I have a very old pair of Air Force BDU pants that my father gifted me when he retired from the military. I use those when I do pretty much anything that involves the outdoors. However given their age, they are fairly worn. So before my three day backpacking trip of La Verkin Creek Trail, Utah, I wanted to buy a new pair of pants for my new adventure and I considered CQR Men’s Tactical Pants Lightweight EDC Assault Cargo to be the best option. Firstly I would like to address the fit; it is quite comfortable and very spacious, but as to be expected from baggy cargo pants. The waist fits as expected, however the length is a bit long. I am 5’7” with a smaller frame and longer legs, wearing a 30×32 normally, in which I ordered a 30×32 for these pants. Even though the waist fit well the length was too long, I found myself stepping on the pant legs with my boots on. With time to spare I ordered a replacement of 30×30 and fit better. I would recommend getting a pair one length smaller than your current length.
The waist has elastic on both hips and non-elastic on the front and back. With 7 belt loops measuring 2 ½ “ x 1 ⅝ “ for the thicker loops and 2 ½“ x 1” for the smaller loops. The smaller loops are located on the left and right hips and the back, the rest are thicker loops. With my thick belt, these pants will not slide under the belt when crouching or moving. On the front two belt loops closest to the buckle, there are sturdy rings that can hold various accessories, personally I use it the most by keeping my (flashlight) on (S-clip) when I’m working in the garage at night or on my car.
The original 30×32 that I ordered had an upper and lower button with a zipper, but my replacement had an upper snap button, lower button and a zipper. I found this particularly odd, however I do not mind a snap button and it seems to snap open and closed strongly so I was not bothered by it. The zipper seems to be of the same quality as found in your classic pair of jeans.
In typical cargo pants fashion, there are a lot of deep pockets, the two front pockets measure 5 ¾ “ from the bottom of the pocket to the lowest opening and 11” to the upper most opening with a width of 7”. The lowest opening of the front pockets have a reinforced flat portion where a knife can be clipped onto, I absolutely love this feature. My old BDU pants would buckle with the weight of the knife, creasing the material below where I clipped it. This location is designed to prevent that and does a very good job at doing so.
Next to this location on the left leg is a small pocket measuring 5 ½ “ in depth and 2 ⅜ “ wide and can be closed by a velcro flap. In the exact location on the right side just next to the reinforced portion for the knife, is a pocket measuring 5 ½ “ in depth and 4” wide which looks to be for pencils, pens, small tools or even a small phone. The opening of this pocket is only 3 ½ “ wide, so the opening is smaller in width than the pocket itself. I cannot reach the bottom of this pocket because of the opening, so I can imagine a little difficulty retrieving small hardware and items from the bottom.
On the outer thigh just above the knee on both sides is another pocket measuring 6 ½ “ in depth at the lowest opening and 7 ½ “ at the upper most opening and 6 3⁄4 “ and can be closed by a velcro flap. There is a very small opening at the top of the velcro flap for pencils and pens.
The back pockets measure 6 ½ “ in depth and 6 1/4 “ wide and can be closed with a velcro flap, concluding 8 pockets in total. The material is 65% polyester and 35% cotton, so there was no change to the fitting after washing them. I tested the waterproofing of these pants and it seemed to hold water out decently.
A slight drizzle in rain or small splash of water will bead up and run off, however any downpour or dip in water will bead up at first and slowly soak the affected area, but will dry away quickly. I live in Las Vegas, so we are not short for hot and dry weather, but a semi soaked pant leg will dry in less than 5 minutes. The durability is fairly good as well, there is no stretchability to the fabric and will win against a low hanging branches, I have a few tests that I am working on for all my equipment so more to come on durability. Overall quality to cost, a very efficient 8 out of 10. The length was longer than expected, however at the price to quality is hard to beat.