REASONS TO BUY
Trendy
High-quality
Durable fabric
Flattering cut
REASONS TO AVOID
Tight waistband
The fabric doesn't move well
The front tie can look odd
Style is not for all
Vuori Ripstop - Women's Review
We feel put together in these trendy pants but they were more like stiff jeans than dedicated hiking pants
Credit: Vuori
RELATED: Best Hiking Pants for Women
Our Verdict
Well-made and stylish with a trim cut, the Vuori Ripstop pants fall on the street-wear end of the life-to-hike continuum. They're great if you want to feel relaxed, pulled together, and ready to hit the trail for an hour or two at the end of the day. They aren't optimized for backpacking or all-day hikes. The fabric's two-way stretch isn't enough to make them regulars on the climbing or yoga circuit either. It has a great hand-feel though, rugged enough to stand up to wear-and-tear and stiff enough to give your figure some space. They wear like not-so-stretchy jeans. The pockets are big and comfortable enough to function. Our biggest complaint is the waist, which is way too rigid in our normal size, and sitting is uncomfortable. If we had sized up, we'd like them for work to casual hike to barbecue transitions.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
These pants wear more like jeans than hiking pants, but we like their structured fabric and casual look for day-use and mellow hikes.
Credit: Ryan reed
Comfort and Mobility
The 98% cotton, 2% elastane Dura Terra fabric has two-way stretch. It's plenty for the type of casual hiking that entails walking through the woods on flat and mellow trails, but we don't love these pants for activities that demand a wider range of motion. They also lack details like a gusseted crotch or articulated knees that would give you more room to move within such an unforgiving fabric envelope.
The pants are cut like a slim jogger and Vuori recommends sizing up if you like more room in the legs. Our lead tester is 5'6" and 130 pounds with a curvy/athletic figure. She wears size 4 to 6 pants for most brands. She found the size small pants to be slim but flattering through the thighs.
These pants are more at home in an art gallery than with a backpack on, they don't move well enough for longer trail adventures.
Credit: Clark Tate
The tricky bit to fit is in the waist. Vuori lists it as elastic, and there is a smidge of give, but calling it elastic is generous. (Seriously, we couldn't even measure a meaningful difference between the waistline at rest and fully stretched out.) It's fine when standing, but cuts into our lead tester's midsection when seated or during some yoga/athletic moves. We definitely recommend sizing up if you ever find your normal size restrictive. There is a lot more room to snug up the waistline with the integrated drawcord than there is give in the elastic to take a deep breath.
The 98% cotton fabric breathes well enough to sustain moderate activity levels.
Credit: Ryan reed
Venting and Breathability
These pants don't vent, and the cuffs are too tight to roll up very far. So you're stuck relying on the breathability of their fabric. Cotton tends to breathe well, one reason it's such a popular choice for clothing in general. But, if you've ever worn heavy jeans on a hot day, you know it's not a perfect solution.
Here we show the Vuori's cotton fabric next to Outdoor Research's Ferrosi pant and Mountain Hardware's Dynama 2. Both of the nylon pants breathe better than the Vuori.
Credit: Clark Tate
We really like the weight of this fabric. Thick and sturdy with a nice amount of structure, yet thin enough that we do find that it breathes relatively well. We wouldn't want to work that hard when wearing them to work up a sustained sweat because they just aren't that comfortable. On the mellow walks that they're appropriate for, they never had us feeling clammy in hot weather.
The Ripstop pants can fend off a light mist, and they dry relatively quickly. But if you get splashed, you'll get wet.
Credit: Clark Tate
Weather Resistance
Vuori doesn't list a UPF rating for the Ripstop, and there's no mention of a durable water repellent coating. An hour-long walk in a spring drizzle in Maine gave us wet patches on the thighs. But the water did bead up nicely for a bit, and the pants dry much faster than jeans, though not as quickly as the nylon pants we tested.
These pants also block some wind. Not all of it, but it doesn't cut through and chill us to the bone on colder days. Despite the pants being snug in the waste, we were able to easily pull on a thin wool base layer for an unseasonably cold day in the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you size up (and you probably should), this will be an even more comfortable option to extend the use of your pants.
These pants have enough weight to keep you comfortable on chilly shoulder-season days, and they don't let the wind cut right in.
Credit: Ryan reed
Again, these are 98% cotton, and you may have heard that cotton kills in the outdoor world. The only issue with cotton is that it doesn't dry very quickly and, when it's wet, it pulls heat away from your body. So once you get wet and cold in these pants, you're going to stay that way for a while. If you're out and about in dry or warm weather on trails you know well and are unlikely to get lost and stuck out overnight, cotton is fine.
The left thigh pocket opens backward, which keeps any weight off the front of your thigh.
Credit: Clark Tate
Features
Five functional pockets, two of them zippered, a drawstring waist, and one or two roll cuffs are the only features you'll get with the Ripstop. It's plenty for casual adventures. The drawstring will keep your pants up if you lose weight on a trip or in the course of your normal cycle. The pants aren't nearly as forgiving if you expand.
It's surprising how much you can cool down simply by exposing your ankles with a roll or two of the hems, but that's all you'll get with the tapered cut.
The tie is cute, kind of, but can also look and feel awkward.
Credit: womens, hiking pants, vuori, ripstop
We really like the pockets, particularly the two-hand pockets up front. They're big enough for your hands and the front panel is a very thin, breathable, and stretchy fabric. That means that the pockets don't show through the front of the pants and they have more stretch than the pants themselves. They're soft, clever, and cozy.
The back pockets share the stealth construction, and one has a zipper, offering a safe place for a credit card or ID. So does the zippered pocket on the left thigh, which could easily stash a granola bar. Neither of the zip pockets is big enough to secure most smartphones, unfortunately.
They are versatile for in-town use and can handle mellow trails. This is as close as they need to come to a backpack.
Credit: Clark Tate
Versatility
The more rigid material and finicky waist fit keep us from wanting to push the boundaries of these pants, we wouldn't wear them running or climbing if we could help it. And the stiff waist, lack of venting, and limited breathability also keep us from wanting to take them backpacking.
They are much more useful in their day-to-day style. Casual events or office days, weekend strolls around town, concerts, sporting events, and yeah, pretty much any short hike on a dry day 80 degrees and below, we're down.
We reached for any of the other hiking pant options over the Vuori Ripstop when heading out on a technical trail.
Credit: Clark Tate
The drawcord was a controversial style point. It looks cool on the models in the photos, but several observers pointed out (unsolicited) that it can look a little goofy in practice, particularly with an untucked shirt. Still, we feel kinda cool in these pants, a little bolder, a little more excited to be out and about in the world. Isn't that what style is for?
They're expensive pants but are well constructed and seem durable. If you like their style and mellow hikes you could get a lot of use out of them.
Credit: Ryan reed
Value
These pants aren't cheap, but neither are most of the other hiking pants we review. They aren't worth it as dedicated hiking pants, given their middling performance. Their solid construction, sturdy fabric, and the company's environmental and ethical labor force efforts may be worth it to you for casual wear.
Solid construction and delightfully durable fabric give us the impression that these pants are poised to last a long time. Though they did show obvious signs of wear and tear during our abrasion testing, so we wouldn't choose these for high-impact hikes. The effortless style had us reaching for them often, decreasing their cost per wear substantially.
Vuori claims that the Dura Terra fabric is ripstop (we didn't try) and made of 98% organic cotton and 2% elastane. They also claim to offset 100% of their carbon emissions through Climate Neutral, which works to restore rainforests and invests in clean energy. They have a Vuori Code of Conduct meant to ensure ethical manufacturing practices to protect the workforce in their supply chain. It's probably not all perfect, but we like that they're trying. If you do too, these efforts add to the value of the Ripstop.
These are fashionable pants that can handle light outdoor use.
Credit: Ryan reed
Conclusion
We like these pants, but we wish the waistband was more forgiving. If you can nail the fit on these, we really think you'll enjoy them for rambling through everything from short trails to city green spaces to your favorite beer garden. If you're looking for a dedicated pair of women's hiking pants, though, we would recommend looking elsewhere.
—
Clark Tate
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