Prana Halle II Pant - Women's Review

These pants are understated enough to wear around town and comfortable and technical enough for active pursuits like hiking, biking, and traveling. They are made with a 95% recycled nylon and 5% elastane blend and have a slightly flared or straight leg fit. The popularity of the Halle II pant means that Prana offers you options like crazy. You can get these pants in a straight leg cut and in shorts. All three options come in plus sizes (18w to 22w), and the Halle II we tested come in three inseam options — short (30 inches), regular (32 inches), and tall (34 inches).

Performance Comparison

Comfort and Mobility

These pants are among the most comfortable and flexible that we've reviewed. The material is soft and stretchy, and the pants have a wonderfully comfortable mid-waist rise that’s slightly higher than the originals and feels just about perfect. The thigh-to-waist size ratio has also improved in the new version. The waist hugs and the thighs skim. An integrated waist tie helps tailor the fit and to account for any bloating or weight changes during a longer adventure. There is some extra room in the hips for many of our testers, making them seem a little less flattering than the originals to some.

The cut is very comfortable. These pants are never restrictive, moving with us while hiking, climbing, or just walking out to check the mail. The new version does include a gusseted crotch, which just gives you more room to move. Articulated knees keep the pants flexible even in the middle of the most extreme high step. When we took these pants hiking or climbing, we never went for a move and felt like the pants held us back. The Halle II allows for full motion without any restriction.

The version we tested has a slight bootcut flair, and the extra fabric isn't always welcome. There is a straight-cut version that would be more convenient if the pants are soggy with rain or when you need to watch your foot placements. We just roll these up, and we're good to go.

Venting and Breathability

These pants are breathable, seemingly more so than the originals, but aren’t the lightest, most breathable options we’ve tested. We stayed comfortable when working up a sweat on warm days. They may not be the best option for blistering temps though. And are still thick enough to work well in temperate and chilly weather.

If you want to roll the pants up to get some air on your ankles and lower legs, the pants give you snaps for that, and they work well to keep air moving around your legs.

These pants, rather bizarrely, also include two vents in the gusseted crotch. They’re just two, pencil eraser-sized wholes with thread-sewn around to keep them from ripping. We were pleasantly surprised that we never felt them while wearing the pants. But we can’t say that we noticed the additional ventilation either. These seem unnecessary.

Weather Resistance

These pants have a durable water repellent (DWR) coating that beads light rainfall, helping it to evaporate more quickly or simply roll off the fabric. It worked wonderfully to keep us dry during light rainstorms and mists during our testing period.

We put the Halle through several water resistance tests, some intentional and some accidental. We sprayed the pants with a water bottle, stood in the shower for 5 minutes, and got caught out in a storm when the rain was coming in sideways. In every situation, the DWR shed water for a moment before it started to soak the outer layers. Since the pants are thick, it takes another couple of minutes for them to soak through to your legs.

Once wet, they take a long time to dry, longer than the lightweight pants we tested. As such, they aren't the best option for the deep backcountry, where getting and staying wet can have serious consequences. While a bit thicker than many options in the test, these pants don’t block out wind either. But if you have a change of pants or a place to duck out of the storm or dry off, they're fine.

Features

The Halle II pants have features galore, including an internal waist tie, snaps to the secure roll-up cuff, and new and improved pockets. The hand pockets are now big enough to fit actual hands in them. There is also a little chapstick-size pouch on the left side. Since there is some extra fabric around the front of the pants, we might actually use it.

Placed on the right thigh, the side pocket is big enough to hold a smartphone. But it’s a close call, especially if you have a bulky case, which we need to keep our delicate devices alive. It works well for a small map, a key, or credit cards. The back pockets have snapped and are reasonably sized, but there's only so much you want to shove in your pant seat.

The internal drawstring helps hold the pants in case your weight shifts during your adventures. The pants also have belt loops, but we hate wearing one with a backpack or climbing harness.

The Halle II now uses only snaps to hold your hems up if you’d like to roll them. It’s an original solution. The previous version (and most similar designs) have tabs inside the pants that snap to a button on the outside, effectively holding the fabric rolls in place. These pants just give you two snaps. One on the inside and one on the outside. It’s clever and reduces bulk in the pants when they aren’t rolled up.

Unfortunately, it increases bulk when you do roll them. You have to keep the roll quite narrow, about an inch tall, to get it to fit between the two snaps. That means it’s thick, and the two rolls can rub a little when you walk. We like the original tabs better.

We do greatly appreciate that Prana reinforced the front buttons on this version of the Halle’s with a ribbon of webbing. We lost buttons often on the original version and don’t anticipate having the same problem with these.

Versatility

From your morning meeting to your evening hike to the local crag, these pants flow from one task to the next. They score well for their day-to-day versatility. They are durable enough for scrambling and climbing, nice-looking enough to wear around town, and warm enough for even chilly climbing days.

While they work for a variety of activities, they are too thick to be our first choice for the hottest days. They also don't handle rain well enough or dry quickly enough to inspire confidence on long backcountry missions. The thick fabric does a good job fending off blood-sucking mosquitoes, though, and we love them for almost any outdoor day trip we can dream up.

We always thought the original Halle pants were pretty fashionable, and fit in well with other casual streetwear. The Halle II feels less flattering, with excess fabric around our mid-section. Of course, that may change based on your shape. We still think they look nice, with a slight metallic sheen. And the higher rise is far more comfortable for our testers. We’ll take that trade-off.

Value

These pants are expensive. But if you are looking for a versatile pair of pants that can move from town to the trail, they may e worth it to you. While the older version of these pants, the original Halle pants were highly durable, the jury’s still out on the new Halle II. We’ll let you know how things go as we continue our testing.

Conclusion