What Hiking Leggings Are Best?

We all have favourite kit and honestly this is one of those things that is personal preference – I prefer hiking leggings to trousers as I find they give me better range of movement when both hiking and also climbing and scrambling.

And yes I do have my favourites but here is an honest review of some that I have tried and tested:

• North Face – Women’s Mountain Athletic Leggings – £50. I have a lot of their clothing (tshirts, fleeces and jackets) and always a fan, however, the leggings were not great (at all). They were very poor fitting and too big in some places and snug in others. There was a lot of movement when hiking and I had to pull up and readjust a lot (like constantly), which is far from ideal. Unfortunately not a pair I would use for hiking, like I recently did in the Lake District, probably more for local short dog walks.
• Columbia – Hike Leggings – £35. These were nice fitting, with a little movement but nothing too much. I did slip over on a descent wearing this and ended up with a very wet backside, which stayed wet for a very long time – this may sound odd but others that wick better will dry quicker.
• Berghaus – Aether Leggings – £45. Really comfortable and no movement at all. Was a little worried when I received them as they looked very small but they were fine and material was super wicking too.
• Rab – Flux Pants – £45. These are my go to leggings. They are super comfortable, no movement and have withstood a lot of scrambling and rock surfaces where I use my backside as a crampon! Plus they wick quickly when wet.
• Rab – Skyline Tights – £70. These are more robust than the others and feel slightly warmer with a little compression. They also have zips at the ankle should you need to adjust for socks/boots.
• Revolution Race – Energy High Waist – £69 – a friend of mine recommended this brand and since moving to Sweden (they are a Swedish company) I see it everywhere so figured why not. Their about them says they are the hikers who got tired of overpriced, badly fitting clothes and honestly from a few wears they have done a great job in my opinion. No movement, super comfortable, pockets on the legs, which considering all the leggings I have this was a first and now a must going forward!
• Revolution Race – Summit Core – £75 – more robust feeling than the above pair from the same brand but all the same excellent qualities plus more. These have reinforced knees, which is great as I tend to be more of a nervous scrambler and often use my knees and bum!

And for tops I wear a lot of my mountain biking clothing as it is comfortable, breathable, wicks really well and does the job perfectly!

I also regularly look at the Fjallraven clothing but the pricing is a little wowsers – I would be interested to know from anyone who has tried and tested them if they are worth the investment? I did invest in a winter coat from them when I moved to Sweden and have a warm beanie for the snowy months, both of which are amazing, plus I have a couple of bags.