Mammut Women's Zinal Hybrid Pants Review
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Hiking pants. They’re such a bare necessity for almost any adventure, yet it’s so hard to find the perfect pair. I’m Traci S., and as a full-time hiking guide for Wildland Trekking, I truly appreciate what a quality pair of hiking pants can bring to the equation. From comfort and breathability to pocket space and sun protection, a good pair of trekking pants should truly make a positive impact on your adventure. Therefore, I was delighted to test the Zinal Hybrid Pants from Mammut this season and see how they stack up in a very competitive market.
Here, we’ll discuss the specific features these pants bring to the table, provide a little background about Mammut as a brand, and lay out a point-by-point analysis of how the Zinal Hybrid Pants fared during field testing. So, let’s get to it!
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Zinal Hybrid Pants Quick Look
These lightweight, technical pants are perfectly tailored for hiking; let’s take a look at their basic specifications.
- MSRP: $179.00
- Weight: ~ 10 oz (women’s)
- Material: 95% Polyamide – 5% Spandex
- Fit: Regular Sizing – European sizing (may want to size up)
- Pockets: 5
Intended Use
The Zinal Hybrid Pants are thoroughbred trekking legwear designed to take on the great outdoors on anything from a quick day hike to a multi-week through hike. A polyamide-spandex material blend provides a durable shell with some added stretch for optimal mobility, while a plethora of deep pockets offer ample storage for gear, snacks, and whatever you need on the trail. The highly technical nature, however, excludes these pants from most casual or about town settings, they’re meant for the great outdoors and look it.
Notable Features
The Zinal Hybrid Pants include a few particular features worth examining more closely. We’ll take a look at them here:
Great Pockets – Ample pocket space can be hard to find, especially in women’s pants. However, the Zinal Hybrids have fantastically deep pockets with two hip pockets, two thigh pockets, and a back pocket.
Stretchy and Durable Material – The polyamide-spandex blend offers a great balance of mobility and durability. Mammut also added extra material to high-wear areas to maximize these pants’ lifespan.
UPF 50+ Protection – The high UPF protection protects your skin from harmful rays while hiking and also protects the fabric itself from UV damage over time.
Mammut Company Background
This brand can trace its roots all the way back to 1862 when Kaspar Tanner started a small rope-making business in Switzerland to supply the agricultural industry. However, the company’s focus pivoted to outdoor sports in the 1950s, when mountaineering and trekking began to increase in popularity. In fact, Mammut released the first ever nylon climbing rope (now a staple of the recreation industry) in 1969. Since then, Mammut has carved out a well-earned reputation for extremely durable adventure gear that provides a distinct level of quality and reliability.
THE TEST – QUICK OVERVIEW
I tested these pants during trips to Utah's Wasatch Mountains & Uinta Mountains in winter temps and conditions.
In general, I encountered temperatures between 35 and 50 degrees during these trips with bluebird sunny days and minimal wind. Additionally, I hiked through shin-deep snow several times and strapped on snowshoes.
So broadly speaking, these daytime winter hikes in the Wasatch Mountains and the Uinta mountains outside of Park City provided a great testing ground to push these pants to the edge of their 3-season build.
The Review
So, we’ve covered the Zinal Hybrid Pant’s specifications, features, and Mammut’s company background. Now, it’s time to get into a detailed review of this particular legware. I’ll cover the main performance categories for hiking pants below (such as durability, comfort, and so on) and give each category a score from one to five. The key for these scores is below, and I’ll go into detail for every category as I share experiences from my tests that led me to assign each score.
Scoring Key
1 – Poor
2 – Tolerable
3 – Fair
4 – Good
5 – Excellent
Comfort – 5/5
Let’s start with the most important category: comfort! Because, let’s face it, if hiking pants aren’t comfortable, then they’re about as helpful as steel wool socks. But I’m happy to report that the Zinal Hybrid Pants were outstanding in the comfort category!
Honestly, I absolutely loved these pants and the comfort they offer. They’re a trim, athletic fit, so you look cute, but they’re still very stretchy, and you never feel constricted.
Additionally, the material blend is very soft and comfortable next to the skin. It doesn’t feel coarse or abrasive one bit, and it was reliably comfortable mile after mile.
So, top marks for comfort! I will note here that the sizing tends to run on the small side, and I ended up exchanging my original pair to size up. Not a complaint! Just a note.
Durability – 4/5
Overall, I found the durability to be quite good. I rubbed against a few branches without tears or snags, which is great! I also noticed zero pilling or degradation over the course of my test.
I’m particularly impressed that Mammut had the foresight to reinforce butt and knee areas. This is usually where my pants rip or fray first (makes sense since there’s a lot of kneeling and sitting on rough surfaces while backpacking), and it is always a pain to have a good pair of pants bite the dust like that. Lastly, the material simply feels strong/rugged as you maneuver in them – they genuinely feel well made, and I hope they will last me quite a long time.
I say I “hope” they will last me a long time since it’s hard to gauge long-term durability from a preliminary test. All signs point to these being a pair of pants that will last season after season after season, but time will tell.
Quality – 5/5
Mammut has a reputation for high-quality gear; if these pants are any indicator, this reputation is very well earned.
First off, the overall design is very thoughtful. We’ve already discussed the well-placed material reinforcing, but I also love the design for women’s pockets. Specifically, these are actual pockets that are useful with deep front pockets that can accommodate a modern-sized cell phone. This is a rare find in women’s pants, so yay!
Additionally, I noticed significant attention to detail with the gusseting. This extra material is helpful for durability but also makes the pants feel like the crotch should last and not wear out or fray super fast.
Packability and Weight – 5/5
For hiking and backpacking, we need to consider clothing packability. Are they easy to roll up and stash in a pack without taking up too much space? Are they lightweight and won’t weigh you down? Well, I can safely say that these pants are outstanding in this department.
The material is light and easy to roll up tight for packing. They’re fairly thin, meaning they compress nicely and take up about the same amount of space as my other pair of go-to hiking pants from Prana. At only 10 ounces for the pair, these pants are also reasonably lightweight and definitely won’t add a ton of bulk to your packing system.
Warmth – 3/5
I’ll start this section by stating that these pants are designed and marketed as 3-season pants – meaning spring through fall. So, they’re not intended to take you into the depths of winter, and I’m basing my review for this category on that information.
These pants were okay for warmth. They’re light and thin, which clearly isn’t built to retain heat. Therefore, I wore leggings under these pants for much of my chilly testing. So I’d say that they’re great for 3-season use and cool nights. However, if you’re heading out into particularly chilly weather – or perhaps gaining elevation and expecting temperatures to drop – consider bringing a layer to wear underneath.
Moisture Control – 5/5
Nothing’s worse than getting super sweaty and swampy while hiking. But from my testing, it looks like the Zinal Hybrid pants have great moisture control to prevent that from happening!
First, there are zippered vents along the sides of these pants. These vents are an awesome tool to dump heat if you start working hard. The material itself is also light and airy, which very clearly seems extremely breathable for hot weather hiking.
Honestly, I can tell that these pants will perform perfectly on my future desert hiking trips by shedding heat and moisture quickly.
Price – 3/5
I’d say the Zinal Hybrid pants are priced fairly. But that’s not the same thing as cheap! These pants are a significant investment in your hiking comfort, but the price is comparable to similar products from other brands – such as Prana and Fjallraven.
For the average hiker, these prices may seem very high. But remember that you’re paying for extreme quality and materials that are specially designed to take on the outdoors, keep you comfortable, and hold up for many seasons of hard use. With that in mind, if I’m looking to truly invest in my go-to hiking pants, I would 100% spend the $180 on these.
Waterproofing – 5/5
Let’s be clear: these are not waterproof pants. However, many hiking pants get a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating during the manufacturing process to help keep light precipitation from soaking in. From my testing experience, the DWR coating on the Zinal Hybrid pants is top-notch.
I hiked around the Uintas mountains in shin-deep snow for hours on my snowshoes, and the water and snow just wicked right off the pants. There was never a time when the water from the melting snow soaked into the pants. Truly outstanding DWR! Just be aware that DWR treatments decrease over time and with multiple washings, so this is something you’d need to re-apply seasonally (or more) if you want to keep this level of protection.
Windproofing – 3/5
The material of the pants seems to provide some slight level of windshield, but I definitely would have needed to wear another layer if the wind really decided to kick up on those colder days.
This highlights the Zinal Hybrid pants’ focus on breathability and keeping you cool when hiking. The material facilitates air passing through the pants so that you can stay cool, but this has the potential to work against you on chilly and windy days. So, I wouldn’t choose them for their windproofing, but I acknowledge that windproofing and keeping you warm isn’t the main focus here.
Bringing it Together
We’ve sure covered a lot of aspects of the Zinal Hybrid Pants. So, I’ve brought all the takeaways from the categories above into the pros and cons here:
Pros:
- Excellent durability
- Roomy pockets
- Zippered ventilation
- Lightweight and packable
- Outstanding DWR treatment
- Very breathable
Cons:
- Sizing runs small
- Thin material makes these pants a little chilly for shoulder seasons
- Minimal wind resistance
- Expensive – but fairly priced
Final Thoughts
I wholeheartedly recommend the Zinal Hybrid Pants from Mammut to any hiker looking to seriously invest in their adventure legwear.
These pants feel incredibly comfortable and durable at the same time, an impressive balance that speaks to Mammut’s overall quality and craft. Additionally, these pants include several subtle but thoughtful features that all help your overall hiking experience. From extra durable material on the knees and rear to deep pockets to a cinch on the hems, there are plenty of additions that all work together to make the pants function flawlessly in the backcountry without making them feel fussy or busy. Throw in some awesome DWR treatment and a fantastic and stretchy fit that feels great, and I can say that I loved testing these pants and fully intend to keep wearing them in the backcountry.
Just be aware that the sizing tends to run a little small, and these pants are not designed to take on cold temperatures. So, if you’re heading into cold or windy conditions, consider a layer underneath to help keep you comfortable.