The Loke rain pants from H/H are lightweight, high performance pants with a bundle of features at a nice price tag. What’s not to like?
About the pants
The loke is made from a 2.5 layer breathable, water-proof laminated material. Fully seam sealed and treated with an external DWR, the pants will keep you dry while still allowing some moist water vapor to escape. Zippered legs allow more flexibility when sliding them on over thick boots, or for a little extra ventilation when the hiking heats up. True pockets, with airy mesh inside provides some storage, while an adjustable drawstring keeps the waist snug and slip free. The Loke pants retail for $80 and weigh 9.5 oz.
What I liked
These pants feel great. They’re smooth, silky, and lightweight on your legs. They feel more like a nylon running pant than an actually pair of rain wear. While most rain pants feel thick, stuffy, and clammy when being worn, these feel light and fabric like, dodging the sensation that you’re wearing a trash bag around your legs. The nylon around the hip is enough to keep the pants on your hips without constricting around your waist. Breath-ability is great, doing a good job of keeping me cool on long humid hikes while still blocking wind and keeping out the rain.
They’re great at shedding water, and they dry quickly when the rain finally stops. After two days of rain, the Loke pants were basically the only thing that remained dry after the constant onslaught of near freezing rain. They stayed dry inside and out with little modification of my hiking pace.
Zippered calves allow for easier sliding of the pants on over boots, which can help keep your feet dry during downpours. The legs never found a way to slip under my boot, which is rare for me. Meshy pockets allow for a dry place to keep your hands, or a small bit of storage for a compass or map.
The pants pack incredibly small, and are some of the lightest legitimate rain pants I’ve ever tested.
What I didn’t like
The pants are thin, which means you’ll have to take care while passing through briers and thorns. I had them hang and pull some threads loose on occasion, but it never had any affect on the waterproofing.
The pants are a little too close fitting around my thighs for my taste. Stepping up on high stones the pants tightened against my leg, but didn’t cause any real problems. An easy fix is going up one size, but I like my rain pants to stay near my body.
Overall
The Loke rain pants are unique in the way that they’re actually enjoyable to wear. Most rain pants are heavy, bulky, and feel clammy as soon as you’re wearing them. These pants feel smooth and silky, providing good rain protection, and breath quite well. I never felt like I just couldn’t wait to get the pants off, which is the norm for me.
If you’re looking for lightweight, packable, reliable rain gear, this is an excellent option. The price is right, and the performance is even better. You can’t go wrong with these pants. Just stay out of the briers.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to the manufacturer for providing this product. For full disclosure, see our about me page.
TreeLineBackpacker 
How durable have your been?
I ask, because mine have been a huge disappointment. The fit and weight is awesome, but they started leaking in less than a year after wearing them on around 20 normal walks. When I contacted Helly Hansen they acknowledged the problem, but said they didn’t cover it under their warranty, but offered me 30% off buying new ones, which is cheeky: “Yes, they leak, we won’t fix them, but we’ll give you 30% off new ones”.
I’m not impressed!
Being a 2.5 layer garment, they will eventually lose their waterproofing. It is just a flaw in the materials themselves. Once they get dirty from soil or sweat, they’ll start saturating. But, there is hope. What you can do is wash them in warm water with just a bit of powerdered detergent (no dies or anything). Add some TechWash from NikiWax for synthetics. Then, tumble dry low. This should revitalize them. If that doesn’t work, you can even spray on some Kiwi Camp Dry or similar after for extra protection. It should be like new afterwards.
Basically, any 2.5 layer rain pant will have this same issue. If you want true waterproofness, you’ll want to go 3 layer, something with Goretex preferably. But, it will cost you in both weight and money. Honestly, if they held up for a year of heavy use, that’s pretty good actually.
I hope this helps!
Can the pants be shortened to a 30 inseam
Theoretically yes if you can sew and seam seal them back. Shouldn’t be too hard.
That said, I generally wear a 30″ insteam and these worked fine for me with hiking boots to hold them up.