Here is a two-part write-up for you. The first is a practical write-up of my search for a solution to trousers for stalking on the Scottish hill. The second is testing my solution on said hill, which resulted in taking the stag of a lifetime, a stag which would normally have been left, but who got himself injured and thus needed to be dispatched.
The problem of Scottish hill trousers
First, before you troll me or get upset, I'm not saying I have the answers for anyone else, and I'm not criticising anyone else's solution to what to wear up the hill. This is just what works or doesn't, for ME.
Here are the things I've tried that worked okay, but had issues I wanted to address:
TO BE CONTINUED! ...
The problem of Scottish hill trousers
First, before you troll me or get upset, I'm not saying I have the answers for anyone else, and I'm not criticising anyone else's solution to what to wear up the hill. This is just what works or doesn't, for ME.
Here are the things I've tried that worked okay, but had issues I wanted to address:
- Traditionally wool plus fours. The traditional solution and they generally work pretty well (shed rain, nice and insulating etc) and look great in pictures. If they are silk lined, they work wonders. I had a great pair of Cordings that were nice and dark, fit well, silk lined so they moved and didn't scratch or rough up your skin. The downside of these is that they are expensive and I thought too much about damaging them or getting them irreversibly stained. When you do get them dirty, you have to dry clean them, that gets expensive too. As I was crawling up a burn getting soaked, I was worried more about them than the deer we were stalking, which was stupid. Here they are before heading up the hill, complete with (what I thought were) cool leather gaitors (extra credit to anyone who knows where this is) ...
- Another option is to use some specific technical stalking trousers of some type, made in Scandy, the US or even here. I tried a few brands. Again, they all worked pretty well, but I never found a pair that wasn't really hot and sweaty when cranking up the steep Highland hillsides. And again, the best ones are out of the reach of many recreational stalkers with eye-watering prices in three figures that don't start with a one or two.
- In heather, the outter "quiet" layer often gets soaked, then it crawls up the trouser. You can add gaitors (I always did), but then even on cooler days your lower leg gets hot and the material bunches up around your ankle and calf. I found that really uncomfortable.
- A pair of surplus, used British Army No. 4 dress trousers, fairly heavy, but not too heavy wool/acrylic blend.
- Altered by a seamstress into a plus-four configuration with velcro closures
- Held up by braces (suspenders to my fellow Americans).
- Inexpensive: I got my pair off eBay for £10 plus postage ($13), plus only £20 ($26) for the seamstress work (prices may vary, lol). You don't mind if you get them dirty or wet, they are PRACTICAL everyday breeks.
- Comfy: not having a belt, and being a blend, they are comfy to wear. You can pair them with wool socks and a gaitor for the perfect combination.
- Breathable: They breathe nicely, but are still insulating (even when wet) and water shedding. I wear a base layer on cooler autumn hunts, and further add an insulating layer on the hinds, tis perfect for me.
- Still has a traditional look that is welcome on many estates.
TO BE CONTINUED! ...
