MHW Chockstone Pant

Had these for a weekend in the summer up in Wales. Expecting bad weather, but it ended up being pretty good.
So good, in fact that I thought about wearing shorts and working on my tan, but decided instead to wear the Chockstone pants and see how they faired in the heat.

First impression was - hey, a soft shell pant- stretchy, well cut, comfortable- but what the heck is up with the leg pockets?- but more about them later.

I walked in them for 2 full days over rough scree, and through bogs and massive heather fields. I skidded down a hill of rock and heather for about 40 metres, on my butt, not a problem, no abrasions, no cuts, nothing. It looked like a brand new pair of trousers. At that point I was very very glad not to just be wearing shorts or legs would have been in tatters.

Again, abrading them on rock (mostly grit and granite) proved to be fine- no issue in terms of ripping or even bobbling. Most impressive.

The pockets though- are a square shape, as a lot of pockets are, but the zip is stitched diagonally across it so that anything you put in there immediately falls out, and half the pocket is completely useless. Im sure there is a fascinating reason for them being this way- I know that they double as vents- (but the ME combin pant does the same thing- with quite functionl pockets)- so Im not really sure quite what they are playing at here.

My only annoyance was that the weather wasnt more varied- (read wet, rainy/claggy etc) for the duration of the test.
Im sure that they would be great in mist and drizzle- but not quite so great in heavy weather- (I say this because Ive seen other chockstone garments in that kind of weather, so I would imagine that is what it would be like)
The windproofness of them, along with the DWR would be effective in generic British weather nastiness for a decent period of time.

Id be happy walking, climbing, hiking, hacking and sliding in these all day, everyday, for a long time, with my only gripe being the pockets. - a minor issue perhaps, but if there was a pant out there that was cut just as well, with decent pockets... Id probably go for that.