Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants Review
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Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants.
Let’s imagine we’re asked to design the perfect casual athletic pants. Comfort would be key, of course. The pants would have to flex at the waist and stress points, be neither too tight nor loose, and ankle openings would have to accommodate most shoe types.
Those perfect pants also would need to provide enough utility for everyday needs. A cell phone pocket would be useful, as would a zippered security pocket and a couple of front pockets for keys, change, and cold hands.
Finally, for pants to be truly perfect, they’ve got to have style. Materials have to be top-notch, colors have to be eye-catching but not eye-straining, and it seems only fair that really perfect pants would sport a monkey icon or two.
Are the Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants I’ve been testing for the past few weeks in Los Angeles perfect? If they’re not, any faults are pretty well hidden. Plus, they feature great Howler Monkey icons.
The Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants feature a subtle but unmistakable monkey icon on the upper left thigh.
Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants Material
The Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants I’ve been testing are made of nylon ripstop fabric, a material engineered to provide a couple of key benefits. First, as the “ripstop” name suggests, this material does not allow small tears to spread as they might in traditional fabric weaves. For Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants, this benefit is significant because the material weight is very light. At first pass, these pants may seem insubstantial. But the strength-to-weight ratio of this nylon ripstop is excellent. Similar weaves, for instance, are used in paragliders.
Second, the Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants are quick-drying, again courtesy of their nylon ripstop weave. How quick drying? During what was admittedly a particularly dry Southern California afternoon, I pulled these pants from the clothes washer and left them to dry in the garage on a clothes drying rack. Within 30 minutes they were ready for wear. A couple of areas around the beltline remained damp, but that remaining moisture would have been unnoticeable in normal wear. Fording a river, kayaking, or just walking in the rain could be done in confidence in these Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants.
Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants Design
Two front pockets, a cell phone pocket, a zippered back security pocket, and a button-down back pocket encircle the hips in these pants. (One note worth mentioning here is that the pants I’ve been testing arrived missing a button for the button-down back pocket. I assume this is a one-off product defect.)
Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants feature a cell phone pocket wide enough for my ancient iPhone. Everything but phablets would fit.
There’s enough stowage that, if the pockets were all filled, they could pull the pants’ elasticized waist down to your ankles, where they’d rest not far from the pants’ reinforced cuff at the rear hem.
Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants have reinforced rear hems.
With great pockets and easy-wearing material, these pants pack enough utility for a day on the town or a weekend hike. The Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants are especially versatile, particularly because, despite their utilitarian bent, their silhouette and styling cues render them perfect for tramping through crowds of fashionistas without being frowned upon.
The Ultramarine color pants I’ve been wearing feature orange stitching that perhaps pays subtle homage to the Howler Brothers company home base of Austin, Texas, and its UT Longhorns. The bright blue/orange combination provides sufficient contrast to catch the eye but does not provoke a jarring challenge to conventional aesthetics. In other words, the color combo is interesting, but not so fashion-forward as to be polarizing.
The pants also sport a Howler Monkey logo printed onto the left upper thigh. A similar icon is emblazoned on the metal button at the front of the pants. These icons howl unconventional stylishness that doesn’t take itself too seriously. (My apologies for the bad pun.)
Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants Fit
An elasticized waist with belt loops ensures rangy comfort. The fit of my pants is true to size, so I’ve needed to neither test the limits of the elastic nor apply a belt. However, the elastic segments and belt loops are well-engineered; my feeling is that the waistline of these pants would not present a comfort problem within reasonable bounds.
The elasticized waist of the Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants ensures a comfortable fit.
The pant legs are wide enough to allow full freedom of movement, while the fit at the hips and upper thigh is snug enough that there’s high confidence these pants will stay on as intended. I’ve moved furniture wearing these pants and have never felt encumbered when squatting low to get under the weight of a couch. I’ve also taken plenty of stairs two or three at a time in these pants. No issues there, either.
For as movement-friendly as these pants are, however, they also have a slender enough silhouette that they don’t flap around in windy conditions. And the ankle openings are wide enough to accommodate hiking boots, yet the pants also go pretty well with flip-flops. There’s some magic in the cut of these pants.
The overall fit of the Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants is excellent – fitted around the hips for a sleek silhouette, loose enough around the knees for easy movement, and wide at the ankle for boots.
Who Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants Are For
These near-perfect pants are as much at home in the woods as in town. Their lightweight and quick-drying nylon ripstop material suggests ideal usage in moderate temperatures; these pants are not extreme sports gear, and I wouldn’t want to wear them in freezing temperatures. But for most uses in most climes, they’re great.
Setting aside those in need of extreme sports outerwear, these pants likely would satisfy anyone who values comfort, utility, and style in casual athletic pants.
Sizing, Styles, and Colors
Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants fit true to the sizing chart included on the Howler Brothers website. After several machine wash/dry cycles, the pants have not undergone any fading or wear.
The pants are available in Seagull Grey, Vallarta Khaki, Limestone Khaki, Desert Khaki, Fatigue, and Phantom Grey colors.
Final Thoughts
Howler Brothers Horizon Hybrid Pants are a nearly perfect example of casual athletic pants, providing plenty of comfort, utility, and style, plus a couple of excellent monkey icons.
For more information and purchase please visit: www.moosejaw.com/howlerbros.
