When in comes to apparel leg wear for rock climbing, pretty much everything has been utilized, and probably even championed, at some point or other. Be it breaches, shorts, tracky bottoms, shell suit pants, jeans or tights, somebody somewhere will have climbed in it. Generally, when folk get into climbing they will often climb in whatever’s wearing out/past it’s prime; long retired discoing pants and the like, are reduced to knee groveling thigh huggers – the old ‘playing out clothes’ principal.

Once an individual has been climbing for some time, the option arises to purchase some apparel specifically for the task in hand, particularity if you are making the step from indoors to outdoors: long sleeve stretch T’s, wind tops, hats, fleece tops, and of course specifically designed climbing pants.

So what makes a good climbing pant and why do you need a pair of pants specifically designed for rock climbing? To anyone who has endeavored to climb in the fairly straight, rectangular cut of a more fashion orientated pants, this becomes instantly obvious once they’ve tried on their first pair of decent cragging pants. Articulated knees allow for maximum extension when stepping high, ‘diamond cut’ crotches offer unrestricted precision when raising legs to (your) maximum extension, knees and seat areas are often reinforced to offer maximum durability. Overall the cut of all specific rock climbing pants is tailored to athletic ‘3D’ use.

Until fairly recently I had generally climbed in poly-cotton or 100% cotton climbing pants, such as the E9 Rondo or Moon Cypher pants, finding the loose baggy fit, articulated knees and ‘diamond cut’ crotches comfortable to climb in. However, around 2 years ago I was lucky enough to be given a pair of climbing jeans, manufactured by Prana, and since then have worn little else for climbing in all but the hottest weather. I found the even more tailored fit to be superb on hard 3-dimensional climbs, whilst the denim fabric offered more durability, protection on aggressive rock types and perhaps most beneficially of all, better grip in knee-bars or on heinous rounded top-outs. Unfortunately, even the most hardwearing kit comes to a timely demise after serious hammer, and it was recently time for a new pair of climbing jeans: which brings us to our subject matter, the Moon Skink Jeans.

Transgenic (8a/V11), Hyning Wood Crags

Having now used the Skink’s for some time I can categorically say that these pants are ‘the dogs’ and have even managed to up the ante on my previous well loved climbing jeans. The fit is truly excellent, and the fabric is a scrumptious blend of fine quality cotton and 2% elastane (Lycra style fibres) making climbing in and wearing these pants a tactile pleasure.

The ever-popular ‘diamond crotch’ is present, while a clever method of asymmetrically ‘wrapping’ the outside leg seam has been used to offer an even better fit, and therefore movement in use. This has also been done with out damaging the aesthetics of the pants, and you could easily wear these pants down the pub etc. The detailing is also neat, but distinct, with no overloading of features present and a clean but modern look throughout the pants.

Downsides
As you may have guessed I’m a big fan of the jeans for climbing, but as with most things they do have their negative attributes; primarily the property to absorb and hold on to quite a bit of water. The slow drying properties of denim do mean you may want to reach for your poly-cotton pants on days when the weather looks like it may deteriorate. In terms of the Skink jean in particular, the only specific negative attribute is the sizing – which does come up a bit large. Having said that, as long as you account for this fact, at the point of purchase, you should be fine.

Summary
Overall a great pant, ideal for rock pugilists who need a well fitting, abrasion resistant pant for climbing throughout winter, spring and autumn. These pants also look pretty swarve and won’t make you look out of place in any pub or night spot. If you’ve never climbed in jeans, my advice to you; is climb aboard the bandwagon and head for the denim department…

Purchase the Moon Skink Jeans here.