In this video we're going to be jumping into the Bluffworks Chino Travel Pants,
a pair of pants that are built for travel. Do they live up to that? We're
going to find out. I'm Tom, the founder of Pack Hacker. We share our travel tips and
tricks, we do guides and reviews just like this one. So if you're new here,
consider subscribing. So without further ado let's jump into the Bluffworks
Chino Travel Pants.
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When you first try these pants on, they overall look like a regular pair of
pants. They fit well, just like any other pair of chinos would. But a couple things
to note here - the polyester material makes them a little bit shinier than
other pair of pants that you may be used to. And they definitely have a higher
swish factor - so you are going to just kind of hear yourself swishing as you're
walking around. Other than that they are a pretty normal pair of pants, and they
don't have a bunch of weird pockets on them like you'd expect in a pair of
travel pants. These are the charcoal chinos in 34 by 36. The Bluffworks
website makes it really easy to customize your fit and they do offer a
lot of longer lengths as well, which is a plus if you're a tall person like me. And
again, you can always get them tailored if you're like a 35 or
something like that. As far as color goes - there are a ton to choose from. But when
looking at some of the reviews some people had problems with the lighter
color, specifically khaki, leaving a little bit more marks than you would see
in some of the darker colors. We personally prefer darker clothing for
travel because you can wear it longer between washes, it doesn't get quite as
dirty and overall it's just going to be a better, more versatile color for you to
use when you're on the road. But again that's our opinion. If you do want to go
with a different color we're not going to stop you! And lastly - the inside of these
pants offers a nice, calming pattern that you're going to see echoed throughout some of
the other branding. So they have this custom label that they do put on their
boxes that again echoes this nice pattern which I'm personally a fan of.
Despite the normal look of these pants there are a ton of 'features' on them. And
I never thought that we'd be pairing the word pants with features and actually be
somewhat excited about it, but here we are. So let's jump into some of the
features in the Bluffworks Chino Travel Pants. The first feature is that they are
made out of polyester. So again that's going to be a little bit swishy and
shiny for some, but it is a very durable fabric for clothing when you're
traveling. Although Bluffworks claims these pants are wrinkle free, we'd more
say that they are wrinkle resistant. You're still going to pick up, you know, some
wrinkles if it's stuffed into your bag. You're better off rolling or folding
your clothes, and kind of stuffing them away as to not have them wrinkle up so
much. If you crumple it and stuff it, you're going to run into some wrinkles.
And one of the most exciting parts on these pants are all the pockets that are going on;
so let's take a quick pocket tour of everything going on here. The right-hand
pocket is a pretty standard pocket, not too deep and not too shallow. There's
also a security loop should you want to clip your wallet, or phone, or something
else inside of it for extra protection. Pocket number two is a smaller pocket,
for maybe some coins or smaller items, inside of pocket one. This is good if you
want to keep smaller things separate within your pockets. But again, since that
is there, if you're trying to put larger rectangular items like your phone or
your passport inside they can get snagged on the way in. So what you kind
of have to do is press the item against the front of your pants and kind of
clear that extra pocket so the corner doesn't get snagged. The left pocket is
basically an ordinary pocket, some decent sized depth, but what's below it on pocket
number four is what I'm pretty excited about. So this is a pocket of basically
the same dimensions only that it's under that left-hand pocket, enclosed from a
YKK zipper. So if you do have any concerns with something more valuable
that you're carrying around and you're concerned with the pick pockets,
definitely toss something in there and it's going to be very hard to get to.
Moving on to pocket five, the back left-hand pocket. Basically an ordinary
pocket but it has a zipper on it as well, so again good theft deterrent. Pocket
number six is the back right-hand pocket that's pretty standard. The seventh
pocket is a tricky and hidden pocket that's in the back of these pants. So
it's going to be behind that sixth ordinary pocket and it's very, very deep and
somewhat thin. So even you as aware, it's going to be tough to get into it unless you
are completely parallel with that. So this can be good for maybe holding some
extra cash inside or some other smaller items. I would even say that it's not a
bad place to put additional items even if you're leaving your Airbnb, your hotel
room or your hostel. It's not really a common place for pockets and only if you
know about it is it going to be easy to find it. So if you have some extra cash,
just want to stash that away quick while your pants are not, you know, on you
(hopefully you're wearing a different pair of pants or shorts) you can
definitely store some things in there and just kind of have it hidden within
the place that you are staying as you're traveling.
At the time of this review
I've personally been testing the Bluffworks
Chino Travel Khakis for about a month and a half. From the snowy climate of
Minnesota, to the streets of New York City, to sunny Los Angeles - these
definitely have had some decent mileage and I've worn them a lot. And I found
some findings along the way. So at first when I got these and I unboxed them they
seemed super stiff, and I wasn't a fan of them overall because they just had like
a high swish factor and they felt kind of stiff. But as I wore them more, as I
broke them in (there's definitely a break-in period), and as I washed them a
couple times that swish factor kind of went away. They became just more
comfortable and more soft to wear. Our favorite pants at Pack Hacker are currently
the OUTLIER Slim Dungarees, and we're going to keep those still in the number one spot.
We did do review on those if you do want to check them out. They seem to do a
really great job at repelling dirt, dust and other moisture. They are super
comfortable and they are versatile. So you can wear them to a nicer dinner,
you can wear them on a hike, all good. I would say that the Bluffworks pants
have a lot of similarities in that camp, but one thing that the Bluffworks do
offer (that OUTLIER does not offer in their Slim Dungarees) are the high
security features on this thing without looking too crazy. So these zippered
pockets, the hidden pockets, the deep pockets are very great on these pants.
So if security is a high concern for you, definitely take a look at the Bluffworks Chinos.
The Bluffworks Chinos offer a
solid option for travelers wanting to keep items secure and safe while looking
normal doing it. The variance in size and colors should keep most folks happy and
allow you to select what you need. If you're ok with a little swishiness to
your pants and you're okay with them being slightly shiny due to that
polyester, these could be the perfect travel pants for you. So to wrap this up -
jumping into some pros and cons of these pants. Between the zippered pockets,
the hidden pockets, and the security loop in the right-hand pocket - these offer a ton
of thoughtful security features that are going to really help you out while
traveling in dicey areas where pickpocketing and theft may be a little
bit more of a risk. They look great and they don't look like travel pants at all.
We're looking at you - travel, zip off, cargo pants. There is a huge variety of sizes
and colors. So I'm pretty confident you should be able to find what you need for
your body type, your personal preference in fit and color. Rolling into some of
the cons - these pants have a slight shine to them which may turn some off. The Chinos
can also be slightly noisy when you're walking in them and have kind of a swish,
swish sound as you're walking around. And lastly that coin-like pocket in the
right-hand pocket is good to have, but again it can snag on some larger items
that you're trying to fit into those pockets, so a bit of an annoyance.
You could cut it out if you wanted, or just get used to that kind of mechanism and
always slide it up against the front of your pants. But that is a bit of an issue
that you'll run into with these pants. Thanks for taking a look at our review
on the Bluffworks Chino. Be sure to head over to packhacker.com - we list, in a little
bit more detail, the specs on this thing as well as go into a full written review
of everything with images, text, all that great stuff. And if you're still sticking
around I'm guessing that you are into travel gear. So head over to packhacker.com/newsletter,
sign up for that newsletter and never miss an update.
Thanks for checking this video out - we'll see you the next one!
clapping....doo-doo-doo-doo...wind blowing