Product Review – Kuhl Travel Pants: FreeFlex Move & Kultivtr Crop
I’m pretty sure that “Kuhl” is pronounced “kool,” and since I’ve seen the technical outdoorsy brand in places like REI and Backcountry, I felt cool trying out two pairs of pants this summer and fall. What is so special about more technical pants? Would I like hiking in looser-fitting pants? And is the price worth the pants? I picked two types of pants from the travel category and wore the pants casually for a few months while exploring Oregon and Santa Barbara and on the drives back and forth between the two. While I had impressions from the first wear, I wanted to see if I continued wearing them over the months. Here are the two Kuhl pants I chose:
Overall, I realized these are both quality pants. Each had durable fabrics, with added features like slightly higher in the back or scrunching at the ankle. However, the Freeflex Move really stole my heart, and I LOVED hiking in them and continue to wear them casually, and I feel stylish in them. As for the Kultivator Crop, I liked but not loved them for styling-specific reasons. On someone slightly shorter, I could totally see these being your jam. Keep reading for my thoughts on each pair of Kuhl Travel Pants!
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Who is Kuhl?
The pants I’ll be reviewing are from the outdoors brand Kuhl (pronounced “kool,” and it means “cool” in German). While I’ve seen the brand at REI and Backcountry, I haven’t had a chance to try products or look into their environmental practices. So when they reached out, I was happy to dive deep and find their business practice standards. They strive for a fair and safe supply chain (love it), utilize sustainable materials (fantastic), and repair gear (I’m happy my pants will have a long life). While I’m not sure where the German name comes from, the company’s branding is focused on being “born in the mountains” and ready for any adventure. You can expect the gear to be technical enough for a formal hike and comfortable and stylish enough to visit the farmer’s market. Or at least that was my experience with the travel pants.
Where I’ve Taken The Pants
I received the pants while visiting Oregon this summer and got to try them out over the summer. However, it was pretty warm, so I brought them back to Santa Barbara in the fall. Here’s where I tried them out:
- Exploring Oregon: I wore both pants while beginning to explore Oregon – from going to the local co-op grocery store to visiting waterfalls.
- Rogue River Rafting Trip: I took the FreeFlex Move with me on my Rogue Trip to change into after being on the river all day. They were loose and comfy while keeping the mozzies off my legs.
- Road Trips: This summer, we moved to Eugene, Oregon, from Santa Barbara. While traveling between Eugene and Santa Barbara, I wore these pants and found them to be great on the long drives.
Okay, without further ado, let’s get into the two pairs of Kuhl travel pants!
At a Glance:
My Sizing:
- Height: 5’10” (may affect pant length for you)
- Typical Size of Pants: Medium
- Pant Size of Summer 2022: 8
Kuhl FreeFlex Move
- Website: Kuhl Freeflex Move Page
- Price at the time of writing: $89.00
- Color: Rainstorm
- Inseam: 32” (you can choose the inseam length on the Kuhl website)
- Rise: Mid-rise
- Rating: 7 out of 5; I LOVE these pants for hiking
- Best Use: Hiking, Casual, Travel
Kuhl Kultivatr Cargo Crop
- Website: Kuhl Kultivatr Crop Page
- Also available at Backcountry, REI, and Sheels
- Price at the time of writing: $109.00
- Color: Tuscany (it does not look like they have this exact color anymore – Tuscan Sun seems like such a great color, though!)
- Rise: Mid-rise
- Rating: 4 out of 5; I wish they were high rise
- Best Use: Casual use, food shopping, walking around, etc.
Kuhl FreeFlex Move Pants Review
As I mentioned in my hiking shorts review, I exclusively hiked in full-length tights for years. 2022 was an awakening of different options, and Kuhl’s Freeflex Move was my entry into lightweight, non-skin-tight pants. And I loved them! They provided leg protection against the plants and lack of sunscreening, like tights. But were loose and stylish. I’d like to believe the loose-ness helped with mozzies around my ankles. Overall, these pants blended the best of hiking pants with the features of casual pants to make them an all-around star. And, if you purchase directly from Kuhl, you can choose your inseam length — extra handy for us tall ladies!
Favorite Features
Fabric – Comfort Plus Stretch: The material used in the Freeflex Move is a magical mix of lightweight, breathable, quick-drying, stretchy, and somehow wrinkle-resistant. This makes them very comfortable that I even wore them around the house, to run errands, and even on a long-distance road trips.
Fit and Higher Waist in Back: As I mentioned, the fit of these pants are great! But some of the fit I like comes from technical details. One feature that I loved was the waist is cut so that the back of the pant is higher than the front, so when you bend down, your pants are not sliding down in the back. There is also a stretchy drawstring at the waist to help keep it at a certain level. I also loved the color “rainstorm” because it was between grey and blue.
Ankle scrunch: At the very base of the pants, there is another drawstring that you might miss if you didn’t know it was there. This drawstring allows you to tighten the very bottom of the pants and create a scrunched appearance. The scrunch makes it look like jogger pants, and primarily how I wore them! On the Kuhl product page, they also use this scrunch to roll up the pants a few inches. I tested it, and they did not stay up once I began moving around, so, unfortunately, it is not a natural way to keep the pants.
Downsides
There was only one thing I could think of when it comes to the FreeFlex Move.
Pockets: There are two zippered front pockets on the FreeFlex Move and two smaller pockets on the back. The zippered pockets are large enough to securely hold my iPhone 12 Pro phone with a hidden zipper, which lays flat on the front of the pants. While I liked the security and size of the pocket, I found myself zipping and unzipping a lot.
(FreeFlex Dash is similar but fits a little tighter to the body, without a drawstring, but has a thigh pocket!! If you’d like easy access to your phone, this might be the call. The FreeFlex Dash is on the Kuhl website, as well as REI and Backcountry.)
Useage Review/Best Use
While the FreeFlex Move is made for active activities, and the technical details make them great on the trail, they are casual enough to wear daily. I wore these on hikes to waterfalls and in the backcountry, but also on a long car trip from Eugene, Oregon, to Santa Barbara, California. The mid-rise, with a higher back design makes it so they don’t ride down during long drives or hikes. Loved them and will keep wearing them for the winter months with base layers!
Wear these if you’re looking to try out hiking pants, want a new pair of pants, or want some comfortable pants for around the house or travel!
WHERE TO PURCHASE THE KUHL FREEFLEX MOVE PANTS:
Kuhl Kultivatr Cargo Crop Pants Review
When picking out two pairs of travel pants from the Kuhl, I actually picked the Kultivatr Kargo Crop first! I was drawn to the cargo, looser-fitting style. When I received them, I was surprised at the fabric, which is slightly heavier but still stretches. It’s mind-boggling and creates a durable-feeling pant that is also comfortable. Reading through reviews, people love the durable-ness of the pants and feel ready to hike at any moment. You can wear them rolled up (and they stay rolled on their own!!) or unrolled. Despite the buttons on the back, I found these pants to be very comfortable sitting for long periods, including long car drives.
Favorite Features
Pockets Galore!: You might not even need to bring a purse with these pants!! There are two side pockets and back pockets with buttons scientifically designed to hold things comfortably. There are also two deep front pockets, which can hold my iPhone 12 Pro without sticking out. It’s like the designers at Kuhl finally hear our calls for MORE POCKETS while still looking cute.
Durable Fabric: The fabric on the Kultivator Crop is impressive. It feels very durable, without being stiff or hot. It is stretchy and would be comfortable enough to hike in! (Funny because now I have hiking pants that I wear casually and a pair of casual pants that I could wear on a hike). The fabric can create a cuff at the bottom and easily keep it in place. I also wore these pants on the long drive between Oregon and California, and they were super comfortable with the relaxed fit.
Internal Tie: An interesting thing about the Kultivatr Crop is that there was a stretchy tie on the inside waist of the pants at the beltline. The tie is supposed to allow you to cinch at the waist, which is helpful for ladies with a large behind but smaller waist. However, it also added a step to putting on the pants, so I have mixed feelings.
Downsides
The downsides for the Kultivatr Crop are style preferences, but they were enough that I would reach different pants over these when getting dressed this summer. It’s tricky; I like them enough to keep wearing them into the future, but I might have returned them if I had purchased them myself.
Internal Tie: While I liked the inner tie in some ways, I was a little annoyed with the extra step. Each time I used the bathroom, I would have to untie and then re-tie. I tried leaving it untied and didn’t notice a difference with the cinching, but I had the ends of the ties dangling in my pants, which just felt silly. I may consider pulling out the stretchy tie altogether.
Mid-Rise: the biggest downside for me was the rise of the pants. I’ve essentially switched to high-waisted pants, so wearing something that hit a couple of inches below the belly button was strange and felt less supportive. Plus, many of my shirts are now slightly cropped, so I had fewer options. I would pull at the belt loops more than necessary, trying to get them higher. I wish they were high-rise!!
Set Length: Since this is a “cropped” pant, only one inseam is available. I didn’t think this was a problem, but the more I wore them, the more I wished they were slightly longer as they tended to hit at a wider part of my calf. This is when my height comes into play as I am 5’10”, with a lot of length in my legs. Gosh darn my beautiful long legs!! But how the pants fall may impact your shopping decisions!
Useage Review/Best Use
While I like the cargo style of these pants, it was tough to compare to all the other casual or cropped pants I own. The fabric, color, and style are lovely, but the fit wasn’t quite right for me and my long legs and high-rise love. I will say the fabric and amount of pockets are amazing, so I want to try these out on a hike!
Get these pants if you’re looking for durable, comfortable cropped cargo pants with so many pockets to wear daily.
WHERE TO KULTIVATR CARGO CROP PANTS:
Full Transparency: Gifted Pants, But My Opinions
For total transparency, I wanted to let you know that I received these two pairs of pants at no cost. I picked out two styles I wanted to wear the most and showcase some differences in the Travel Pants category. Kuhl knows I am writing this blog post but does not know my thoughts or opinions about the individual pants. Going into the post, I assumed I would like them, but I didn’t think I would fall in love with the FreeFlex Move. In short (or should I say pants), all opinions are my own.
Overall Thoughts: Kuhl Travel Pants Review
While I picked these pairs of Kuhl Travel Pants because I believed they would be great, they exceeded my expectations. Melding comfort and durability, both pants travel well!! And to answer my questions from the introduction:
- What’s special about technical pants? The high-quality fabrics and thoughtful design make these technical pants different from regular pants.
- Would I like hiking in looser-fitting pants? Yes!! Because Freeflex Move was stretchy and quick-drying, I loved them on the trail.
- And is the price worth the pants? Yes, absolutely for the Freeflex Move (or any of their Freeflex pants), but I would have a hard time paying over $100 for the Kultivatr Crop. Sorry, Kuhl! Once you dip into casual pants, there are so many options on the market that they would need to be the exact desired style for that price point.
I’d love to try more of Kuhl’s products because my current takeaway is that they do exceptionally well in the extra-technical and outdoorsy items. This makes sense as the motto is “Born in the Mountains.” However, I appreciate that they take technical elements and bring them into casual clothing, like deep pockets! Don’t be surprised if you see these pants in future blog posts, as I plan to keep wearing them! To wrap things up, here’s when I think you should buy each of the travel pants:
- FreeFlex Move Active Pants: Buy for hiking, and anytime you want a lot of movement without wearing tights.
- Kultivatr Kargo Crop Pants: Buy for casual use, pockets, or as a great summer option.
What are your favorite pair of pants to travel in? Do you like a legging? Shorts? Sweats? Or something in-between. Let me know in the comments, and I’ll look into trying them in the future!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
