Customer Reviews Columbia Silver Ridge™ Convertible Pant

I purchased 3 of these Columbia Silver Ridge pants from a major outdoor recreation retailer. All have the same problem: the back pockets are formed by stitching a patch of mesh material to the inside of the fabric seat of the pants. The stitching unravels and the mesh separates from the seat of the pants, creating big holes in the pockets. Almost lost my wallet, but luckily felt it sliding down the inside of the trouser leg. Upon examining the other two pants, they too have this condition on both the left and right back pockets (I never even use the back left pocket). Additionally, the belt loops are not optimized. There are only 3 widely-spaced belt loops in the back, which results in the waistband of the pants pulling below the belt when bending over. Better quality convertible pants have more belt loops in the back, including two loops or a single wide loop at the middle back, with adjacent loops fairly closely spaced. I'm tired of constantly re-adjusting the waistband in the back! Finally, the fit is a problem. I originally bought the pants in my normal waist size of 34 inches. The pants were so tight in the thighs and hip that I could not put them on. So I returned the 34-waist pants to the retailer and after experimenting with larger waist sizes in the fitting room I found that a 40-inch waist size is needed to provide a comfortable fit in the thighs and hip. So I bought the pants with 40-inch waist size. However, the resulting loose waistband requires a lot of cinching in with the belt, which worsens the effect of the poor belt loop design. Very disappointing, after paying premium price for these three pants, and I probably haven't worn any of them more than a dozen times for casual-duty use. The retailer won't take them back due to the purchase being more than a year ago. Looking at customer reviews on the retailer's website, the pocket and fit problems appear to be frequent and long-standing issues. My fault for not doing more research in advance, as I relied on my years of overall satisfaction with Columbia outer wear. These Silver Ridge pants fall far short of expectations.

Pants are so tight around the thighs and crotch area you cannot lift your leg or barely get your hand in pocket.

Expected better quality from columbia for such product. It was very loose from the bottom and its fitting as not as good as it was shown in the picture.

I bought 2 pair of these because they were ultralight and quick drying but I am sorry to report that within the first two weeks of wearing these pants the stitching for the back pockets totally came apart leaving holes in the bottom of the pocket lining. So I must say that the sewing is a single stitch and isn't strong at all. I went out and bought a pair of carhart conveyance pants. A little more expensive but a whole lot better build quality.

The legs are so tight that you can't step over a high log or boulder that's blocking the trail. I can't even step over the child gate in my house. Mosquitos easily bite through the pants because they are flush with the skin. For the same reason, there is no room to wear a base layer when it's cold or to let air circulate when it's hot. The zip-off legs are also difficult to use because you must first take off your footwear. Even sneakers do not fit through the leg cuffs which also do not have cuff zippers. I'm terribly disappointed. Note that I'm 6' and 160 lbs so I'm thin. I do not have thick thighs. I tried the 30X34 and then returned it for the 32X34. Both had the same problem.

These pants seemed ideal for my husband. Lots of pockets and removable legs for the summer. However he has had these 2 weeks and with just light wear the stitching on both rear pockets has worn away, so making them useless. Very poor quality would not buy again.

I've already owned two pair of Columbia convertibles for a long time - so long I can't even remember (re: 90's or early 00's?). Incredibly well made, durable, with deep and large cargo pockets up front. Hands down the best convertibles I've ever owned, not even close! Sadly, I recently messed up one of the leg zippers in a spring skiing gaffe (yes that's how versatile/durable they are, but I tangled it up on a ski buckle). So, I figured I'd just order the new version, no problem right? Wrong! They just arrived and without even bothering to try them on they're going back - they don't even remotely resemble the quality of the pairs I already own. The fabric is noticeably thinner and feels frail, but even worse, the cargo pockets are noticeably shallower and made of mesh - very similar to all the other vastly inferior brands I've tried over the years. No thanks - I'll just go get that old zipper repaired!!!

The pants' fitting is so snug it affects mobility.

For pants designed for hiking, the cut is too snug. Too restrictive around the thighs and the rise is not high enough.