Review: Montane Men’s Tenacity Lite Pants

I was really pleased to find that the Tenacity Lite trousers were shipped to me in paper packaging. The trousers themselves looked to have an excellent build quality, feeling sturdy with fine stitching. I must be noted that although I ordered a black pair, to my eyes they were most definitely a dark shade of blue… cue the arguments! The Granite stretch material was very comfortable to the touch, and at 320g (size medium), they’re certainly light enough.

Montane say that the Tenacity Lite Pants are designed with fast mountain walking and backpacking in mind. They are certainly designed for a more difficult life, so if you’re the kind of person that throws yourself fully into your activities, then these trousers are the perfect fit. The Tenacity Lite pants are designed for longevity and have a PFC-free DWR coating, so are ideal for more environmentally-conscious people. It must be noted that these are designed with an ‘athletic fit’ and so trying-before-buying is recommended.

The Tenacity Lite’s are an ‘athletic fit’, which to me mostly means they have a closer fitting leg. Personally, I find this fit more aesthetically pleasing on myself and present less of a trip hazard than their baggier counterparts. This style does however present a potential limitation to their customer base, a point that has not gone unnoticed by Montane and as such, they do offer the Terra Stretch which uses the same Granite Stretch material in a ‘regular’ fit.

I found the pants to be exceptionally comfortable when scrambling around boulder fields. In fact I hardly noticed them as they stretched and moved in unison with my body. However when my phone was stashed in one of the front pockets, it did poke me in the hip rather uncomfortably when making big step-ups. In the age of larger phones, pockets just need to be larger and angled away from the vertical so phones and other larger items aren’t trapped between the thigh and hip joint.

Montane’s Tenacity Lite Pants utilises a low-profile sliding popper to secure the waistline which I am most impressed with. I’ve found that standard popper fastenings can easily come undone when stressed, which isn’t ideal when climbing or moving over technical terrain. I had none of these concerns while on a recent climbing shoot at Dow Crag as this problem is impossible to occur with Montane’s closure system. Furthermore this design mitigates the need for an internally-facing backup-button, which is generally a very uncomfortable and cumbersome solution. I was also exceptionally grateful for the Pants’ soft-shell performance that day, as despite the punishing gusts of wind whipping across the crag, not a whisper got through to my skin. My pals were left shivering, I was not*.

Finally it is somewhat difficult to comment on the longevity of the trousers provided by the abrasion resistant construction due to the short-term nature of the review. However I can say that after multiple session of climbing, scrambling and butt-sliding across a variety of rock-types, not a mark can be seen and thus so far at least, they are standing up to the marketing hype. And yes, they have replaced my [amazing] charity shop pants as the go to pair.

*The hot-water-crag-dog probably definitely contributed to my smug comfort.