I don’t wear much ’technical’ type of clothing anymore, but I found myself with a good reason to want something. While planning my packing list for my trip to Japan, I realized that all the pants I was packing are linen. But I wanted something a little less airy to fly in, something very comfortable, and something that I could toss on if needed while traveling — and which are inherently durable. I quickly honed in on wanting chinos, and even more quickly realized I wanted something that looked like Officer chinos, but with a bit more comfort for sitting in cramped quarters for over 10 hours straight.
That led me to these Gentry NT Officer’s Chinos from Triple Aught Design. They looked pretty good, had just enough added technical features to lend comfort to them. So I went for them, and I am glad I did — these are pretty solid chinos overall.
Materials & Specs
One of the big reasons these still look pretty standard, is the high cotton count, these are: 56% Cotton, 37% Nylon, 4% Cordura Nylon, and 3% Elastane. Just enough stretch to add comfort, but not enough that you’ll end up with these bagging out a ton. They mostly look like cotton chinos, perhaps slightly starched cotton (thanks to the nylon). The material on these is pretty substantial at 250g/m² (7.34oz/yd²) and they are treated with C0 DWR.
This is all put together in a standard twill weave, which helps to keep these looking like non-performance chinos. They have a solid, but not deep, texture to the surface.
They have a button fly, and some crazy pocketing with internal dividers and frankly the pockets are huge. This is mostly good. They have a Hollywood waistband, with wide darts and a gusset. They move well, and sit nicely.
The belt loops are 0.75” wide, and offer a much more substantial belt/waist look than a standard chino. They are sewn up well, and the seams lay nicely.
Wear & Style
Triple Aught Design set out to make what looks like a classic chino, but with better performance. I think they largely achieved that here with a few caveats.
Let’s dive into the caveats first. The belt loops are pretty ugly on these. They look like they were pulled straight off of tactical pants, which is to say ‘mall cop’ pants. Had they kept the belt loops a little more svelte, these pants would be very stealth. As they are, it’s a let down for me.
The second caveat is the drape of the material. They wear slightly rigid, such that they don’t necessarily move like cotton would. They do get better with each wash, but I don’t think they’ll ever achieve that ‘soft’ and ‘broken-in’ look. It does mean they look a little more put together, but it also means they give you the slight “what’s up with that”. You’ll want to hem these to the correct length to avoid a lot of this. The best I can describe it, is that cotton will have rolls when the fabric is piling, but these will have folds — if that makes sense.
The cut on these is fairly straight, with a solid rise, and wide but not too-wide legs. From a distance, these pass as a perfectly standard chino, and in more industrial/outdoors settings they will certainly fly as a chino. In an office where jeans are the norm, they’ll fit right in, but if chinos are the most casual, these will likely be too casual. They sit somewhere just below a traditional officer’s chino, like RRL’s, on the formality scale. These are casual, but working slightly above that in a real pinch. They do, however, look vastly superior to any pants marketed as “travel chinos” in my testing.
They are also a touch bulky and generally heavy to pack. They don’t pack down a ton — about the same as denim, and they’ll weigh about that much in your bag too. The material is hefty, and while I wore them on 90°F travel days, I was certainly quite warm wearing them. They do breathe, but I would not want to wear these above 80°F temps if I didn’t have to, especially if I were being active and outdoors.
Where these shine is on comfort and usability. Often chinos have shitty pockets, but something Triple Aught Design always nails is the pockets. These are oversized, well shaped, and well articulated — with internal dividers in them. The pockets are simply outstanding. Put the smallest lightest thing you want in them, fly for 12hrs, and it’ll still be there.
On the comfort side they move exceptionally well. I had no issues wearing these for both legs of my long haul flight — never feeling restricted or wishing I was wearing something else. Because of the nylon, these are also quite durable, so if you need to sit on your knees while packing, you’ll not have any worries about wearing down the knees.
I found these to be a great swap for a pair of denim, giving me a touch more dressed up look, without really being more dressed up. Keep durability and comfort all in place. The cut is straight, and the rise is high — it’s a solid combination to look great on most men.
Overall
If you know what these are, and aren’t, then these are a fantastic buy. I like where they sit, and for what they offer they are a really solid pair of technical chinos. I’m excited to see how the material breaks in over time.