his company Wild Spaces. When he isn’t working in the mountains he’s playing in the mountains and enjoys all aspects climbing and mountain sports whether bouldering at his local crag or ice climbing; as long as he’s going upwards he’s happy!