2023 Review: Best of Mens Travel Pants

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If you are the guy that has been buying the same pair of jeans for years, but in different colors to differentiate between causual and work requirements, this review is going to change your life.

If you’ve already been living in the REI, Patagonia, alth-leisure world of performance wear, this is only going to introduce you to possibley a few brands you may not be aware of.

So, what’s the big deal about travel pants? Yes, they are pants, but they aren’t JUST pants.

As I began to travel more and found myself looking for products to make certain parts of the travel process more comfortable, I kept stumbling across Travel pants. I furrowed my brow a bit and thought, “These look like just pants, what makes them so special?”

I scoffed and ignored travel pants for several years, until my wife and I hit our ultralight, travel backpack phase and became interested in clothes that wouldn’t look like a wrinkly mess after ultra-cramming them into the ultra-light travel backpack.

“Travel Pants” always came up at the top of any of my searches for ‘wrinkle-free’.

As a trial, I ordered a pair that looked like they would do double-duty for work dress pants just in case the travel hype was bunkam.

So, let’s be clear on just what problem is being solved with Travel Pants. Jeans are a poor choice for travel. They are too bulky and heavy, take forever to dry if they get wet. Most of the world outside of the US doesn't have clothes dryers that fully dry your clothes. During mid-trip European, or Central American laundry runs your jeans will be your downfall. They will never dry. Jeans also aren’t very versatile for a range of social settings…and they can start to feel pretty constrictive and tortuous during a 14-hour flight. Bottom line: Ditch the jeans. Like forever.

I’ve never been much of an athletic wear guy, and upon receiving my Jack Archer Jetsetter pants I realized that I somewhen, as I had been oblivious, the worlds of athletic wear and men’s dress wear had merged - and Travel Pants were born!

I saw the light.

Travel pants are built for durability on the road, are stain resistant, wrinkle resistant, comfortable enough you could sleep in them, and look stylish enough to not embarrass yourself in a fashionable European setting. They are super light weight (as in lbs), fold into something slightly bigger than pizza pocket, and because of their 5-way stretch fabric, are incredibly comfortable.

Now, I personally like a pant that has a little heft, or tooth to it. I think this may harken back to some past life medieval knight desire to have a well girded loin, so I thought I’d try a few brands and see if I could find a happy medium between feeling naked and needing a fork lift for my bulky Levis.

The pant line up:

Western Rise Evolution - I really liked Western Rises’ take on performance fabrics, which had a more woven fabric feel, rather than the slick and smooth textures common in travel pants. Their pants still had the ubiquitous travel pant 5-way stretch, synthetic wrinkle-free fabric that was very light weight, and packed up super small. The Evolution pant has a more ‘Jean like’ cut, and the pant leg was a bit more ‘straight cut’ than others brands mentioned in this article.

Unfortunately, Western Rise seems to be cut for those with a butt (which I do not have). So, if you have the over 50 flat old man butt, or were just blessed from birth with a flat butt, the pant will appear a bit baggy in the seat and then consequently bunch oddly in the crotch due to lack of fillage on the rear end. If you have a butt, congrats! These are a wonderful choice.

Western Rise offers their pants in some light colors. The Evolution pants are just the right combination of breezy and solid - I’d consider them a great choice for warmer climates, dessert, or jungle.

I wear a 32x30 dress pant, and a 33x30 501 Levi: the Western Rise Evolution fit me perfectly at a 32x30. With all of the travel pants stretchy nature, it’s wise to error on the slightly smaller if you happen to be in between sizes.

Jack Archer Jetsetter pant - these are incredibly comfortable, very style forward, and have a very dress pant type appearance. They have a good tailored fit, a smooth, shiny sheen textured fabric. They hit all the travel pant pluses; wrinkle-free, light-weight, stretchy comfort, durable, and packable. The cuff tapers sharply, which creates a nice tailored appearance, but can be a bit fussy if you are wearing a boot. It works, but I found myself pulling down my pant leg every time I get out of a car or up from a table. They claim to be complimentary to your butt, no matter its configuration…and from what I can tell, the claim is solid. The Jetsetter’s are among the most formal of those listed in this review. If you have a combination work/leisure trip coming up, these would be perfect double-duty pants to take.

Prana Brion II- The whole Prana line of performance pants are extremely comfortable. The Brion travel pant is cut and configured more like a jean or chino, and comes in two styles; Slim, and Standard. Both styles are made from the same stretch fabric, so the slight trim cut in the Slim style isn’t hugely noticeable in the waist, but there is a slight difference in the inseam rise. The slim trims down slightly sharper to the cuff, but not too sharp. If you wear a low cut loafer, tennis shoe, boot or sanded they look pretty tidy and trim.

The cuff and fall on the Prana pants is pretty slick. Not too tight, not too loose.

The Standard cut is very much a straight leg cut. I’d liken the standard cuff cut to a pair of work pants or camping pants - loose and open. While I’m not a personal fan of the wide leg standard cut but I love these pants in the slim cut. They have a little tooth in the fabric, are very flexible and have enough weight to them that you feel like you are wearing clothes. They ship rolled up and tied with some fun eco ribbbon and as you can see they will also pack up remarkably small.

Prana also offers the Zion pant, which is similar to the Brion but with a more ‘hikey’ styling for the REI/Patagonia fashion look.

Prana sizes are right on. I wear a 32x30 dress pant, and the Brion 32x30 fit perfectly.

Mizzen and Main Helmsman 5-pocket pant - these pants follow all the tenants of a travel pant; comfortable, flexible, light-weight, packable, wrinkle-free, but have a very style forward dress pant appearance. They have a little sheen to the fabric, which is very soft and smooth. These do not have any tooth to them. They are also cut a bit tighter in the inseam which tends to advertise ‘the goods’. If you personal style leans towards pushing your assets forward, and you want a sleeker, more formal pant, these are great.

Mizzen and Main has a fantastic line of dress shirts which are a great option for travel due to their amazing low wrinkle fabric. See Travel Shirt review for insights on shirts.

Mizzen and Main Helmsman pants are a bit on the tight side, which is part of the style. I wear a 32x30 dress pant, and the Mizzen and Main 32x30 fit well, but slightly snugger than other brands. I would have probably been more comfortable one waist size up with a 33.

Twillory Performance Pants- All the travel pant boxes get checked, but the Twillory Travel Pant is made from a much heavier fabric than other brands. They look great, but are not the lightest weight and not as wrinkle-free as their counterparts in the marketplace. I love Twillory shirts, and all of their products are really well made. I consider the travel pant more of an everyday dress pant than I do a travel pant. Primarily due to weight and wrinkle proneness.

I wear a 32x30 dress pant, and Twillory 32x30 rides slightly loose.

Union Bay Rainier Tech Travel Pants- all the pros of a travel pant with a toothier texture to them. The style is a little more utilitarian. The straighter leg cut, make me think of these as more of a niceish camp or hike pant. I’d be reaching for these if I were heading to Belize, or Costa Rica and needed a decent durable pant that functioned on a jungle hike but also looked respectable in a more causal sit down restaurant, but I wouldn’t consider them Amsterdam, Paris, New York or Prague chic.

True to size, but cut to a looser more roomy style.

Amazon Essential Slim Fit Stretch Jean - Not technically marketed as a travel pant, these light-weight jeans are super comfortable, wrinkle-free, and stretchy. They also happen to be very affordable priced. They don’t pack down to the size of a dollar bill, but they do pack up into something the size of a 6 inch meatball sub sandwich. I have purchased a range of colors and each ranges drastically in sizing… like freak-show drastic. I found that the black, and dark indigo blue are the most standard sized.

Banana Republic Slim Travel Pant - these are a lightweight, slightly flexible chino styled pants. They are tidy, but feel and wear more like a light cotton trouser. They are not as ‘performance fabric’ forward, so if you like a fabric that feels more cotton these are a solid choice. They come in a wider range of colors than any of the brands and pants I’ve mentioned in this article.

The Banana Republic travel pants are true to size but have a looser fit.

Ratings:

Physical weight: from lightest to heaviest, and smallest to largest packable size.

1. Western Rise

2. Prana Brion

3. Union Bay Rainer

4. Mizzen and Main Helmsman

5. Jack Archer Jetsetter

6. Banana Republic Travel pant

7. Twillory Performance Pants

8. Amazon Essential Slim Stretch Jean

From left to right: Amazon Stretch Jeans, Banana Republic, Union Bay, Jack Archer, Prana.

Most formal to least formal:

1. Jack Archer

2. Mizzen and Main

3. Twillory

4. Banana Republic Travel

5. Western Rise

6. Prana Brion

7. Amazon Essential Jeans

8. Union Bay Rainer

Most wrinkle resistant to least:

1. Prana Brion

2. Western Rise

3. Union Bay Rainer

4. Jack Archer

5. Mizzen and Main

6. Twillory

7. Amazon Essential jeans

8. Banana Republic Travel

Cost (at retail) - least to greatest:

1. Amazon Essential Jeans

2. Union Bay Rainer

3. Banana Republic

4. Prana

5. Twillory

6. Jack Archer

7. Mizzen and Main

8. Western Rise

A note about cost and shopping - Most of the high-end brands sell only through their own portals, but offer first-time buyers a reduction for joining their mailing list. All of these pants, except the Amazon Essential Jeans, and Union Bay Rainers have clearance sales multiple times per year. Mizzen and Main and Jack Archer periodically offer a bundle which can save you a decent amount of money, and give you a chance to try their other clothing items.