climbstihl
Branched out member
- Location
- Germany
I've had the Clogger Spider pants for about 1 and a half years now, time to say what I think about them.
Let me start with the construction, they're made out of a 4 way stretch ripstop material for most part, with very durable and abrasion resistant reinforcements around the cuff and the shins and knees. The shin and knee reinforcement also has padding underneath.
There are 4 zippered pockets, two normal ones and two lower ones that are accessible with a harness on. The lower pockets fit my 6", 1/2" thick phone, but anything larger is not going to fit.
There are lace hooks on the front of each leg.
The waist has a button closure and a zipper that is a too short for my taste.
Zippers are not YKK, but I haven't had any problems with them aside from the pocket fabric getting pinched sometimes.
On the outside of each leg there is a heavy duty mesh insert for ventilation.
I expect this to outlast the ripstop fabric.
The entire back of the waistband has a stretch insert.
I'm wearing the XS, my size is 28"×31".
The fit is perfect for me, they're a slim fit, which I love, bit still allow for some circulation inside. The waist could be a little bit tighter for me, but then you'd need stronger stretch, and tye sizes would need to be more specific.
I always wear them without a belt, and my phone and leatherman pull them farther down than I'd like.
The waist is gusseted.
I've worn these about 15-20 days a month in winter, with the appropriate underwear, sometimes even grid fleece. The coldest I've worn these at was about -15C°.
I've worn them much less in summer, probably 5-10days a month. Warmest was about 35°C.
No problems with them in winter, not water resistant of course, but not an issue, I plan ahead for bad weather.
In summer they are much cooler than other pants I own, and I have quite a few pretty breathable tactical pants. The padded part in the front heats up pretty fast, but the protection is well worth it when up against a tree or anything else.
I do tend to sweat a lot on my legs though, so I prefer shorts if I can get away with it and it's hot outside. I have had them pretty soaked from sweat, the padded part will take a while to dry, the rest dries very fast.
I have never felt restricted in my movement with these pants (except from long underwear).
The lace hooks are attached as if they were an afterthought, not very elegant, but that gives you the option of easily cutting them off if you don't need them. They really annoyed me at first, and I was about to cut them off, but I'm glad I didn't, I started using them sometimes recently.
I really like the rough fabric on the legs, it is extremely abrasion resistant, it still looks brand new except for a few pulled fibers on the cuffs, I walk through a lot of blackberry bushes. Regular pants would be torn up with the use I have on these pants. The fabric is quite similar to the one Pfanner uses on some of their pants for knee reinforcement as well.
The ripstop stretch has really surprised me, I thought it would be in way worse condition by now. The only damage is a few pulled threads on the back of the legs, a cut on the left leg from a sanding disc for an angle grinder, and a few tiny holes melted in all over the front from sparks. The cut started out as only a millimeter long, and I didn't repair it until about 7 months later, it didn't get much bigger, it was about 2, maybe 3mm long.
The spark resistance is what really had me surprised, when I first got a long shower of sparks on there I thought it would melt right through, that is not the case, I use an angle grinder a lot, and although I try to direct the sparks away from me, that's not always possible while climbing, so the pants take quite a beating. And with really minimal damage, especially for an all synthetic fabric.
The pants come with a good sized patch of each fabric for repairing any damage, but getting to any spot on the front from the inside is going to be difficult, because there is a mesh liner along the entire front.
So, about the pockets. When I first got them, I didn't like the pockets at all. I was used to tactical pants, with lots of different pockets, and back pockets. I was also very used to having a knife and a flashlight clipped to the front pockets. For that reason, I didn't (and still don't) like zipper pockets for the front pockets.
The upper pockets on the spiders are not great. They barely drop down after the opening, which is almost vertical, so anything in there will fall out if not zippered. They barely fit my wallet, which is all I use them for, along with my keys, usually only for a quick stop at a bakery or store before or after work.
Since I had them, I got used to not having back pockets at all, since I also wear two models of Fjällräven that don't have them.
The zipper pull will also create a pressure point under your harness if you forget to close it. I keep forgetting that though. It's great that they close towards the bottom though, the other direction wouldn't make much sense for climbing purposes.
The lower pockets are awesome. My phone lives in the left pocket, and I can get to it easily in my sequoia or and rope access or sport harness, like the Skylotec Record which I have worn a lot with these pants. With my treemotion I wear the legpads lower, so I have to move a little but to access the pocket, but still pretty good access.
On the right I keep my leatherman wave, even easier to get to, because I don't need to open the zipper all the way to get it out. It does tend to sit sideways in there, which can be annoying, so for me personally a small interior divider would make sense. I love that feature on my Fjällräven Vidda Pro Ventilated pants, which are also excellent for climbing.
Last point, style. I think the pants look great, at least the grey version that I have. The ripstop is more of a greyish blue though. The reflective carabiner spider logo on the front of the right hip and tue back of the left leg is awesome and very clever. Although anybody that doesn't know the name of the pants won't understand it...
I'm not a fan of the huge orange Clogger logo above the left knee though, I think a subdued color would look much better there. The orange zipper pulls provide a nice accent though.
Summary: Overall, excellent pants, despite initial reservations especially because of the pockets, I absolutely love them, especially the fit and comfort, and the durable material on the front, combined with the ventilation .
I realize these are very expensive pants, coming in at around 200$ right now.
I didn't buy them myself, I was provided a pair for review by @CloggerPete , Thank you again.
If I had to spend the money on climbing pants right now, I think I would try the Pfanner Gladiator Outdoor instead, they have a tougher front fabric, and a better pocket layout for my purposes most of the time. The fit is not as slim as I would like though.
I'd be happy to spend the cash on the Spiders though, especially if I was only doing tree climbing, I think they are better than the Pfanners for that purpose. I think they are definitely worth their high price, and I'm still waiting for them to get on the market here in Germany.
I will attach some pictures of them in use, and also the damage. I might sneak a picture of the Fjällräven in there too...
Apologies if the pictures are not inserted properly, that hasn't been working on here lately for me.
View attachment IMG_20201011_125141.jpg
View attachment IMG_20210107_115156.jpg
Let me start with the construction, they're made out of a 4 way stretch ripstop material for most part, with very durable and abrasion resistant reinforcements around the cuff and the shins and knees. The shin and knee reinforcement also has padding underneath.
There are 4 zippered pockets, two normal ones and two lower ones that are accessible with a harness on. The lower pockets fit my 6", 1/2" thick phone, but anything larger is not going to fit.
There are lace hooks on the front of each leg.
The waist has a button closure and a zipper that is a too short for my taste.
Zippers are not YKK, but I haven't had any problems with them aside from the pocket fabric getting pinched sometimes.
On the outside of each leg there is a heavy duty mesh insert for ventilation.
I expect this to outlast the ripstop fabric.
The entire back of the waistband has a stretch insert.
I'm wearing the XS, my size is 28"×31".
The fit is perfect for me, they're a slim fit, which I love, bit still allow for some circulation inside. The waist could be a little bit tighter for me, but then you'd need stronger stretch, and tye sizes would need to be more specific.
I always wear them without a belt, and my phone and leatherman pull them farther down than I'd like.
The waist is gusseted.
I've worn these about 15-20 days a month in winter, with the appropriate underwear, sometimes even grid fleece. The coldest I've worn these at was about -15C°.
I've worn them much less in summer, probably 5-10days a month. Warmest was about 35°C.
No problems with them in winter, not water resistant of course, but not an issue, I plan ahead for bad weather.
In summer they are much cooler than other pants I own, and I have quite a few pretty breathable tactical pants. The padded part in the front heats up pretty fast, but the protection is well worth it when up against a tree or anything else.
I do tend to sweat a lot on my legs though, so I prefer shorts if I can get away with it and it's hot outside. I have had them pretty soaked from sweat, the padded part will take a while to dry, the rest dries very fast.
I have never felt restricted in my movement with these pants (except from long underwear).
The lace hooks are attached as if they were an afterthought, not very elegant, but that gives you the option of easily cutting them off if you don't need them. They really annoyed me at first, and I was about to cut them off, but I'm glad I didn't, I started using them sometimes recently.
I really like the rough fabric on the legs, it is extremely abrasion resistant, it still looks brand new except for a few pulled fibers on the cuffs, I walk through a lot of blackberry bushes. Regular pants would be torn up with the use I have on these pants. The fabric is quite similar to the one Pfanner uses on some of their pants for knee reinforcement as well.
The ripstop stretch has really surprised me, I thought it would be in way worse condition by now. The only damage is a few pulled threads on the back of the legs, a cut on the left leg from a sanding disc for an angle grinder, and a few tiny holes melted in all over the front from sparks. The cut started out as only a millimeter long, and I didn't repair it until about 7 months later, it didn't get much bigger, it was about 2, maybe 3mm long.
The spark resistance is what really had me surprised, when I first got a long shower of sparks on there I thought it would melt right through, that is not the case, I use an angle grinder a lot, and although I try to direct the sparks away from me, that's not always possible while climbing, so the pants take quite a beating. And with really minimal damage, especially for an all synthetic fabric.
The pants come with a good sized patch of each fabric for repairing any damage, but getting to any spot on the front from the inside is going to be difficult, because there is a mesh liner along the entire front.
So, about the pockets. When I first got them, I didn't like the pockets at all. I was used to tactical pants, with lots of different pockets, and back pockets. I was also very used to having a knife and a flashlight clipped to the front pockets. For that reason, I didn't (and still don't) like zipper pockets for the front pockets.
The upper pockets on the spiders are not great. They barely drop down after the opening, which is almost vertical, so anything in there will fall out if not zippered. They barely fit my wallet, which is all I use them for, along with my keys, usually only for a quick stop at a bakery or store before or after work.
Since I had them, I got used to not having back pockets at all, since I also wear two models of Fjällräven that don't have them.
The zipper pull will also create a pressure point under your harness if you forget to close it. I keep forgetting that though. It's great that they close towards the bottom though, the other direction wouldn't make much sense for climbing purposes.
The lower pockets are awesome. My phone lives in the left pocket, and I can get to it easily in my sequoia or and rope access or sport harness, like the Skylotec Record which I have worn a lot with these pants. With my treemotion I wear the legpads lower, so I have to move a little but to access the pocket, but still pretty good access.
On the right I keep my leatherman wave, even easier to get to, because I don't need to open the zipper all the way to get it out. It does tend to sit sideways in there, which can be annoying, so for me personally a small interior divider would make sense. I love that feature on my Fjällräven Vidda Pro Ventilated pants, which are also excellent for climbing.
Last point, style. I think the pants look great, at least the grey version that I have. The ripstop is more of a greyish blue though. The reflective carabiner spider logo on the front of the right hip and tue back of the left leg is awesome and very clever. Although anybody that doesn't know the name of the pants won't understand it...
I'm not a fan of the huge orange Clogger logo above the left knee though, I think a subdued color would look much better there. The orange zipper pulls provide a nice accent though.
Summary: Overall, excellent pants, despite initial reservations especially because of the pockets, I absolutely love them, especially the fit and comfort, and the durable material on the front, combined with the ventilation .
I realize these are very expensive pants, coming in at around 200$ right now.
I didn't buy them myself, I was provided a pair for review by @CloggerPete , Thank you again.
If I had to spend the money on climbing pants right now, I think I would try the Pfanner Gladiator Outdoor instead, they have a tougher front fabric, and a better pocket layout for my purposes most of the time. The fit is not as slim as I would like though.
I'd be happy to spend the cash on the Spiders though, especially if I was only doing tree climbing, I think they are better than the Pfanners for that purpose. I think they are definitely worth their high price, and I'm still waiting for them to get on the market here in Germany.
I will attach some pictures of them in use, and also the damage. I might sneak a picture of the Fjällräven in there too...
Apologies if the pictures are not inserted properly, that hasn't been working on here lately for me.
View attachment IMG_20201011_125141.jpgView attachment IMG_20210107_115156.jpg
