One of my favorite activities is hiking. It allows me to get close to nature, challenge myself, and have fun times while meeting new people. My first experience at it was hiking Acatenango Volcano in Guatemala.

I live in Antigua Guatemala and have always seen the surrounding volcanoes with admiration. One day I finally decided to climb one. So I booked the tour and off I went.

Back then, I knew nothing about what it was like. I had no idea what the climate was going to be like and decided it would be a good idea to wear jeans to be comfortable. I was sooooo wrong!

The climate was pretty crazy, we experienced a sunny day but as the hours passed, and we got higher it all changed. The wind was extremely strong you couldn’t see more than a couple of meters in front of you. I got soaked just by standing in the wind. That is bad news if you are at 3,976 meters above sea level with no trees or anything to keep you from the wind nearby and wearing jeans. They were so heavy that I thought they were going to drop. I was also freezing!

Related Read: What clothes should you wear for a hike?

Almost as soon as I got back home, I started searching for a good pair of hiking pants. I have tried a couple of brands, but so far my favorites have been the Bugsaway Ziwa Convertible Pant by Exofficio.

What the Bugsaway Ziwa Convertible Women’s Hiking Pants offer:

• Insect Shield technology – This was what caught my eye initially. It doesn’t matter how much bug repellent I put on I always come back home eaten up by some bug.
• Converts to a 10″ short
• Exterior partial-elastic waistband
• One security zip pocket on the right leg
• Drop-in gadget pocket on the left leg
• Two jean style hand pockets
• Zippers on the bottom hem of each leg
• Floating pocket loop in the right-hand pocket

I used these for the first time for climbing yet another volcano, this time it was Tacana at 4,060 meters above sea level.

I really enjoyed wearing them. They were really comfortable and kept me fresh throughout the hike, most of it was in hot, sunny weather.

But then it started to rain. And I was pleasantly surprised to see that they didn’t absorb water right away, and even when they got soaked after an hour of rain they still didn’t feel heavy at all.

Also, I don’t know how they achieved that, but when I got back home and got ready for my shower I noticed that for once I hadn’t been the target of hungry bugs. The skin of my legs was completely clear.

The final aspect of these pants that I really enjoyed was the super deep pockets. I always carry a Swiss knife on me. It fit perfectly, and I didn’t have to worry about not moving too much out of fear of dropping it.

One thing that I noticed that they don’t mention is that they don’t get dirty easily. Before the rain, we walked around a very dusty terrain. I was able to see a lot of dust adhering to my pants, but with a soft shake it all fell off. This was a nice plus when I washed it. I didn’t have to do a pre-wash by hand to get rid of all the dust.

The only negative thing that I have to say about it is that they are not true to size, I got a size 4 in the petite version, and it still fits quite loose around the waist and hips.

What are your favorite women’s hiking pants? Maybe I’ll try them!