Best photography cargo pants

For those of you who spend a lot of time in the field, these are the cargo pants to wear. I've had a few pairs of Columbia Sportswear pants for several years which are decent, but cheap and you get what you pay for; the side and cargo pockets are a bit flimsy. These, by comparison, VersaTacs Light by Rail Riders are the best I've seen. Very well thought out.

The material is ballistic nylon, very light weight and rugged, with reinforced knees, seat and cuffs. The pockets in the back and on the legs have not only Velcro closures, but two buttons held in place not by thread but by nylon paracord minus the seven inner strings. The cargo pockets have a bellows feature, and can carry just about anything. 1.5" belt loops for a belt that you can hang a lens pouch or utility bag from. For colder climes, put on a pair of Marmot or Patagonia tights underneath.

From the Rail Riders page: "They were developed in conjunction with military professionals and outdoorsmen who are more the type to read Field & Stream rather than Men’s Journal. We’ve even found that U.S. Special Forces have taken a special liking to our VersaTacs. The Light Pants are made with super tough yet lightweight 3-oz Duralite Nylon fabric. Side cargo pockets have internal pockets to hold a flashlight and energy bars; vertical zippers on side cargo pockets that allow quick access while sitting, kneeling or driving a vehicle; and reinforced side pocket openings to prevent abrasion against knife clip chafe."

They are not cheap at $110, now on Black Friday sale for $94, which is a very good deal. Four colors. Three different lengths. I bought four pair. Think Christmas gift to yourself.

Photo courtesy Railriders

These seem extremely durable and would last for a very long time. You bought 4 pairs you say? Why so many?

frugivore wrote in post #16484889
These seem extremely durable and would last for a very long time. You bought 4 pairs you say? Why so many?

I'm generally on the road for 2-3 weeks at a time, and don't like to wash and rinse clothes at the end of the day when shooting goes on until 9-10 PM in northern Europe. But you can literally throw these in the stall as you shower and step on them in the soapy water, then rinse and squeeze dry in a towel. They dry in about two hours.

And I'm one of those people who stocks up on something that's an ideal product, expecting that it will not be offered in a year or two more, or will be made less well at that time to save money. It happened with Lowepro's now-discontinued harness. I went through one that got ruined in Central America, only to find it was discontinued when I looked for it at B&H. The new one had very poor shoulder padding. I had to get the a replacement of the D/C'ed one on eBay, from a camera shop in Tel Aviv.

And hey, they come in four colors!

Thanks for posting, these are some super cool pants.

http://vimeo.com/m/267​13557

Jay,

Your link shows current sale pricing at $99, not $94. Is there something additional needed to get the lower pricing?

Are the pants sort of 2 tone as shown on their website and your pic above?

Those do look nice. Only thing missing for me would be knee pads. Since I am constantly on my knees shooting sports, I have a nice pair of 5.11 tactical pants with built in knee pads. A life(knee)saver.

Russ61 wrote in post #16485218
Jay,

Your link shows current sale pricing at $99, not $94. Is there something additional needed to get the lower pricing?

Are the pants sort of 2 tone as shown on their website and your pic above?

Well, they were $94 when I bought them. I see that they're $99 now. Perhaps they will go down even more on Black Friday.

Yes, the khaki colored ones are two-toned, very nice look as far as I'm concerned.

rdalrt wrote in post #16485366
Those do look nice. Only thing missing for me would be knee pads. Since I am constantly on my knees shooting sports, I have a nice pair of 5.11 tactical pants with built in knee pads. A life(knee)saver.

I use volleyball knee pads that I leave down on the top of my shoes unless I'm in a shooting situation. They work with any hiking or backcountry pants, and will certainly work with these.

I took a look at all the 5.11 pants, and there are none with cargo pockets like these.

I just ordered a pair to see how they fit and function. Thanks.

military fatigues are great too and much cheaper. but these pants are more packable and easier to wash and dry.

I wore these all summer. http://www.ebay.com …&var=&hash=item​231df0c6f2

I wear these. Great quality and inexpensive.

http://www.walmart.com …ct.do?product_i​d=11001730

tgara wrote in post #16493318
I wear these. Great quality and inexpensive.

http://www.walmart.com …ct.do?product_i​d=11001730

I'm sure it's not the same quality, but for 1/5 of the price, you can buy 5 of them!

What no tourniquet cord for amputations?

Similar spirit of durability with a tactical leaning: http://www.blackhawk.c​om/catalog/Pants-Trousers,76.htm

(some of these actually do have integrated tourniquets...)

I was looking after this thread was started and was looking for something in-between in price point (WalMart to the $99 ones). Does anyone have experience with the 5.11

http://www.amazon.com …e=UTF8&smid=ATV​PDKIKX0DER

Coming from military gear design, I am pretty intimately familiar with all the high-end tactical/cargo pants out there. The Rail Riders are pretty good. 5.11s have gone totally to crap in the last few years as they got popular and production volumes ballooned.

I have 3 recommendations, based on what level of crazy nut-job you wanna look:

Crey Precision's Combat Pants are amazingly well built and come in a variety of earth-tone colors. Interesting thing for photographers is the integrated knee protection: