Kuhl Renegade Recon Review

The Kuhl Renegade Recon looks almost like… a normal pair of pants. After putting them through the paces, we found them to stand out as a “trail-to-town” pair of hiking pants that boast a cleaner look than most of the competition. These perform fairly well in the outdoors, though they don't provide quite as much range of motion as some that have more stretch and a looser fit.

Comfort and Mobility

The Kuhl Renegade Recon is a fairly comfortable pair of pants, with one of the best waist designs in the entire lineup. This model didn't score the highest, but it still came in above average.

From long flights to on-trail adventuring, we thoroughly tested the comfort and mobility of the Kuhl Renegade Recon. Our conclusion was that these excel as a slimmer, more precise fitting pant that offers a relatively decent range of motion. These use a classic nylon and spandex blend, but they don't quite have the same stretch amount as some of their more mobile competition. Fortunately, the waist is elasticized, offering impressive comfort for lengthy rides on public transit or huffing up a trail.

For high steps on trails, scrambles, or climbs, we found the Kuhl Renegade Recon to perform better than expected given its slimmer cut. The pants naturally rise above the ankles, providing more fabric in the thigh area.

Venting and Breathability

Overall, these performed fairly well in this metric, though the thicker fabric construction made them run a bit hotter than some of the lighter-weight competition. If you want something for high-output days in the outdoors, we might steer you elsewhere, but for more relaxed hikes or city strolling, the Kuhl Renegade Recon will afford adequate breathability.

These stylish pants don't have any vents, but the nylon/spandex blend naturally offers at least some breathability. The fabric construction of the Kuhl Renegade Recon is undeniably more robust than some of its competition, so it's not as likely to keep you cool on warmer days or on long uphills on-trail, especially given the trimmer cut. Still, we were able to stay fairly comfortable throughout testing. In the context of an urban and outdoorsy pair of pants, the Renegade Recon might offer all the breathability you need, especially with more casual adventures on concrete or in the mountains.

Versatility

Versatility is where the Kuhl Renegade Recon shines the brightest. While these might not be the best crossover for a bunch of outdoor sports, they are among the few pants we tested that could be pulled off for a semi-formal social event and could still hang for an evening sunset hike.

While style is in the eye of the beholder, we polled dozens of friends, family, and community members on the aesthetics of the Kuhl Renegade Recon. The consensus was that these are great-looking pants that can be easily worn for business casual, dressy dinner nights, or more formal social gatherings (depending on the dress code). The front of the Renegade Recon is clean, thanks to its minimal zippered pockets and no thigh pockets. This, plus the tapered fit, made for a genre-bending pair of aesthetic “hiking” pants that still offered decent enough mobility and breathability for the trail.

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Features

The Kuhl Renegade Recon has a few features that stood out, but it ultimately has a more minimal setup.

If you need a heavily pocketed pair of pants, the Kuhl Renegade Recon should be in your shopping cart. With seven pockets, this model has more pockets than most. The setback? Almost none of them are zippered. The clean front of the Recon looked nice, but many hikers like options for securing their personal belongings beyond a simple drop pocket. Fortunately, these pants do have a zippered right pocket hiding underneath the right drop-in, which was great for travel when needing to ensure a cell phone or wallet wouldn't slip out.

The other pockets, outside of the three on the front, include two rear drop-in pockets and two side pockets. These were partially useful as they fit a cellphone or other small items of similar size, but they weren't as useful when sitting down. The elasticized waist was a great design addition for these pants and made them comfier for longer stretches of travel or hiking.

Durability

Despite being a more aesthetic piece of clothing, the Kuhl Renegade Recon is impressively durable. These are a few ounces heavier than some of the competition, and we appreciated the thicker build throughout testing.

As shared above, these pants have a mix of spandex and nylon, which is common for this class of clothing. Where these stand out is the amount of material actually used. While some competitors of the Kuhl Renegade Recon aim for greater breathability and lower weight, these handled abrasive rock and sharp branches without showing signs of wear and tear. The pockets and seams also held up as well as the face fabric, making these a fairly long-lasting pair of hiking pants.

Should you Buy the Kuhl Renegade Recon?

Shoppers looking for a pair of pants that can handle both urban and outdoor environments should take a closer look at the Kuhl Renegade Recon. These impressive pants boast a clean look, a long-lasting construction, and still utilize synthetic fabrics for hikes or other outdoor adventures. If you want a pair of pants that are more at home on the trail than in the city, these might not be quite as ideal, with more average scores in mobility and breathability.

What Other Hiking Pants Should You Consider?