The problem with heavy cotton chinos is that while they are comfortable and casually smart in the café, once soaked in the hills, they will be heavy and uncomfortable and likely to chafe you to within an inch of your life.
Which is where Rohan's Dry Requisite Trousers come in. styled and cut like chinos, the Dry Requisites will also keep you warm, dry and comfortable in and after a downpour in the hills.
This performance is due to Rohan's use of a two-layer construction and technical fabrics. On the outside is a hard-wearing, high-wicking and quick-drying polyamide material with a Durable Water Repellency finish that is soft to the touch and has a degree of stretch for comfortable movement.
On the inside is a water-proof and breathable Barricade lining, which is soft, flexible and equipped with Rohan's Active Diffusion wicking tech to keep you dry on the inside, even when you're working hard.
Other details are subtle yet technical in typical Rohan style, and include waterproof pocket liners which will keep your legs dry - if not the contents of the pockets themselves.
In terms of caring for the Dry Requisites, we washed them on a standard 40C wash cycle with normal detergent and they retained their waterproof performance without any problem.
Rohan says that frequent washing will dull the waterproofing performance but this can be 'rejuvenated' by tumble drying the trousers on a warm heat setting.
All said, the Dry Requisites are a great wet-weather hiking solution and so much easier than struggling in and out of waterproof over-trousers every time the heavens open.
