Mountain Hardwear Castil Convertible Pant

A very versatile, strong multi-use pant. Great for hiking or being outdoors, but great for being in town as well. A very affordable and functional pant for moderate to warm weather.

This is my second pair of the Mountain Hardwear Castil Convertible Pant in the last eight months. First off, they are a great pant on the trail or off. They are a great look for everyday wear as well as hiking apparel, which is nice.

I have been fortunate enough to run them through plenty of mud, and have slid them down over many of rock while having been through several straight days of rain and I must say these pants have been great. They fit like a normal pant for me, and had a bit of stretch


to help while moving around. They have been great holding out the water although I have treated them a couple times (each pair) with wash-in DWR treatment. I have a small hole in the back side of one, but that was from me falling, so no fault of the pants. They are quite packable at 10.9 ounces, however I generally wear these, not pack them.  

I do suggest that if you are going to use these in anything less than warm weather that you consider a base layer. Personally, with the wind blowing, they became cold against my skin when I did not use some sort of base layer. Once I started using a base layer with them however, I did not have a problem using them in any season.

Of course they are zip-off pants, so there is not much use for that come winter months generally. They layer great though. Their rip stop nylon helps slide over base layers so they do not get bunched up. 

The construction is really great. The zipper never snags, and is easy to use. The only complaint I have is that I wish they had a zipper on the pant leg so that you did not have to take off your shoes when you removed them. The fastening button on the waist is well constructed, but a bit big for the hole it goes through. Therefore I had to put quite a bit of pressure on it. So far no problems, but the button has loosened a bit on both pairs. 

Zipping them off is a great feature. Probably the one you buy the pants for. When it's cold in the mornings and warm in the afternoons, you can go from pants to shorts in just a few minutes. I personally use this feature all the time just to manage body heat and sweat when hiking and it works great. If it gets cold it is just as easy to put them back on. The shorts fall just above the knee which I like also.  

These things repel great. Dirt, mud, sand, it all just wipes right off. 

They are simple, which is what I like about them. Not a lot of bells and whistles. An extra knife pocket in the right pocket. The pockets are plenty deep and there is one zipped pocket on the leg for storing more important items. They are pretty cheap too! Compared to pants like it well over $100, I found these online for $50 dollars.