My new favorite all around pants - Marmot Arch Rock Pant - Mens

I just bought three pair of these Arch Rock pants, 2 black and 1 desert khaki. It's always tough to know correct sizes when buying online. My personal bugaboo is my legs. I'm 6'0" tall and about 220 lbs. My "normal" waist size is 34" and I buy jeans in a 34" inseam. The jeans will typically shrink about an inch to a 33" inseam and that seems to be about perfect for me.

But here's the catch, I can only buy one brand of jeans in "cowboy cut" with "boot cut" lower legs because I have fairly muscular thighs at 26" and 16.5" calves. To get a waist and legs to both fit is tough for me. So with every manufacturer and every particular pair of dress or casual pants it's always a roll of the dice. I may have to go up to a 36" waist and/or down to a 32" length. And skinny jeans / suits are not in the cards for me. Not with my legs.

I already owned 2 pair of Marmot's Blackcomb ski pants in size 34" and 36" waist. I used those to guide me and ordered the Arch Rock pants in size 34 Long. The fit is about as close to perfect as any pants I've ever bought. The 34" waist is true to size. The length measures 34" exactly with a tape measure. And that seems to give me the proper length. The fit.....it's different from a lot of pants. The waist sits at about your natural waist but the crotch sits really high. Like almost skin tight. That's OK with me for pants like this because it gives you maximum range of motion in the legs leg with no binding or stressing the crotch. Consequently, with the high crotch the butt is also sort of form fitting on my frame. So these sort of show off your assets front and rear if you know what I mean, LOL. Not a problem for me but some people may be more modest or want a looser fit.

Marmot calls these a "relaxed" fit but if I were to wish for anything it would be a little more room in the thighs. The lower legs are fine.

The materials.....are perfect for the application. The nylon is lightweight but tightly woven so they block cold and wind fairly well for a lightweight pant. The DWR coating does a good job. But they should breathe well and not hold much moisture. They are supposed to contain 6% spandex but I can't detect much stretch. It's pretty subtle. I was expecting yoga pants type of stretch. Not at all. There's a little give but these look and feel like a nice pant, not your grandpa's polyester knit pants or your sister's yoga pants. No shiny nylon here either. The fabric is also very quiet, none of that synthetic swish when you walk.

Design and construction.....typical Marmot goodness. Stitching is excellent as are the zippers on the fly and cargo pocket. The fly button is riveted rather than sewn on. The slash pockets are about as deep as jeans pockets and mesh lined. The zippered cargo pocket is also mesh lined and holds my iPhone 6 in its LifeProof case. The rear pockets are likewise about as deep as jeans hip pockets. The overall styling is a lot like a pair of jeans with a zippered cargo pocket.

Colors.....the black is a true black which is what I was looking for. The desert khaki is also pretty much as pictured on the website.

I bought these for hiking but also as pants to wear back and forth to ski slopes so I don't have to wear my heavy weight ski pants in the car. After wearing them for a while, I think these are my new casual pants too. They are waaay more comfy than a pair of heavy denim jeans and they don't really look like "adventure gear". They are low key and stylish enough to wear out to dinner with a nice shirt or sweater.

Highly recommended!