Patagonia Pack Out Hike Tights

Reviewer: Cory Michaela Dinter, Reader and Active Pass Member
Home Base Albuquerque, New Mexico
Years Backpacking 10
Favorite Hike Third Beach to Hoh River, Olympic National Park
Favorite Trail Snack A fresh apple

I’ve been living in leggings long before they became part of the Covid dress code, and now I have a new go-to pair: These tights can do it all. I’ve worn them nearly nonstop since October, and whether I was trail running in New Mexico’s Sandia foothills, hiking along the Rio Grande, or putting in yoga sessions, the Pack Outs have excelled more than any other leggings I’ve worn.

The small details are dialed. I love the non-zippered side pockets; all tights should have pockets, and they should all be as secure as these. I mostly use them for my phone, some snacks, and sometimes a small first-aid kit I take along on trail runs. You can easily fit a wallet in either main thigh pocket, but I prefer to use the third auxiliary zippered pocket located on the right thigh to stash my keys and credit cards for a little added security.

Unlike many trail tights, the Pack Outs are plenty durable. A reinforced, DWR-treated nylon/spandex layer on the rear and knees adds toughness in high-wear areas, and the rest of the polyester/spandex material holds up as well: On one jog near Sandia Peak, I took a tumble but was pleased to discover that the tights didn’t suffer a single rip.

These tights are not too high-waisted, and they sit very comfortably just below my belly button. The 5-inch-wide waistband lays flat beneath a backpack, and it feels form-fitting and sag-free but also not so snug that movement is restricted—a nice balance.

I was surprised by how warm these tights are; they’re well-suited for shoulder season. The only real downside I’ve found so far is how long the Pack Outs take to dry. When some rain rolled through on the tail end of a camping trip near Moab, Utah, the material became sodden very quickly and took hours to fully dry. On the flip side, it impressively blocked high winds the night before. (Gusts were strong enough to scatter our camping chairs, deposit a layer of sand inside the tent, and render a perfectly good chili-mac inedible.) While the evening verged on type two fun, the Pack Outs did a great job of mitigating the wind chill.

These will be my go-to tights for nearly all active outdoor activities going forward. (And of course, I’ll still wear them around the house, too).

$119; 10.7 oz. (w’s S); w’s XS-XL

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