Walking trousers aren’t traditionally the most lightweight and liberating pieces of outdoor clothing – or at least they weren’t until the Arc'teryx Alroy arrived on the scene. The Arc’teryx Alroy pant was designed for ‘long summer days outdoors’ – so that’s exactly how we tested these lightweight hiking trousers, which are designed to be cool and flexible on warm weather adventures.
Are they good enough to rank among the best walking trousers? Let's hit the trails and find out.
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Arc’teryx Alroy review: design and features
The Arc’teryx Alroy trousers are designed with comfort and breathability in mind, and are ideal for summer hikes when you need to feel cool and comfy all day long. At 225g, these trousers definitely don’t weigh you down, and can be packed up small to pop in a rucksack.
The Alroy pant is pretty strictly one-season – we’d definitely pick something warmer and more substantial for cold weather, and the lightweight fabric isn’t suitable for kneeling or working outdoors, when you’ll need a thicker fabric. That said, these trousers are not just for sunshine days – they’re also water-resistant enough to repel light rain, which will bead right off the treated surface, so they’ll work for warm but changeable weather.
A generous five pockets hold valuables and small essentials - we also liked the thigh pocket, which is really handy for carrying your phone.
The Alroy stands out for its smart looks in any of the three colourways available (black, navy or khaki) – if you want a pair of hiking trousers you can wear in downtime these are ideal, and coupled with that light weight and packability they’d work nicely for travelling. They don’t need any ironing or extra care, either, so you can scrunch them up in the bottom of a backpack and they’ll still look great when you unpack.
Arc’teryx Alroy review: performance and comfort
The Alroy trousers are very comfortable indeed. They definitely stand out when compared with other hiking trousers, offering a great range of movement thanks to that stretchy material. These trousers would double up brilliantly for climbing or even for yoga as well as for hiking, and they’re breathable enough to keep you hiking happily in hot climates. We like the well-placed pockets and all-round flattering fit of the Alroy trouser, which is a refreshing change from the many frumpy walking trousers available for women.
We only had one real question mark around the Alroy pant – sizing. Our tester tried out the size 12 incarnation of these trousers but found them way too big – unless you want to conjure back the 1990s with a very low-slung waist band, you’re likely to find these far too roomy in your usual size. The stopgap answer would be to hitch these pants up with a belt, but oddly the Alroy trouser doesn’t have belt loops, which we would have preferred for getting a high-waisted fit. It's a little surprising, because with other Arc'teryx women's trousers, we've found the sizing on the small side. Your best bet if you don’t mind a bit of size experimenting would be to try this design on in-store, or to order a few sizes to see what suits you.
Arc’teryx Alroy review: verdict
Summer time, and the hiking is easy – if you’re wearing a stretchy, breathable and rather smart pair of Arc’teryx Alroy trousers. These pants offer great comfort and great versatility for outdoor activities – as long as you get the sizing right, that is.
If they do fit, we think they’d be worth the money if you plan to wear them regularly for summer hiking and other sports due to their great comfort and stretch, and their priciness seems more reasonable when you consider that they’re smart and flattering enough to work when worn casually, or for travelling.
