Mt. Khakis Snake River Pants

[Zach Matthews]

Hey guys –

I said I’d review these in an earlier post and I didn’t do much of a job below, so I’ll lay it all out here.

I’ve been demoing the Mt. Khakis Snake River Pants ($72) since last fall in a wide variety of conditions.  I think they’re the best fishing pants I’ve ever worn and here’s why:

Unlike regular quick-dry synthetic pants, these are made of a much more rugged material.  They have a ripstop weave but it’s not super obvious and the fabric is frequently mistaken for cotton (in fact, that happened this weekend when I was offered a pair of synthetics to wear into the marsh).

The cut and finish on these pants is just excellent.  Instead of the usual stretch band or weak plastic button arrangement, these have the same heavy-duty ribbon-reinforced waist of the regular MKs, with a rivet-style button.  Consequently, they’re durable, but more importantly, they lie flat under waders.

The pocket arrangement is extra smart: you still have Mt. Khaki’s signature squared off pocket, but on the right you have a zippable second pocket that’s nice for a a waterproof fly box, etc., if you might be getting wet.

My version is the convertibles.  I haven’t had any reason to convert them yet but I like where the short starts; right at the knee (unlike some other convertible pants which turn into what I have to call shorty-shorts).

These have the same gusseted crotch as all Mt. Khakis, which as I mentioned before means they fit very well inside waders, and don’t tend to bunch or ride up as much.

Finally, they have zip-fly cuffs at the ankle, so you can tie off a heavy wading boot (like a Patagonia Marlwalker), then zip them down and over-wrap with a gravel guard (to keep sand out).  The cuffs also have the standard MK square reinforcement at the back, which I find makes it very easy to wrap for insertion into socks when wearing bootfoot waders.

All in all, these are the smartest wading pants, both for under-wader and wet-wading use, that I’ve ever owned.  And they look good; I wear mine all the time even when not fishing.  They don’t scream ‘fisherman!!!’ like some.  And while they are maybe 20% more expensive than equivalent wading pants, I think the fit, finish, and durability more than makes up for the extra cost.

When I became an MK Ambassador and they asked me for my general thoughts on MKs in the fly market, the first thing I said was that they ought to make a synthetic pant.

[Zach Matthews]

Here are some shots.

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