Eddie Bauer Guide Pants Review

by Dan Gladden · Published October 13, 2014 , 7:45 pm · Updated January 12, 2020 , 6:29 pm

Eddie Bauer Guide Pants

First Impressions of the Eddie Bauer Guide Pants:

The Eddie Bauer Guide Pants are an excellent choice for the traveler or outdoor enthusiast. My first impression when I received them was how nice they looked and even more so how soft they felt. I hadn’t even tried the pants on yet and already knew they would be comfortable. Eddie Bauer calls this the FLEXION STRETCH WOVEN TECHNOLOGY which consists of nylon/spandex material that allows a two way stretch. Imagine a pair of traditional cotton guide pants, but with functionality and performance in mind for the user! I also liked that they didn’t look like bulky cargo pants. The Eddie Bauer Guide Pants still had side pockets that zipped, and plenty of other storage areas without taking away from the sleek look. I wasn’t using the pants initially in the outdoors where they could get dirty easily, so I wasn’t too concerned with the lighter color of khaki. My needs were more for functionality and user friendliness. This pair of pants delivered!

Performance of the Eddie Bauer Guide Pants:

The pants themselves fit pretty true to size in the waist, but I did feel that the pants were slightly snug on my legs. This is probably me just being picky, but I like to wear pants that have more leg room simply because my thighs are larger and I don’t like the tightness in some pants. However, this wasn’t a big deal as I still found these to be comfortable with the stretchy fabric. One cool thing I really liked about them was that the pants are sun resistant with a 50+ sun protection rating! Eddiec Bauer calls this their FREESHADE feature and it’s like sunscreen for your legs! The pants act as a barrier to sun rays and are tested over 100 hours before any rating is given. I was very impressed with the lightweight feel and breathability, as I could wear these day and night with no worry.

Eddie Bauer Guide Pants Pocket Close Up

The pockets on the pants seemed to be plentiful and offered space for my valuables such as currency, I.D. card, or passport. The zippers had friction to them so they didn’t open super easy for would be thieves which was something I had to consider when walking in crowded areas of town in Africa. You can see from the side pocket above that it fits snug to the leg but can stretch open fairly wide to hold many items.

Like other Eddie Bauer performance products, these Guide Pants have the moisture wicking technology called FREEDRY. It’s a proprietary feature that wicks away moisture and therefore keeps the user dry. Along with testing while perspiring in the heat, I also spilled water on them directly only to find that the water beaded away immediately. I wore these pants all through Africa on my last trip, and felt dry and cool the entire time considering I was wearing pants in the hot summer days.

The length of the Eddie Bauer Guide Pants also did somewhat bother me in that they were fairly long. I must admit that I have shorter legs than probably most, so I anticipated that length may be an issue when I ordered on line. The length was too long for me, and bunched up at the shoe. Sometimes I found myself rolling the pant leg up, so it wouldn’t get stuck under the heel of my foot. Personally I didn’t mind this because I wear my pants both rolled and unrolled, but this should be something to consider if you have shorter legs. I think if I wore boots with more of a sole to them, it wouldn’t be an issue for me. However, I wore flip flops and athletic shoes during the testing and the bottom definitely folded under the heel.

Guide Pants Pants Bottom

Final Thoughts on the Eddie Bauer Guide Pants:

Eddie Bauer Guide Pants-Front View

Overall, the Eddie Bauer Guide Pants are great. I loved the color and the wicking ability. I appreciated the duel side pockets that I used to store my itinerary, passport, and currency. I felt reassured that my personal valuables were not going to be lost or stolen from the pockets. A good looking pair of performance pants that wore extremely comfortably. The stretch spandex fabric coupled with the FREEDRY technology made wearing these pants great day and night. The subtle criticisms I have are in the fit due to my shorter and stockier legs than most. I certainly felt that the $80 retail price is worth the money if not for the reasons above than just for the fact that you can wear these for so many occasions!

Specification of the Eddie Bauer Guide Pants:

ARTICULATED KNEES AND TRIMMED CALVES: Enable unrestricted range when climbing, scrambling or approaching
DUAL CARGO POCKETS: Stow critical items such as maps, snacks, sunscreen or guidebooks
SMALL PACKED SIZE: An easy addition when packing for an overnight or multi-day trip
ODOR CONTROL: Fabric treated to resist odor