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The Charge Trousers are one of ThruDark’s original pieces and are clearly very military inspired. Over the review period it was interesting to see which features worked well in a normal mountaineering outdoors scenario and which were superfluous.
At first glance the features which strike you are the large bellows cargo pockets and the very technical multi panel construction. In fact ThruDark have used no less than four different fabrics:
- Utexebel cotton in a rip stop construction and with a DWR.
- Stretch fabric from Serates, around crotch, thigh and below the rear waistband/backside.
- Dyneema at the knees.
- Cordura at the inside calf ‘kick zone’.
Such complexity might seem a little over the top but it does work surprisingly well and although by no means a light pair of trousers they are a reasonable weight given their level of durability. Alongside this technical design are a generous allocation of pockets. You get two hand pockets, two front thigh pockets secured by press stud flaps (one of which includes an inner mesh phone pocket) and finally the two side cargo pockets secured by hook and loop flaps. All these pockets work with conventional leg loop climbing harnesses although the front hip pockets are a close run thing with some harnesses. Other features on the Charge Trousers include hook and loop waist adjustments, a press stud adjustable cuffs including boot hook and a new one on me hook and loop knee adjusters. The latter I have seen on some other trousers implemented either with hook and loop or with a draw cord and their purpose always puzzled me. After nearly three months with the Charge trousers I still can’t find a compelling reason for them! In what is a well cut trouser like the Charge the little slack they remove from near the knees seems trivial – I’m happy to be corrected by someone who can divulge some unthought of by me use…
The ThruDark Charge Trousers arrived just in time for an XC skiing trip to Norway and I used them constantly over an eight day period. In brief they were excellent, coping with temperatures that ranged from -5°C to 7°C and keeping me comfortable and dry throughout. Having a high proportion of cotton fabric in their construction I was a little wary of how they’d cope on a heavy ‘wet’ snow day but they were superb. The snow easily brushed off and the fabric never wetted out. Obviously they were new and the DWR was in excellent condition but this is something that is easily replenished when needed. The large bellows cargo pockets that I thought might prove a bit intrusive were nothing of the sort and while I’m still not struck on the aesthetics they are very practical. Their capacious nature means that even if you stuff them (with say base cleaner and fibre cloth because you really didn’t appreciate just how sticky Klister really is!) they do not impede movement. The front thigh pockets work well enough but really need to be a bit deeper as they will not accommodate a large smartphone such as my iPhone 11 Pro Max which means either stashing it in the bellows pockets where it ‘rattles’ around or finding a jacket pocket for it. Larger smartphones are increasingly popular with many outdoor folk for their increased battery life and greater screen real estate when using digital topos and mapping software so this is something that could certainly do with an update in the next iteration of the Charge. Another slight niggle was the laces hook or rather perhaps the inseam length for the size small I reviewed. ThruDark quite sensibly offers regular and long sizes for the Charge but only in size Medium and above.
I measured the size Small inseam and reckon it is barely 31″ if I’m being generous. For me this meant that the lace hook was under too much tension (I’m around a 32″-33″ inseam) and frequently pinged off. Not the end of the world but I missed this potentially useful feature as a way of keeping snow out of my boots. The cuff of the trousers themselves are adjustable with a press studded pull tape which works very well, fastening securely and not showing the slightest likelihood of slackening despite the aforementioned deep snow. Back in the UK the Charge Trousers have worked well hiking and scrambling. Although I haven’t had the chance to use them yet for any mountaineering they should function well for three season use. They allow full freedom of movement and provide ample on the go storage accessible whilst wearing a harness. The fabrics used are durable and wether resistant. Certainly whilst in Norway I was surprised at the range of temperatures they remained comfortable across however I was quite ‘active’ so your milage may vary with more sedentary pursuits though some long underwear would supplement them well in condition below -5°C.
ThruDark offer a comprehensive customer support service whereby they will replace or repair any faulty item. Items that are returned for replacement are repaired and then made available via the Resurgence programme as a way of improving the sustainability and accessibility of their range.
Overall despite the odd niggle the Charge Trousers make for tough versatile leg wear, hiking, skiing, climbing they take it all in their stride (sorry!) . They also work very well as travel wear if you can get past the overt military style. The myriad of pockets, four of which are easily accessed whether you are seated or standing are a boon when juggling tickets, passports, phone etc.
Pros
- Comfortable across a range of conditions
- Great freedom of movement
- Capacious pockets
- Tough
Cons
- Heavy military styling not to everyones taste
- Needs a longer leg length with size small
- Larger inner ‘phone’ pocket would be nice
SRP £295
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