Outbound Reviewed: Black Diamond Credo Pants - Women's

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks testing the Black Diamond Women’s Credo Pants both outside and at the gym, and they hold up well in both scenarios. While they're a different direction than my normal go-to yoga pants, and definitely not as stretchy, I find I can move around in these pants comfortably and they provide better weather and abrasion protection than my normal Lululemon capris.

The pants are lightweight, decently stretchy and surprisingly durable. The tightly woven material helps minimize wind exposure on exposed climbs which I like, and it also means you’ll warm up a bit faster in the gym, so keep that in mind! That said, the material does dry fast so sweating into the waistband wasn’t as uncomfortable as I had expected it would be. The deep pockets are great for holding my phone, and I really like the small, shallow pocket on the right thigh; it’s perfect for chapstick or a lens cap (which you can see in the photo below).

I found these pants to fit true to size. Though just slightly short for me (I’m 5’10” with long legs), I’m sure they’d fit the average person perfectly. And to be fair, the length didn’t bother me that much. I could still roll my pants down and have my ankles covered without feeling like an awkward adolescent who’s wardrobe has not caught up to her growth spurt.

The thighs were a little tight for me when I first put them on, but the pants stretched out nicely, and quickly, making them comfy. Similar to the BD’s Stretch Front Pant, these pants stretch out a comfortable amount while still holding their shape, especially around the butt which is always a challenge in active pants.

The waistband is comfortable without being too loose, and it is high enough that I wasn’t worried about inadvertently showing a little too much to my climbing partner! Though the drawstring is nice, the Men’s version of these pants have a cool belt-like tightener which I’d much prefer. I generally find drawstrings to look awkward when I pull my shirt down over my pants, so I usually end up pulling them out. I could see wanting to tighten the waist of these pants over time, though, so I wish they made that same belt option for women. Below are a couple product photos to show the waist belt difference I’m referring to.

Women’s:

Men’s:

All-in-all, these are a flattering pair of climbing pants I’ll continue to wear. I still can’t do a split in them so I might not wear these on super stemmy climbs, but I love how durable they are, and I did send a project climb at the gym I had been working on wearing them, so there’s that…Plus, the Burnt Sienna color rocks.

Check out more of my reviews here as I continue my Hunt for the Perfect Pair of Women’s Climbing Pants!

Photos courtesy of Liam McNally, Kristi Teplitz and Black Diamond.