I’ve wanted a pair of these Injected Linen Pants for years now, but they never really made sense for me for one reason or another. And then earlier this year I decided to indulge myself and pickup a pair. A little after that, a second pair. And then a third. All my money, none of these are review samples.
The reason I own three pairs of these, is because I do not yet own four pairs. They are the best hot weather pants I’ve ever worn for so many reasons.
Materials and Specs
Outlier uses what they coined as “Injected Linen” which is 59% linen, and 41% polyester. Outlier are fabric nerds, so here’s the explanation of how that works:
A super light polyester warp mesh is knitted around a linen weft insertion to combine the durability and stability of polyester with the cool wear and character of a bast fiber. The linen is 59% of the fabric weight and its slubby texture and elegant aging shine through. The polyester warp means it doesn’t crease sharply like most linen but instead takes on a gentle waviness that makes it far easier to travel with.
Put this stuff on and it feels like almost nothing, the air just flows over you. Look at it and it’s as opaque as far heavier fabrics, other than in extremely backlit or near face situations you can’t see anything through it. In summertime this is pretty damn close to magic.
As mentioned in their blurb, I do not detect any opacity issues when wearing these, but if you hold them up to the light you’ll see through them. That’s largely not going to be an issue when wearing this, and only a benefit for comfort. The fabric feels cool to the touch, and is thinner than you can imagine, and they are oh so nicely breezy.
The texture and look is linen. The hard creases are not there. The only question mark is durability, and while I have not had them long, what I’ve been told by those who have had them years, is that they certainly last multiple seasons of wear. I see no reason to think of these as delicate, but they are certainly not what I would call ‘hard wearing’. All in all, injected linen is one of the best fabrics Outlier has, and fairly unique in the market as most other linen blends can’t even come close to being this nice in looks and feel.
In Use
Flat out: these are fantastic pants. Here’s how Outlier pitches them:
A pant that wears like a short, made from a fabric remarkably open to the air yet opaque to the eye.
I don’t think you need shorts if you own these. I am not a huge shorts person, but I think even lovers of shorts will be hard pressed to say that these are much (if any) warmer than shorts.
Let’s talk about the cut and style of these. Most linen pants being sold today are either part of a casual suit (a more formal cut), or ‘easy’ style pants with a drawstring waist (sweatpants territory). And while those are fine, there’s few linen pants that are very light weight and still sitting in the middle on the formality scale. These pants sit firmly in the middle. The cut is fairly neutral, somewhere firmly above an easy pant, but just a tick below a standard officer style chino.
In other words, they will look plenty sharp for anything you need, as long as you stay below blazer territory. They are trim, but not slim, with a little flow to them, but not overflowing. Most people are going to find the cut works well for them, outside of those with larger quads, or those who are wanting something form fitting.
Because the material itself is so thin and breathable, Outlier is able to let these sit a little tidier with your silhouette, while still capturing a cool feeling when you wear them. They move well, and are quite comfortable even when sitting for long stretches, or riding a bike. The rise is cut up a touch higher than most pants these days, which is welcomed by this reviewer, and lends to a little more visual class in the overall look.
These still wear well with a t-shirt, but toss on a linen button down and you are ready to go have drinks at any bar in Amalfi.
When these arrived, they arrived a touch short for my inseam. Outlier notes that these can be let out by a tailor, and I had all three pairs let out. There was no issue in doing so, but there was a visible line where the original hem stitch was — a couple of washings later and this is barely visible — and only so if you are up close looking at the hem. I’m glad to have this handy feature here, as I needed all the length my tailor could salvage out of the hem (just a touch over an inch and a quarter in most of them).
When you get these in the package, you’ll notice how tidy and flat they are folded. Even after washing, these are very light in weight, and pack down quite well. Making them an excellent pant for travel, as they take up little room and add little weight. For those of you who travel light, you should certainly give these a look, as they pack nicely small for great pants.
I’ve worn these in mostly drier 90°F+ weather during my testing period. This involved walking, dining out, sitting around a pool (many times) and bicycling back and forth from places. Through all of that, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with these pants. They wear cool, they embrace a nice breeze. They dry very quickly, whether straight out of the washing machine or after being splashed by a cannonball.
This is the look straight out of the washer, and hung to dry.
When I hit 90-plus and humid weather the pants were less cool. Still much cooler wearing than any other pants and never overheating but heat is heat and when mixed with humidity there’s little staying cool. That said they dry fast and don’t show too much sweat through them unless you really sweat — but mercifully they dry quick enough not to worry. For travel they’ve shown to pack small, drop out wrinkles and be comfortable. They wash and hang dry overnight for the most part too.
Lengthened hem on my pants.
The last note here: the pocketing is excellent with a fine stretch mesh in them. The pockets hold my items well, without adding layers of warm material — something most linen pants get shockingly wrong. I have had no issues with stuff falling out of my pockets at any point, and my phone fits well enough, while I don’t have bulbous thighs from wanting to store my phone in the pocket.
Overall
These are the best hot weather pants you can buy — and I can’t even think of another pair of pants which comes close. These look amazing, feel amazing, are easy to care for and wear, and perform exceptionally well in the heat. From fabric to cut, I cannot think of anything I would change on these.
Photo credit: Erin Brooks