KÜHL’s Renegade Pant (the perfect paddling pants) and Fall Collection

Earlier this fall, KÜHL sent over a few of pieces from their fall collection. That included the Renegade Pant, Interceptr Vest and the Invigoratr Merino 1/4 Zip shirt. Together they create a warm and cozy fall outfit that functions well during the shoulder paddling seasons. It also looks great. When wearing them, I feel like I’m living up to my Appalachian Trail thru-hike name, which was Fashion.

All kidding aside, I love KÜHL clothing and have written about their clothing before here. One of the things that I love about the clothing is the thought that goes into the design of the features and the fit. As an example, I love the zippered side pockets on the Renegade Pant. They are big enough for my phone. They hold the phone snuggly, and they are lined with a breathable mesh on the inside so there’s not an extra layer of fabric in that area creating more heat. There’s also a drop-in phone pocket next to it if you don’t want to zip the phone into your pants. This also works for stashing stuff quickly, such as a folded map. It’s nice to have both options.

Renegade Pants

The Renegade Pants have a ton of features. It’s one of the most fully featured pair of pants that I’ve used. I’ll try to cover all the features here, and it may feel a little disjointed because there are so many features to cover.

As I mentioned above there are a lot of pockets in these pants. And the pockets are symmetrical in that they are the same on each side of the pants, except for the drop-in phone pockets which are in the same spot on each side but offer a slightly different entry. There are two zippered pockets on the thigh. Hand pockets that are deep enough to carry stuff without worry. Two wallet pockets sit on the pants back. There are a lot of pockets, but they blend well into the design and don’t look like a pair of cargo pants.

The Renegade Pants is made from a soft, lightweight and breathable fabric called DuaLux. It has stretch built into it, but unlike some stretch fabrics it feels more like a normal pair of pants that just happens to stretch with you as you move and when you need it. The pants also have articulated knees and a gusseted crotch. Those two features when combined with the stretch fabric make for a comfortable pair of pants that somehow never seem to bind up. The fabric offers a UPF 50+ sun protection.

The Duralux softshell material has a DWR, which causes water to bead up and spill off. If the pants do get saturated, I found the they quickly dry.

The pants also have multiple fit options and the waist sizes come in more sizes than is typical. For example, I’m usually a 35, but most pants only offer 34 and 36, but the Renegade pants come in 35. I get a better fit as a result.

Finally, there’s a loop made from cord on the rear belt loop that lets you hang them up easily when you need to hang them up in camp.

Total weight of the pants in size 35×32 and a Klassik Fit is 13.4 ounces.

Overall, I love the Renegade Pants. They are my new favorite pair for canoeing in the shoulder seasons.

Get them direct from KÜHL or at REI.

Interceptr Vest

The Interceptr Vest is a form fitting and sleek vest that offers a symmetrical design. It’s made from KÜHL’s ALFPACA GOLD™ performance fleece, which is a thick, warm soft fleece that feels denser than a typical fleece. On the side, it uses a panel that reduces bulk under the arms and increases the breathability. I found while wearing it — and I wear this all the time since getting it — that the reduced bulk is nice.

There aren’t as many features on this vest as the above pants, but it has two chest pockets that are big enough for a modern smart phone and two hand pockets. All the pockets have zips that can hide under a fabric tab. All the seams are sewn flat, and there’s extra soft fleece at the collar that makes the collar comfy against the neck.

This vest looks great, too. I can’t believe how many compliments I’ve gotten while wearing it around town. It not only looks good, but it also performs great. It’s the perfect temp under a lifevest or under my biking coat when out for a chilly fall ride.

Get it direct from KÜHL or from REI.

Invigoratr Merino 1/4 Zip

The final piece that I’ve been using this fall is the Invigoratr Merino 1/4 Zip. This is made from merino wool with a weave that feels more like cotton than wool. That said, it is crazy warm. KÜHL says that because the weave traps air in micro pockets making it warmer than a standard wool weave. I’d believe it, because like I said this thing is crazy warm for how thin the weave feels.

The shirt also offers articulating elbows and a zip neck that fit nicely and high enough around the neck. In addition the zip neck and articulating elbows, the shirt offers hidden thumb holes to make it easy to layer items over it.

One of the things that I like about wool and a reason that I’ve been using it more and more on trips is that it is odor resistant. Even with the added nylon in this fabric, it still is odor resistant. I recently did a 625-mile bikepacking trip with temps that ranged from 25°F (-4°C) to 55°F (-12.8°C) and wore the same wool shirt(s) while riding, in camp and to bed. I basically didn’t take it off. It hardly had a smell even by the end of the trip. I can’t say that would have happened with synthetic shirts.

You do pay a little price with wool. It’s generally heavier, but not my much. This weighs 11 ounces in large.

Get it direct from KÜHL.

The Fall Collection Overall

Like I mentioned above, I love KÜHL’s clothing. It’s stylish and functional. When I’m looking for a new piece of clothing, I always make sure to look at what KÜHL is doing in that category, because they often have unique designs.

The team at KUHL is also blogging about the outdoors and they recently added an article about paddling to their blog.