May 2026: Our favorite women’s hiking pant overall is the Stio Pinedale Pant for its stretch, durability, wicking prowess, and weather protection. It’s a true four-season pant. This year’s top women’s short is the Mountain Hardwear Women’s Dynama Short, which has excellent freedom of movement, fit, and speedy drying times. All other products have been updated with the latest pricing and info.
Diehard hikers often rank their bottoms—be they pants, shorts, skivvies, or skorts—as their single most important piece of performance apparel. That’s because the best women’s hiking pants and shorts serve several functions, all of them critically important: They shield against chafing, manage sweat, and fend off assaults from trailside brush and branches. After a season of peak-bagging and mushroom foraging, these are the bottoms that made the cut.
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