Kit Review – North Face Men’s Diablo Pants

I was contacted by Ellis Brigham at the end of last year (great store in city centre Manchester, btw – I’ve been in a few times when working in town) and they asked if I wanted to review some winter walking trousers.

“Yep, of course” – I was heading off to Scotland just after the festive period and they were North Face and a quick google told me they should be a great product for the weather we would have.

The North Face Men’s Diablo Pants are constructed with The North Face’s ‘WindWall’ softshell material. The idea is that they give good stretch and mobility for scrambling as much as walking. I didn’t do any scrambling so can’t attest to that, but they’re certainly comfortable when out hiking.

They also have a durable water repellent treatment and I can definitely attest to that! I have worn these trousers in low cloud and drizzle up on the moors above my village.

And then on a recent trip to Scotland (Glen Coe) where I wore them along the West Highland Way in some clag and up into the cold of the snow line about 500 metres.

Kit Review The North Face Diablo Pants moors walk
Heading off up onto the moors.

The trousers have a gusseted crotch and articulated knees – and yes that does make a difference to comfort. And – too much information warning – having a narky prostate as I do, the more room in the crotch department on a day on the hills, the better 😉 (if you just thought ‘eww’ and you’re a young guy, could be you in a few years, dude, it’s very common).

So, in a nutshell, these are really comfortable to wear, wind and water resistant and although they have had limited long-term testing by me, I think they are a great pair of trousers.

My only small gripe is that I personally like a large map type pocket on the leg. Not always for a map but for camera lens cover, dog treats (if she’s with me), some ’emergency’ jelly babies etc.

That’s a small subjective design thing thoughthese trousers are great.

Here is the tech spec for the TNF Diablo Pants from the Ellis Brigham site:

Four-way stretch softshell
Durable Water Repellent treatment
Elasticated waistband with removable belt
Zipped fly
Gusseted crotch for mobility
Zipped hand pockets
Zipped rear pocket
Articulated knees
Hem zip openings for easy on/off
Weight – 500g

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.