I've had these pants for over two years now and have spent all sorts of outdoor time in them - a three-day backpacking trip, day hiking, weekly birding walks in all seasons including Chicago's winter, and lots of cycling. The right cuff is ragged from my bike's drivetrain occasionally snagging it, but otherwise it has held up fine and has plenty of wear left.

They are an excellent piece of gear. The material is nice nylon, soft to the touch but tough enough for dealing with poorly maintained backcountry trails. The pants are lightweight, quick-drying and fit me well (I wear 32W/30L men's pants and the small version of these). Their thermal performance is impressive, staying comfortable in hot, humid conditions but also going down to pretty cold, windy conditions before the need for a base layer is felt. In this regard they remind me a bit of wool dress trousers, which easily trump cotton or polyester trousers for dealing with both the cold commute and the toasty workplace (but I digress).

The mesh pockets are a bit lightweight to carry a fat wallet and big keychain around town, which can get annoying, but I guess this is outdoorsy clothing, so I can't complain too much. These pants come with a fabric belt, which I didn't know when I ordered them, so I bought a nice sturdy Patagonia belt at the same time. I prefer the latter, but the stock belt is adequate. I would have saved my money had I known.

What else can I say? These are great pants.

Edit: There isn't a detachable pocket on my pair. So it sounds like there have been some revisions in the past couple years. Thus I wouldn't be able to say if a belt comes with these either.

These boots gave me a cheap way to get into XC skiing -I got a used pair of skis/bindings/poles for cheap on eBay and these boots. For about $110 total, I now have a rig to zip around in parks and up and down the lakeshore here in Chicago.

It is always nice when manufacturers give a nod to backward compatibility (in this case the 3-pin binding) in this techie jungle of newfangled, mutually incompatible designs. By using equipment older than the cutting edge, you can get good results for a small fraction of the price of the latest designs.

The boots are comfortable for my narrow, flat feet. (As always in footwear, though, your results may vary.) They keep my feet plenty warm and dry. I haven't yet run into any problems with soreness or blistering. All told, these boots are a winner.