REI Co-op  Sahara Convertible Pants - Men's 30" Inseam

I've been a huge fan of the Sahara line for a few years. I own every color go the long pants, convertibles, and shorts, and some duplicate colors. When I saw the Sahara convertibles in the green color, I ordered a pair right away. A new color, yay! But they took out the best parts of the design. The elastic, soft-lined waist is gone, they exchanged the button for a snap, and the fabric feels stiffer, though that may not be such a problem after repeated washings, they do not feel great right out of the box like the originals. Alas, I will never know because I returned them. I'll have to make do with my current collection. Cannot recommend the new design.

I've been wearing Sahara pants and shorts for many years. They have been my only choice over other brands because they fit, they wear well and they are comfortable. The new design doesn't fit well; for me, much too tight for same waist size, a larger waist wasn't available in the store. The catalog indicates "new, slimmer fit". All of us aren't slimmer. The new design has a snap instead of button for waist closure (see other posts) and the material seems lighter. Stretch is OK, but I wonder if this fabric is as tough as the one previously used. I'm really disappointed that I now have to search for a replacement when there was nothing wrong with the product. Come on, REI, bring back the good, old Sahara products.

I'm a long time coop member and have always purchased REI brand merchandise. I am in the market for a new pair of convertible pants since I finally wire out my original pair of Sahara pants. I was extremely disappointed to discover that the redesigned pants are horrible. I wear 38x30 jeans which fit loose and I could not even get into the 38x30 Saharas. I even tried the 40x30 and they were very uncomfortable and the snap came undone when I bent down to tie my shoes. I really liked my previous pair of Sahara pants, I hope I can find something similar in another brand.

These would be excellent hiking pants if only the snap button on the waist band would hold. The weak snap fastener makes the rather odd waist adjustment strap fairly useless. It actually gets in the way of the belt that is needed to keep the keep the pants on.

The specific button on these pants pops right open as soon as you tighten the belt and it drives insane so i have to leave it loose and wear a belt over it, But otherwise there pretty comf.

I've had these pants for about a year now and they're all I ever wear hiking. I'm a big fan of the stretchy material in the upper legs of the pants. Usually pants restrict my movement (especially on 3/4 scramble hikes) but these do not. The fabric repells water as advertised and drys very quickly after being submerged in water. I did rip a pen sized hole in the butt of the pants but that's only because I was sliding down some rough rocks in Glacier National Park. I don't think any pants would have come out in scathed.

Wonderful light weight and wicking material. Recently tested on a 7 hour hike up- and down Mt. Baldy. Pockets are perfectly placed and material gives great freedom for hiking, rock hopping, or scrambling down a scree slope.

These pants would be perfect if they had a button closure for the waist instead of the snap closure. The snap comes unsnapped very easily and usually at the most inopportune moments. I wouldn't dare wear these without a belt.

I haven't seen this iteration of the Sahara pants. However, two years ago my son and I had the same experience. The rear pockets came unthreaded and separated causing a big hole between the pockets and your underwear. I thought it was a fluke and turned them in for a new pair and the same thing happened again. I shifted to a different brand.

I've owned the previous design for years. I used them thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and much more. I loved the previous design because they were lightweight, durable, and loose. The new design is too tight in the 'leg' area and would certainly cause immediate chaffing around my legs; probably other areas too. I was happy to see the velcro was gone from the pockets, but I'm not a fan of the snap button as others have indicated. The material seemed more durable and a bit more stretchy, but it still doesn't make up for how tight they are. If you're a fan of the old design, don't waste your time. I'm returning them asap.