prAna  Stretch Zion Slim Pants II - Men's

There’s been a lot of fuss about the changes made to these pants, so I was interested to see for myself. Zions were the first dedicated hiking/backpacking pants I purchased, and while I’ve tried others to see if there’s a superior product out there—Outdoor Research Ferrosi, Kuhl Renegade Rock, etc—I always come back to the Zions for their fit and fabric. Here are the main differences I’ve observed. In each of the product images, the Zions are on top and the ReZions below. 1. Color. While the Zions were a solid dark gray, the ReZions have almost a greenish tint to them. As other reviews have mentioned, the ReZions have an odd sparkle to them, sort of like TV static. I also noticed a lot of loose, curly white fibers on the ReZions (not the cat hairs present on my Zions), something I didn’t observe with either pair of my Zions. 2. Leg opening. It’s wider. It’s only about an inch or so, but I’ve been wearing two pairs of Zions almost exclusively for a year and it was instantly noticeable to me when I put the ReZions on for the first time. I’m waiting on an email back from prAna about whether this was an intentional design change or just a quirk of the individual pair I purchased. 3. Hardware. The Zions had a metal zipper and grommeted metal button. The ReZions have a flexible rubber zipper and a plastic button. That could be a positive change, but the plastic button is attached by a strap sewn to the waistband rather than a grommet. This seems like a probable point of failure, but one that would likely lie outside the scope of the one-year warranty from prAna. 4. Tags. Zions had a physical tag, ReZions opted for comfort tags. I see that as a move in the right direction assuming they don’t start flaking off with heat and sweat. They do feel somewhat softer than the Zions, but that may be attributable to the fact that I’ve been wearing mine for the better part of a year straight. My final verdict will be heavily dependent on durability, and I’ll circle back to this review in a few months with an update on that.

The Zion pants were hands down the best climbing pants made. The Zion 2s are not. They do not fit the well at all and they are cheaply made. When I asked the salesperson what happened they informed me that Columbia bought Prana. It makes sense. I have never been a fan of Columbia’s products. They’re ill-fitting and cheaply made. They made a big mistake changing these pants. Climbers are going to have to find something else.