Climbing Style for the Mountains or the Streets
It's laundry mat track, keep the loot in Iraq
Good pants to wear in Nature. Pants that look like Nature. A Cracking Trackie. A Touchline Masterclass. Crowds of Cringe.
💥TUESDAY MEANS WAR💥
GARM OF THE WEEK
Climbing Pants
The Menswear Internet was abuzz this week about climbing pants. First, an SF tech bro proclaimed Gramicci’s Loose Taper pant the best one for fathers. This guy even offered to cop You a pair to prove it (as long as you’re a San Francisco father of a child under age 4, for some reason). He’s probably right considering Gramicci’s goated status, but we haven’t field tested these particular makeups. The classic G-Pant is our go-to, but we have been meaning to branch out with our next purchase. For those who don’t fit the criteria for the free pair and/or don’t want to be beholden to some Doofus, we suggest being an Adult and scooping your own pair, as is the wonderful adventure of Dressing. If you do, get them from the homie Wes at Understory.
Anyway, next came a MenswearSlop account proclaiming Gramicci as an originator of modern streetwear. Much discussion was had but the Real Shit was spoken by The Cool Dad Andrew who pointed out that they didn’t wade into streetwear until they were acquired by a Japanese conglomerate in 2017. But by all accounts they did invent the climbing pant as we know it, taking the heavyweight surplus styles climbers were wearing at the time and adding key innovations like built-in web belt and gusseted crotch. As we said, we wear the classic G-Pant more than any other pant in our arsenal.
Credit where it’s due: there’s no shortage of Really Great climbing pants that give the G-Pant a run for its money. Here are a few of our favorites:
Chilliwack Pant by Kavu
Up the coast from Gramicci’s California basecamp, KAVU sprang up in Seattle in the 90s. They made their name with The Strapcap before branching out to other garms. The Chilliwack has all the features of a climbing pant: 10oz organic cotton canvas, built-in web belt, and a gusseted crotch. Their take adds Big Ass Pockets on both sides on some Symmetrical Shit. They’re cavernous enough to stash anything and everything and whip it out on a dime. In a surprising twist, the Chilliwack Shorts actually predated the pants, and are truly an excellent choice for warm temps.
MP-107 Foraging Pant by Earth\Studies
Portland, OR is home to some of the world’s most incredible scenery and natural wonder. It’s no surprise that it’s also home to one of the world’s foremost innovators in Garms for Exploring Incredible Scenery and Natural Wonder. As they tell it, “Earth\Studies products serve as tools for people to explore their world with curiosity, creativity and expression.” Their “tools” are technical outdoor garms made with a focus on natural materials and ethical manufacturing. Brandon Scott Herrell, the Soldier behind Earth\Studies, is creating something akin to if Errolson Hugh was born and raised in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. The Foraging Pant spices up a climbing pant silhouette by adding a spectacular assortment of pockets and reinforced knee panels made of ripstop. Perfect abrasion resistance for anything you want to do in the field, from foraging to skateboarding to a stroll around the park. Thoughtful and clever detailing, like conveniently located accessory loops and utility pockets, is one of countless things that’s made Earth\Studies one of the most exciting garm producers out right now.
Salathe NC Straight Pant by Pilgrim Surf & Supply
We tend to stay away from anything in the vicinity of Surf Culture. Most surf brands are either bring Island Vibes or California Surf Nazi vibes. Pilgrim Surf & Supply brings a Brooklyn Tuffness to the waves that stands out from the rest, at times pushing surfing to the back and exploring other ways we navigate the natural environment in pursuit of oneness with nature (e.g. Gorpy Outdoor Shit for Hiking or Chilling or Whatever!). Their in-house garms are Really Cracking, and the Salathe pant is a major standout. They offer their take on the classic climbing pant in a wide variety of materials and a few different styles. The Salathe is kind of a mashup of The Greats, mixing straightforward patch pockets on the front and deep U-shaped pockets on the back ala KAVU’s Chilliwack. Water-repellent ripstop on this particular version is Extra Tuff.
OTHER GOOD GARMS
Warm-Up Trackie Top by Statue
Wonderful things are happening in DC once you look beyond all fascist things that are also happening in DC. The Carpet Habibis continue one-upping themselves. Archives, the new shop in town, is focused on building community and preserving The District’s immense legacy in skateboarding. And Statue is making Banging Garms in addition to skate media excellence. We’re always partial to a track top, and even more so if it’s called a ‘trackie’ as they say on the other side of the pond. Statue’s DC-to-London take on the trackie boasts freaky piping, zipper pockets, and a two-tone colorup in black and olive to match with just about any fit you want to throw together. We can’t quite figure out the Drogba 2010 reference to this colorway, but any garm inspired by The King is, as they say in London, right up our street.
Piano Trap Carpenter Pants by Theories
Our wardrobe is seriously lacking in lightweight pants. Shorts, too, for that matter. We like Heavyweight Shit. Clothes that feel like a weighted vest. We like Hard Clothes. Garms that scrape us up a little bit. We are deep in the process of softening our mind and perspective through rigorous therapy and mental wellness activities, and we should also take this time to soften our wardrobe a bit. Theories dropped these crackin’ carpenters as if they were reading our mind. They’re constructed from lightweight cotton canvas with a custom camo pattern that’s clean and subtle. Back by popular demand, these jawns probably won’t last long. Cop now and stay cool as the streets heat up!
SOLDIER OF THE WEEK
Vincent Kompany
Bayern beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, setting up a surefire thriller in the return leg at the Bernabeu. While many zeroed in their attention on the football, others focused their chatter on the gaffer’s unbelievably Hard outfit on the touchline. Vincent Kompany’s fit hit Twitter like his screamer against Leicester to seal the title for City. It can often be mad cringe when the manager steps out in head-to-toe items from the club’s Official Kit Supplier, which is usually just a generic tracksuit or some Big Ass Coat for the harsh winter matches. Thankfully Kompany manages an adidas club, which means he was able to step out in Superstars, baggy cargos, a parka that surely has Liam Gallagher calling up the PR folks at the Three Stripes, and the subtle flex of a Y-3 cap. He’s not a regular coach, he’s a Cool Coach. He’s on his way to his second successive Bundesliga title at the moment, but the impending departure of Pep Guardiola could open the door for his return to Manchester. We sure hope not considering Puma is bottom-barrel crap!
ENEMY OF THE WEEK
Masters Gear
First of all, respect to Golf Haters and Golf Enjoyers alike. We’re right down the middle, having a complicated relationship with the sport after a childhood spent forced to golf and some surefire resentment. If invited, we might play. Top Golf is fun. Our main complaint is that golf takes too long. 9 holes is more than enough. It also doesn’t help that golf’s stuffy reputation exists for a reason, and it attracts the widest variety of DipShits of perhaps any other hobby (skateboarding’s up there too). After a rocky weekend, Rory McIlroy won his second-straight Green Jacket to rapturous applause from the Gaudiest Bunch of Merch Junkies this side of a Taylor Swift concert.
Merch has gone berserk over the years. The insidious growth of the Global Merch Industrial Complex began with tacky souvenir t-shirts from tackier tourist destinations, spread to concerts, then Hard Rock Cafe fever hit right at the intersection of both. Nowadays every content creator and flash-in-the-pan reality television star has their own t-shirts and hats with silly quotes and bad graphics as just another way to Monetize their Audience.
The worst, by far, is Masters Merch. Yes, it would be quite a thrill to attend The Masters. If you’re into Sporting Experiences then it’s definitely a must and it’s supposedly very Exclusive.
Augusta’s Merch MasterMinds identified a unique region of the brain that activates an unquenchable desire to buy Branded BullShit. They have created a cult of merch that induces mass hysteria and huge secondary markets every year. Lines stretch 90 minutes just to hope there’s still stock of The Hot Item(s), in this case a set of 10 gnomes and a mahjong set, and nearly anything else your mind could picture with a logo on it. Attendees are desperate to get their mitts on ill-fitting synthetic polos and bucket hats in ostentatious green and yellow hues.
This has also seen Masters Merch succumb to the worst cancer than can afflict any subculture: RESELLERS. Some brave the lines and buy everything in search of profit. And for a hefty premium, any DickWad can cop a polo from eBay and Act Like They’ve Been There. The only thing worse than a performative Masters attender is a Poser! What should be a keepsake from one of Sport’s greatest experiences has become just another Marketplace full of Busters chasing clout and backslaps. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been there…it matters that you have the merch.
ADDITIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Track 1 by Albm Skateboards
Albm Skateboards Banged Us Over the Head with their initial video offering, Track 1, and their first run of skateboards. The video was some quintessential NYC Shit, and we gotta give a major shout to Real Soldier 4 Life Mathias Rotstein. Keep your eyes on him and the rest of the Albm crew!
Salomon “Sully” Cardenas Jr. on The Bunt
Sully joined The Bunt to talk about his triumphant return to WKND and the rest of his skate career so far. We’re still mourning Alltimers but we’re happy to see Sully back with the WKND team.
Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted?
Important. No paywall here.
You’re now up to speed on the latest from the battlefield. Use this intel wisely and pass it on to others who may need our guidance. We can’t win the war unless we’re in it together. $5 TWR sticker packs available here.
I'll stick to denim for climbing