Known As: The classic, standard-setting techwear pant.
While Errolson Hugh’s Acronym has arguably defined the techwear aesthetic , the label’s straight-leg articulated pants have done just as much to define how that aesthetic comes together as a “full look” .
The P10—a streamlined uniform pant with zip cuffs and low-pro pockets—is the workhorse of the Acronym line. A combination of Acronym signatures and accessible design, these are the tech pants that P10’s are offered in a range of colors and materials. The suffix “DS” (i.e. P10-DS) denotes the pants are made of Schoeller DrySkin , a doubleweave Swiss fabric made for stretch and weather resistance. The suffix “E” signals pants made of encapsulated nylon.
P10’s are iconic in any form. For the platonic ideal, go with the P10TS-DS in Black.
Known As: The perfect Acronym pants for your Acronym sneakers.
If P10’s are a slimmed-down version of the traditional cargo, P23’s are a remix on that original style. A chopped, cropped and screwed rework of the P10 tactical pant, the P23 is an “ultra-wide” trouser with a drawcord waist cinch, a drop crotch and more pockets than individual items you carry on your person on a daily basis. Deep Pocketsæ mean that storage isn’t just about the amount of pockets: size matters. The whole package is finished off with a dramatic cuffed hem that hits far above the ankle.
Make no mistake: These are the wild pants so often equated with capital-”T” Techwear. Pair them with equally-wild tech sneakers–like, say, Acronym x Nike Prestos . As is the case for many techwear labels (especially Acronym) the items look best when paired with other pieces from within the same system (or, in other words, items designed by the same brand.)
P23’s are the Acronym pants that could be described as “cropped trousers.” For a surprisingly versatile look, seek out the high-density cotton in the P23-S. As with most brands, different seasons mean different product offerings. If the P23 is hard to source, a similar alternative in silhouette would be the P33 (which lacks the cropped leg) or the P27 (which has an even more exaggerated drop crotch).
Known As: Techwear pants with an emphasis on personal customization
Berlin-based enfin levé stakes no claim to invention. Its strength is innovation. The brand indeed makes a wide range of technical apparel–from cargos to jackets to Schoeller fabricated kimonos–but its real identity comes from how deep that range can go.
Almost every silhouette efin levé makes is customizable. Pants, for example, are offered in a variety of fabrics and can be made-to-measure. Nearly every detail, from the drawstrings to the dropcotch inseam can be tweaked to the most exacting techwear requirements. Best of all, even with made-to-order pricing and EU-based production, most enfin pieces come in at a fraction of their big-name contemporaries.
Customizable when new but affordable when resold. Check out the Amaitu cargo pants for a techwear pant that combines the best of others into an innovative package. A drawstring waist and skinny silhouette make these an edgier choice than, say, the P10. Pair them with a leather double rider for wildly unexpected, genre-crossing style.
Move over Acronym: enfin levé is proving that there’s more than one innovative techwear brand based in Berlin.
Known As: The anime fan’s techwear pant.
Founded in 2013, Guerilla Group is the apparel arm of creative collective GFIRMG CO., LTD. Two of the collective’s five members are based in Japan . Japanese characters feature heavily throughout its site. While techwear as a whole draws heavy inspiration from manga like Akira and Ghost in the Shell , Guerilla Group is more overt with its nod to techwear’s deep roots to East Asian cyberpunk motifs and, of course, Japanese anime.
In the techwear world , Guerilla Group PL02 cargos are iconic. As if from a cartoon, these overbuilt, function-first tech pants seem more sketched than rendered. With multiple stacked pockets on the upper quarter, saddle bag-like pouches along each leg, articulated leg seaming and Durable Waterproof Repellancy (better known as DWR) treatment with ECOYA nylon fabric construction, we wouldn’t blame you for assuming these are the go-to cargo trousers of a paramilitary force from some far-flung future. Check them out In olive drab for a truly military -infused look.
Known As: The non-techwear techwear pant.
We understand, this is... well, unconventional . Just hear us out.
In 2011—three years after Outlier’s OG Pant changed what it meant to be “tech trousers”—the OG denim brand launched a line of stretch performance jeans. To distance itself from the Outliers of the world, Levi’s chose a name so bland it couldn’t possibly be OG.
So goes the story of Levi’s Commuter Series.
Here’s the thing: Fast following aside, Levi’s Commuter pants are fantastic . They fit like your other favorite pair of Levi’s jeans. They’re built to work, just like your other favorite pair of Levi’s jeans. They’re relatively cheap… just like your other favorite pair of Levi’s jeans.
As far as styling, in black, they fit right in with everything short of olive drab-obsessed military-core tech. The primary fabric is a nylon-elastane stretch denim. While many of the pants on this list replicate the appearance of rain jacket softshells , these appear like an “uncanny valley” version of your average blue jeans. Looking like a pair of denim means the 511 Commuter Jean looks great with everything from trucker jackets to Stone Island parkas.
A Veilance jacket with Levi’s Commuters will get the same functional effect as any alternatives. Sure, from up close the fabric may not look as sleek as say, Outlier Dungarees or Veilance Apparats—but if you’re that close to the pants, you’re probably already wearing them.
Known As: The consumer-facing, Acronym-inspired techwear pant (without the high Acronym pricetag).
In December 2014, Nike revived its outdoors-focused ACG line as “NikeLab ACG ,” an urban-inspired techwear line helmed by Errolson Hugh himself. While the NikeLab ACG partnership was discontinued at the end of 2018 in lieu of a more ’90s-inspired callback to ACG’s earliest iteration, NikeLab ACG produced a wide range of affordable (for techwear) pants over four years of Acronym-alike releases under Hugh’s tenure. The pants are high quality. While their consumer-facing pricing means these won’t feature things like Schoeller’s industry-leading fabrics, pieces like Fall/Winter 2017’s “NikeLab ACG Cargos” pack Hugh’s trademark touches into functional, articulated silhouettes. Using proprietary Nike technologies like Dri-Fit, shoppers can be confident that pieces produced under the NikeLab ACG banner are some of the most advanced items to come out of Beaverton since Nike’s inception.
NikeLab ACG cargos capture the taper, pocket structure, and overall aesthetic of Acronym pants. The similarities in both silhouette and technical details (details like articulated seams and angled, integrated cargo pockets) to actual Acronym product—like the aforementioned P10—are unmistakable. Despite their now-relic status, their lower initial retail prices means that secondhand or aftermarket examples–in any color–come in at a fraction of the cost of other Hugh projects .
While Nike ACG’s current iteration has continued to create pieces that clearly pull inspiration from the work of Hugh and Acronym, fans and insiders know how significant Hugh’s time with NikeLab ACG was for the proliferation of techwear in today’s sportswear space.
Known As: The best and most common budget tech pant.
If Nikelab ACG was the Oregon-based giant leaning in on techwear apparel, its Tech Pack is a more traditional (in sportswear terms) take on traditional technical apparel. The Tech Pack is a cold-combatting capsule collection focused around more pedestrian tech apparel, especially in the form of sweatshirts and sweatpants. While some of the items on this list can seem abstract to the uninitiated, this woven pant from the Nike Tech Pack is reminiscent of your run-of-the-mill tearaway track pants.
While that may not sound like the recipe for the most cutting-edge apparel, the idea of a company as well-known as Nike creating casual clothing made to resist weather has led to some of the better entry-level tech in the industry. Case in point: the Tech Pack Woven Pants. They’re simple, unadorned woven nylon pants. Featuring a quilted fabric construction, basic cargo pockets and adjustable ankle openings, it’s one of the more uncomplicated pieces on this list. Keeping in mind what Nike did with the NikeLab ACG line, these pants carry on the legacy of giving casual consumers the ability to break into the often-times inaccessible (either by concept or by cost) techwear space.
Nike’s Tech Pack Woven Pants are a stylish if simple techwear pant. They’re sold at an accessible price, and due to the production scale, they resell for even less. If you’re interested in dipping your toe into the wider world of techwear, or simply not ready to make a major investment in something from another label, we’d recommend starting your search here.
Known As: Japan’s take on the classic hiking and climbing pant.
The North Face Purple Label is the (mostly) Japan-only North Face line . While the outerwear steals the show, Purple Label’s pant selection is full of hidden heat. The Field Pant—a straight-cut belted trouser—is a comfortable, versatile tech pant for any aspiring gorpcore fits . Pair it with staple pieces from other Japanese brands like And Wander for the ultimate “heavy duty” heritage tech look.
With The North Face Purple label’s connection to outdoors-inspired label Nanamica (Eiichro Homma creatively helms both labels), expect a pant that feels at home both on a city sidewalk, as well as a mountain trail; covered heavily in editorials from publications like Go Out , this duality is—fittingly—distinctly Japanese. While the “Stretch Twill” is the most simplified iteration (and in our opinion, most desirable)—appearing to the uninitiated as a breathable, tapered twill trouser—the Field Pant comes in a variety of styles including: a wide-leg CoolMax twill pant, a corduroy trouser, a herringbone trouser, a multipocket poly-twill cargo pant and even a pair of relaxed denim jeans. With Homma’s eye for aesthetics and The North Face’s lineage in outdoor performance technology, these pants are worth building a relationship with someone based in Japan.
Known As: The OG casual tech trouser
Over a decade ago, in the middle of a global financial crisis, Abe Burmeister and Tyler Clemens started tech mainstay Outlier with a single product: the “OG Pants.” The OG Pants were the original “commuter chino,” utilizing high performance fabrication in a casual silhouette. If this sounds like a bad Facebook ad, it’s only because Outlier got there first. Before bike commuter products became sportswear cliché, Burmeister and Clemens’ Schoeller-stretch pant was a true innovation.
Today, the OG lives on through the Slim Dungaree. Cut from the brand’s hard-wearing WorkCloth canvas, the features of the OG—stretch, water-resistance—are there in spades. Like a pair of classic dungarees, get a pair in any color, wear it to practically anything. While it may not look ready to storm a military base (like some of the other options on this list), it has the one bit of functionality a cyberpunk pant can only dream of: Your significant other’s parents think they look sharp.
Known As: The conceptual techwear cargo pant
While most pants from Stone Island could be on this list, the brand’s Errolson Hugh-advised “Shadow Project” line is worthy of distinction. Stone Island Shadow Project launched in 2008 because, in the words of Stone Island CEO Carlo Rivetti, “we wanted to push ourselves.” The name came from the idea that Shadow Project would be a “shadow of the brand, but with its own life.” While mainline Stone Island is a brand that prides itself on engineered and intelligently-produced garments that manage to blend Stone Island’s brand of Italian luxury with the perspective of techwear’s most well-known individual designer.
The collection’s bondage-inspired Convert Pant twists techwear tropes (slim cargos, more zippers) through an avant-garde prism. In fewer words: Convert cargos’ incredible functionality and layered design, ironically, make the cargos harder to pull off than you’d think. While a quick glance would leave you thinking these are just trousers with a few extra zippers. However, the zippered front pockets don’t just give off a bondage-influenced aesthetic; actually opening up the pockets on these articulated pants turns the apron-like front fabric into a more high-concept storage system.
Stone Island Shadow Project’s Convert pants should not be the first techwear pants you buy. For true enthusiasts, however, they might just be the last.
Known As: The tech pant to wear to the office.
Veilance is the fashion-focused subbrand of Arc’teryx , one of the most premium gear makers on Earth. Launched in 2009 as “Arc’teryx Veilance” the line’s original focus was to create “technical menswear”–classic men’s silhouettes, rendered with the fabrics and design points of technical outdoorswear. 10 years (and a slight rebrand) later, Veilance produces some of the cleanest, highest quality techwear around.
Simply put, the Apparat is a slim chino, Veilance-style. Sleek stitching, hidden pockets, and articulation throughout make these pants—crafted out of a water-resistant cotton and nylon poplin—a major step up from the chinos you’ll encounter in white collar offices all across the country. Even the colorways, which range from military-inspired olive green to plain khaki, make these an easy-to-assimilate piece in most men’s wardrobes.
