Cirque III Weather Resistant Performance Pants

I have 2 earlier pairs of Cirque pants and they are very well constructed. I just received the Cirque 3 pants, and these are also well made except for the logos on the pants. They are iron on and not embroidered. It makes me more reluctant to buy future Outdoor Research products if they are going to start cutting costs on such high dollar items.

Crushes my groin, but still have a lot of slack in the waist and thighs and some drape in the seat. Quite annoying considering I like most other things about the pant. Good flex, I like the leg opening and feature set there. I do prefer integrated belts over Velcro side tabs, although this buckle does bring concern over longevity with how slim and flimsy it feels.

Great that these are offered in short length. Thick high quality fabric and good stretch. However, I was disappointed by the fit through the crotch. The rise is way too long proportional to the leg length. This means that unless I pull the waist way up to 2-3” above my bellybutton, every time I lift my knees for a step, my movement is restricted by the crotch of the pants (which sits midway down my thighs). Not ideal, since I wanted these for ice climbing and will be high stepping regularly. Might have to try them with suspenders…

I recently purchased these pants because, 1. The pant material stretches, is durable and is thick enough for winter hiking. 2. The pants have four pockets. 3. The pants are available in a 30 inch inseam. Unfortunately a couple of things are missing that would make the pants the perfect pants for me. 1. There is only one belt loop so I can't use an external belt to hang things from such as a cell phone, GPS, knife, bear spray, etc. I will have to pay a seamstress to sew on 4 more belt loops. 2. The pockets are made with an open mesh fabric and I am concerned that eventually my keys, etc. will wear holes in the mesh, fall out down the inside of the leg and I will lose them!