From Work To Play

So I took a new position at work.  It takes me from the parking lot of our used car department, to the service department.  I am going from outside, to in an office, from shorts in the summer, to khakis all the time.  The perks of this job are chances to move forward and learn the service lingo.  All that will lead to being a service adviser which is the middle man between the techs, and the customer.  For now I do a lot of cashier and phone work.


Hopefully by now you are wondering why this would make it on to my outdoors blog.  Outfitted for life is not just about fly fishing, but it is about all of my outdoor hobbies and sometimes the indoor ones make it online too.  As for why my job it is simple, the change in clothing.  I do not mind khaki dress plants but sometimes do not feel comfortable in them all day long.  So with that thought in mind I looked to the internet for a pair of pants that I could wear to work and look nice in, but could also put on to go to the mountains on the weekends.


Believe it or not there are a lot to choose from, and I wanted to try some on.  I went to REI because they carry a lot of the brands I wanted to look at and with it being labor day they were having some big sales.  The store was full, the fullest I have possibly ever seen it.  If it had not been REI I might have left, but I stuck it out and tried on a couple pairs of pants.  The ones I really wanted were still too expensive and they were out of my size.  I was looking for Mountain Khakis but they are pricey and like I said they did not have my size(maybe for Christmas hint hint).  So I tried on a pair of columbia pants, and a pair of kuhls.  There were reasons for not going with any of the ones I tried on first.  Some did not look good enough to wear to work and some felt like it would take till March to break in.

 I picked up a pair of mountain khakis that I liked but were a 54 waist, and held them next a pair of REI brand pants and the look was close.  In fairness to Mountain Khaki the REI brand was not as ruggedly built but it seemed to be only quality of material.  That being said I was happy with the REI brand because they were 30 dollars cheaper, so if they do not hold up as long I will be okay with it.  I am very happy with my new pants and can not wait to field test them this week at work and maybe I will go hit the AT this coming weekend.  As for the work side of thing I know they will be good because they feel comfortable the second you slip them on.  I am also excited to see how they handle a long hike so when I finish the field testing I will write again with a proper review.   

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.

-Bruce