Kuhl Renegade Cargo Convertible Hiking Pants Review

Specs at a Glance

• Fit: Relaxed
• Type: Convertible Pants
• Gender: Men’s and Women’s
• Pockets: 6
• Belt Required: Yes
• Material: Nylon and Spandex
• Water Resistance: Factory DWR Coating

Kuhl’s Renegade Convertible Pants have a full fit through the thigh, knee, and lower leg that offers great freedom of movement for scrambling over rocky ledges or crawling under blown-down trees. The fabric is a medium-weight nylon/spandex blend that’s lighter weight than a softshell pant, but heavier than thin summer hiking pants, making them a good choice for cooler temperatures in early spring or autumn. They are definitely not heavy, warm, or windproof enough for winter use unless you’re skiing in T-shirt weather.

The Cargo aspect of these pants includes 6 pockets:

• Two cargo pockets on the outside of the thighs that close with top flaps, that stay closed with velcro patches.
• Two mesh-lined front pockets that provide some ventilation and are open on top
• Two rear pockets that don’t have top flaps but also stay closed with velcro patches.

There’s no inner change pocket, map pocket, or cell phone pocket, which is limiting if you’re used to that kind of extra and secure storage.

The convertible legs aren’t completely obvious and don’t have the telltale exterior flap that announces their presence, but you can still tell that they’re convertible pants even though the zipper is hidden and stealthy. In other words, you can wear them to work, but they’re not going to fool your mom. The zippers work well, as expected, but the pant legs are not color-coded which is kind of surprising, although you can figure out which leg goes with which side by the position of the boot zippers, described next.

It’s common for hikers to unzip half of their convertible pants legs when they start to sweat, without taking the entire leg off. One of the nice things about the Renegade zip-off legs is that they unzip rear-first, instead of front first, so you can vent the back of your knees and legs when you begin to sweat. This is more comfortable for hiking because you don’t have the zipper seam rubbing against the front of your knee, which can be annoying.

But the most intriguing and functional part of the Renegades is the lowest on the totem pole, namely their long, zippered boot zips and adjustable hems, reminiscent of Fjallraven’s more technical hiking pants. The boot zips let you take the pants’ legs off or put them on without taking off your shoes. You can also unzip the zippers to vent your lower legs: the lower leg hem has two snaps that can be closed to cinch the bottom of the pant below your ankle, even when the boots zips are open.

The Renegades have a large center waistband snap and belt loops. They come in a nice selection of earth-tone colors and are available in men’s and women’s sizes.

Kuhl sells a version of the Renegade Convertible Pants with a sewn-in RECCO reflector which will make you searchable to rescue workers equipped with RECCO detectors, which are particularly useful in avalanche zones to find buried victims. RECCO reflectors are lightweight, passive transponders that require no power or activation to function. But RECCO detectors are not really very widespread yet, so your best bet is to partner up skiers who have avalanche awareness training and carry avalanche transceivers, probes, and shovels. If you have to wait for a RECCO detector to arrive by helicopter (because they’re a big device), it’s going to be too late.

Care instructions

Kuhl recommends machine washing the Renegades in cold water with like colors, no bleach, and to tumble dry on low. I pretty much ignore them and throw them into the laundry on cold (no bleach) and the drier on high with everything else. Hasn’t hurt them one bit. They come out fine every time.

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Recommendation

Kuhl’s Renegade Convertible Pants are really comfortable to wear indoors or outside. That, in my mind the main reason you’d buy these pants over the many other wonderful hiking pants available today. They dry quickly and come with a DWR coating which helps keep them drier longer in the rain or on snow. Weight and warmth wise, they’re best for so-called shoulder seasons of spring and autumn when there is a chill in the air but it’s not downright cold. But the convertible legs and calf zips help extend their range into the warmer months. The cargo pockets are “OK” for more casual use, but I like more secure ones with zippers for off-the-grid hikes. On the other hand, the less obtrusive pockets make the Renegades more presentable off the trail as well as comfortable on it. If that’s what you’re looking for, these pants are a win.

Disclosure: Kuhl provided the author with a pair of these pants for review.

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