Part Wild's Task Pants

I shouldn’t like these, but I really do.

I have been a natural fiber guy most of my life. It probably started when my grandfather’s 100-percent nylon or rayon dress shirts jumped out of the clothes dryer and tried to slay me with static electricity.

I also try to avoid plastics when possible.

So I was skeptical when chairmaker Peter Galbert began raving about the work pants he was wearing while I was teaching at his school in May. The pants were designed by one of his students and made in Portugal.

“Honestly, they are like wearing pajamas,” Peter said. “I never want to take them off.”

So I bought a pair of Task Pants from Part Wild in June and have been wearing them in the workshop and around town. And, despite my misgivings about some of their materials (Cordura, elastomer and hard plastic for the belt buckle) I also do not want to take these pants off.

Why? Let’s start with the belt. The Task Pants come with an integral belt that runs inside an elastic waistband. Now, before you start thinking “Sansabelt,” hear me out. When your pockets are loaded with stuff and your waist apron is pulling your pants down, what do you do? Usually you hike up your waistband and hope for the best.

With these pants, you pull the free tab on the belt and pull. The pants cinch up. This is better than sweatpants. To release the tension, you pull on the buckle. It’s ingenious, one-handed operation. And if you don’t like the included belt, the pants also have regular belt loops. You can wear another belt over the integral belt.

Next up, the fly. It has steel snaps. What? The snaps are easier to open and shut with one hand (unlike a button fly) and won’t chew up your underwear or naughty bits like a zipper. I like the snaps.

Pockets that don’t insist upon themselves.

And the pockets. I dislike pants that look like you have 100 cloth baggies sewn to your legs. (And I knew a guy who once lost his lunch among the pockets of his pants.) These pants have but five pockets – four of them in front. One in the back with a snap catch.

The four in the front are unobtrusive, unlike the fun bags on cargo pants. Two pockets are hidden behind the extra layer of fabric that reinforces the thighs and knees. The other two are integrated into the pants’ side seams and have ripstop fabric pocket bags. All workpants should have ripstop in the pocket bags (and not single-ply tissue).

What’s better than feathered crotch mahogany? A gusseted crotch, that’s what.

All these features are in pants that don’t feel too heavy. They move easily (thank you gusseted crotch) and breathe fairly well in summer heat (thank you, 75 percent organic cotton).

If you are OK with a little plastic in your life, this is a good place to allow it. Cordura is used in military clothing, backpacks and luggage – all things that must take a whupping. I think this is an acceptable use – especially if they last for years and years.

The pants are designed for all genders, though I can’t say how they fit on people with curves (I have only one). My only gripe (and it’s a small one) is I wish they had a tan color. Because I’m boring. The brown is pretty excellent, however.