Waterproof and Windproof Pants

If you are doing any trekking or serious hiking, you need something waterproof for your legs--especially if you're backpacking during the rainy season (roughly from March until June or August through September in EA). If you plan on getting a , then you can probably do without the waterproof pants. Then, however, you will need windproof pants so that the wind doesn't slice into your warmth.

Whatever you decide, make sure that the pant legs zip up from the bottom reasonably far in order to accomodate your boots. A sunny day in a mountain can turn into a rainy one pretty quickly, so you'll want to be able to pull them on without doing an improvised rain dance and potentially worsening your situation.

 

Pile Trousers for East African Mountains

Pile pants are nice for added warmth while hiking and sleeping; they will only be necessary on the highest peaks in East Africa: Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon--basically above 14,000 feet.

Recommended are Polartec® 200 Pants or 300 pants; side zippers are good for pulling up on the go.

 

Hiking Pants/Shorts for Africa

In terms of pants and shorts, you should try to consolidate as much as possible. While it's nice to have a good pair of nylon hiking pants, in truth you will probably only need nylon shorts whilst hiking, as it can get quite toasty (you can use wind pants and waterproof pants as needed). With your gaiters coming up to your knees, you ought to be well-covered.

A nice compromise are pants that convert into shorts. With these convertible pants, you can use the pants as another layer when it gets cold, and possibly dispense with pile pants (when hiking at significant altitude) if your long underwear is good enough.

Whatever you choose, make sure they're nylon (cotton is too hot and retains too much water) and relatively waterproof. It's also best to choose clothing that's light-colored as darker colors attract bugs such as mosquitoes, tsetse flies and other Jurassic-sized insects.