written by Ian VanDerLinden
Hunting apparel is always a topic of much debate amongst hunters. Camouflage patterns are just about as polarizing as the proper pronunciation of the word tomato. Mossy Oak, Realtree, Sitka, Drake, KUIU, and First lite are the more popular camo brands that you’ll see in media sources and your outdoor sportsman stores, but I have always seen the effectiveness of solid color patterns when hunting. I branched out to look at stores like L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer to see if they had a pant that would be effective in the woods but not break my wallet. I found the Eddie Bauer Guide Pro Pant. I used this pant while turkey hunting this past spring and I was able to make some interesting observations about this pant, and its applications for hunting.
Cons:
- The material that the pant is made of nylon and spandex which makes the pant relatively loud when brush hits against it or when you are walking. When hunting, stealth is crucial and this is perhaps the biggest con of this pant in its application for hunting. The pant was built to be an excellent hiking pant, but it was not built with the thought of hunting in mind. An equivalent of this pant made by a hunting apparel company would be the corrugate guide pant from firstlite. Both pants offer the same features in terms of a DWR water resistant coating, and multi directional stretch, but the eddie bauer guide pro pant does not carry the same stealth considerations and can be purchased for half the price of the corrugate guide pant.
- The pant is extremely light and breathable so this pant cannot be used during colder temperatures that you can experience in the mid to late hunting seasons in November and December. This is not necessarily a huge con, but I mention it as a con due to it’s lack of versatility during colder temperatures.
- Velcro on butt pockets. Separating velcro can be loud which hinders the pants ability to maintain stealth compared to other apparel designed specifically with hunting in mind.
Pros:
- The price point compared to hunting apparel companies justifies some of the cons pointed out above. Firstlite’s corrugate guide pant is priced at about $145 while the guide pro pant from Eddie Bauer comes in around $60.
- The pant is extremely breathable, drys fast when wet, the multi directional stretch makes for a very comfortable pant to wear when hunting. During the spring turkey season temperatures climbed to almost 80 degrees and I never felt that the guide pro pants caused me to over heat in anyway. Any moisture I encountered was kept away from my body and dried out very quickly which kept me comfortable.
- The color patterns that the pant is offered in match the colors you will find in the woods. I have a pair in their “aged brass” color and another pair in their “slate green” and from what I’ve observed the colors are not too bright or too dark. The finish on the pants are also fairly matte so there is not a very bright glare or glow to the pants that you would see from other pants made with similar materials.
- The pockets on the pants can be opened and closed with zippers which means that you can access anything in those pockets quietly. I only wish they made the butt pockets with zipper instead of velcro. Velcro can be extremely noisy, but the amount of velcro they do have is not super noisy when opened slowly and with care. I typically do not use those pockets to avoid the two velcro points on the pant.
Overall these pants are a great alternative for an early season or spring hunting pant for those on a budget. For the serious hunter who has the money to get pants from companies like First lite, I suggest you spend the money to get those. These pants were not made with hunting in mind, but they can most certainly be used for hunting.
I hope these points were helpful, and I encourage anyone to look into alternative apparel options for your hunting needs!
585 Outdoors 