Custom Baggy Climbing Pants

Luna Harrison wrote:

pockets

large and zippered

not baggy

Baggy doesn't work for climbing.  You can't see your feet well and if the inseam is even a tiny bit too long the pant leg will go underneath your heel.  I don't like a skinny jeans feel either but something like the coala tree trailhead pants are just the right circumference in the leg for me.

Baggy works great if you have elastic cuffs on the ankle. For some of us who do things with our legs baggy pants are the only way to go. I dread the return of skinny jeans

Hey Beckham. The first rule of product design is to know your audience. And target them specifically. Do no try to be everything to everyone all at once, otherwise you'll get a Homer Simpson car with every bell and whistle attached or something totally generic like the endless iterations on the Prana Zions.

Judging but by what I believe is your pfp's skibibi toilet reference I'm guessing you are gen z, and are likely trying to design a pant for gen z and not for Mountain Project's demographic which skews a bit older and well.. older. I know more and more kids at my gym are climbing in baggy pants. I don't wear baggy but I'm probably not your demographic! 

I would price out the cost and time of manufacturing a pair of pants. Are you sewing these yourself? Are you planning on paying yourself? Or outsourcing and to where? Have you priced out materials? I'm curious because $100 is actually very low price for pants at a low production run and with all that sewing. Especially with tariffs. Best of luck!

Tony S wrote:

Judging but by what I believe is your pfp's skibibi toilet reference I'm guessing you are gen z, and are likely trying to design a pant for gen z and not for Mountain Project's demographic which skews a bit older and well.. older.

I've always wished that there were more young climbers active on Mountain Project. Threads like this certainly don't help the cause.

FWIW, I like climbing in baggier pants. I really like the North Face beta utility belted pants with the ankles cuffed. Easy to move in, breathable material, looks great on and off the wall.

Personal taste: durable, free movement, and not neon. I hopefully await a cultural shift from "Mom, watch me climb!" to soft voices and subdued colors. I've passed up a lot of apparel in recent years because all of the colors give me a headache.

But if you're just trying to capitalize on an emergent zeitgeist that I've managed to ignore, google "MC Hammer." I'm still amazed with what that guy accomplished without ever seeing his own feet.

One of the things that happens after doing something a very long time is you come to know what works best and what you like. Along the way, you experiment with lots of stuff, and over time your choice narrows. The trick is to remain open over time to new stuff, because innovations do occur occasionally. I have a hard time seeing baggy pants as being able to assist good footwork or clean climbing systems, but there have certainly been examples of things that things I turned away from at first that eventually found merit. YMMV, I guess.

Beckham Foster wrote:

ya they will be as cheap as possible. im not really looking for some crazy profit, so they will not be over 100 dollars.

also, im gonna reinforce every contact point, as in the butt, knees, pockets, and hem of the pants. the stitching will also be super durable so they don't rip and when you put your hip into the wall it doesn't fray and get all nasty lookin. 

looks wise, im still not quite sure what im looking for, and im open for suggestions, but the kawa club pants are a pretty good looking fit

knock off of Gramicci climbing pants circa mid-1990's

Jim U wrote:

knock off of Gramicci climbing pants circa mid-1990's

Yep. IIRC Gramicci pants had a gussetted crotch and tapered legs. They were awesome. 

Charles Winstead wrote:

I had miltiple pairs of pants back in the day by a company called JRat. Loved them. Loose, not baggy really. But elastic around the ankles so your could see your feet, didn’t snag on stuff. Elastic at the waist with a belt thing to cinch them down. The pockets are important- must be deep enough and not anchored to the side so that if you go upside down the pocket doesn’t spill out. Back pocket should have a zipper.

I got a jrat shirt from the climbing shop at smith rock. Lots of vintage clothes and gear there it was neat (but a little pricey). You have anymore info on jrat I couldnt find too much info and I was curious?

Jack M wrote:

I got a jrat shirt from the climbing shop at smith rock. Lots of vintage clothes and gear there it was neat (but a little pricey). You have anymore info on jrat I couldnt find too much info and I was curious?

oh yah that's a blast form the past.  had a tshirt at least 

I really enjoyed the Stonemaster pants and shorts that I had (have some pretty beat shorts and some decent knickers if someone wants to make a pattern). The main thing I would change is to make it with lightweight/more breathable material as they could get toasty on a warm day.

climbing and fashion are currently intertwined in a very weird way, more specifically boulderers The bouldering scene is pushing the fashion/appearance first envelope, where dressing fresh is almost a requirement of identifying with that sector of the sport. 

Sometimes this can be at the sacrifice of performance, but it also seems that hiking your pants up before a high step is now part of the beta.

I imagine this is the perspective that Beckham is approaching this idea from. Fast fashion for appearance forward climbers. Not looking for suggestions based on what works best for a harness/ long days in the mountains, thats not what is hot right now.

With time, bouldering will be come the intersection of frat bros and street wear with the rocks trapped somewhere in the middle. Just a cool looking medium to promote themselves and their clothing line. See: BD Hex, instagram influencer products like the example baggy pants, anti-grav, any freaking number of the newer boulder-centric clothing/media companies.

Bummer because all of this saturates the market with overpriced crap we don’t need. Clothes that aren’t built to last. 

Rant over

Beckham Foster wrote:

yo gng im making some pants for climbing that aren't like a billion dollars but idk what people want for them so like what do you need in yo pants.

Something similar to traditional Japanese work pants. Slightly baggy at the knee for freedom of movement, elastic at the waist and ankles so you don't need a belt and can see your feet. "Tobi" pants worn by scaffolders, etc. are too extreme, but a toned-down version of that in a durable material. The La Sportiva "Bolt" pants and shorts are pretty close.

I started climbing in 1970 and climbed in many styles of pants over the years. I found LYCRA to be the most comfortable. I wish it was still accepted. Of course it is, as long as you are female and choose non patterned colors

The kid's just trying to make some pants this isn't about the downfall of climbing or civilization or whatever