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Details
- Price $198 from outlier.nyc
- Fabric Strongtwill (96% Nylon, 4% Elastane)
- Fabric Weight 300gsm
- Made in USA with Swedish fabric
Overview
As you might or might not know, I'm a pretty big fan of Outlier's products. But out of all the categories, their pants are hands-down my favorite. I should know, I own almost all of their non-experimental pants.
From the Outlier Slim Dungarees, my gateway drug to travel pants, to the Outlier Strong Dungarees, my daily pants for colder weather, to the Outlier Futuredarts, an acquired fit but probably my favorite pants to date, I've lived it all.
After getting a taste of the Futuredarts, I just knew that I needed to see if the strong version was worth it. After all, going from the Outlier Slim Dungarees to the Outlier Strong Dungarees, I was able to learn the amount of durability versus stretch ratio that was best for me. The best way for me to know the perfect pair of pants for me was to simply try them all.
Strongdarts began as Experiment 110 released in 2018. In case you are new to Outlier, experiments are a way for Outlier to experiment with new products with a limited run. Some never the light of day after their initial run, while those who see demand graduate into mainstay items, like the Shelter from the Storm. The Strongdarts (and the Futuredarts as well), are also one of those experiments that “made it”. This is also partly because they use the same material as their core offerings, so they won't die out due to material shortage as some experiments do.
As you can tell from the name Strongdarts, you can think of them as the Strong version of the Futuredarts, or perhaps, the Darts version of the Strong Dungarees. It depends on which of the two pairs you are coming from.
For me, the Futuredarts was the last pair of Outlier pants I picked up, so I wanted to see if the Strong version is worth a space in my minimalist wardrobe.
Style
In case you are new to Outlier pants, most of their bottoms are designed to be slim fit, with only a few, like the Outlier Duckworks, sporting a straight cut.
The Strongdarts are slim fit pants. And like the Futuredarts, they have an aggressive taper that starts from the knees. This aggressive taper gives off a usually gives a more casual look, but because of the structure of the upper parts of the pants, make it look pretty lean and sleek.
The pants come in three colors, black, bluegray and tobacco gray. As someone who only wears black, it's obvious which color I went for. Some of Outlier's black stuff, like the Outlier Ecstasy in the Rain, have a slight tint on it. But the Strongdarts are a true black.
At 6 ft and 198 lbs, I got a size 32. This is the size of pants I got for every other pants from Outlier. While I've been pretty trusting of the consistency of sizing of Outlier pants, I've only ever felt differently with the Outlier Duckworks which was too tight for me. With Outlier's pants, it's pretty important to factor in stretch as well as the fit, and also any sizing instructions to size up or down.
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The Strongdarts is true to size and since I've had tried both the Futuredarts and Strong Dungarees, both in size 32. I was pretty confident of the sizing. When I first put on the pants, I was a little worried that it might be too small. It was a little too tight around the waist and calves, but not so much so that I couldn't put them on.
While they felt tight when putting them on, they didn't feel as tight when I was moving around in them. Unlike the Futuredarts which had more room because of the structure of the fabric, the Strongdarts are slim, bordering on skinny. Pair the aggressive taper with my massive calves, you could definitely call these skinny pants if just by judging from my calf area.
While the Futuredarts looked more laidback with a loose drape, the Strongdarts rigid fabric makes it look more structured and more formal looking. This clean silhouette is further fueled by the lack of a side seam.
I'm familiar with this amount of slimness, which is close to the Strong Dungarees. If you own the Strong Dungarees, just imagine the aggressive taper below the knees and you'll have a pretty good idea.
Material
Like in the Futureworks and Futuredarts using the exact same material, the Strongdarts uses the same material as the Strong Dungarees.
That material is Strongtwill.
Strongtwill begins with Supplex, a product by INVISTA, the company that gave us the industry-favorite Cordura.
Supplex is an air-texturized nylon fiber designed to emulate the smooth touch and soft breathability of cotton, yet retain Nylon’s high strength and durability. The best of both worlds.
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These extremely fine filaments are twisted together to form the yarn to create a rugged durability, yet retain the gentle touch with the number of fibers per yarn. A stretch and non-stretch version of these yarn are woven together to create a two-way stretch fabric, with the crazy strength of nylon 6,6 (Unfun fact: Nylon 66 is made of two monomers each containing 6 carbon atoms, hexamethylenediamine, and adipic acid, which give nylon 66 its name.).
The Strongtwill is then taken to the next level, with an ecocalibrated DWR finish for water resistance which means a quicker dry and better resistance to dirt.
The fabric weight comes up to 300gsm, compared to the 275gsm of the Slim Dungarees and 200gsm of the Futureworks or Futuredarts, which is less suitable for blistering summers.
Usage
As you can expect, this pants is like a pair of Futuredarts, but with less stretch and more durability. Or, it's like a pair of Strong Dungarees with an aggressive taper down the knees. Either way, it's a familiar feeling for an Outlier cultist like me.
In the right pocket which faces outwards, there is a pocket within it that faces up. This lets me put in valuables like my Nik's Minimalist Wallet in my pocket, without fear of it falling out.
In pants like the Western Rise Evolution Pants, they also change up the size of what is usually the coin pocket to be larger. However, in the Evolution Pants, it's harder to discern which pocket you are putting your stuff into and you would often have to feel both pockets before finding what you want.
But with the Strongdarts pocket, the angle of entry makes it feel different enough that you would have to be intentional in which of the two pockets your stuff goes into.
Strongdarts vs Strong Dungarees
With the exact same fabric being used in both, one would wonder if there was a need for creating a whole other pants. But once you take a closer look at the details and have tried it for yourself, you would see why.
There are a few key differences between the two. The biggest and probably the deciding factor for most would be the fit. Unlike the Strong Dungarees which has a slim gradual taper, the Strongdarts are aggressively tapered from the knees which makes it look much slimmer, bordering on skinny.
Also, unlike the Strong Dungarees or most other pants, there are no side seams. Instead, they use long darts, which refer to the seams on the inner part of the leg, hence the name Strongdarts.
This also means that they left out the gusseted crotch as the long darts delivers sufficient freedom of movement. I haven't personally felt any difference when it comes to freedom of movement between the two.
The pants come a little shorter than the Strongdarts at the same size. For the pairs I have, both sized 32, I measured an about 2.95-inch (7.5cm) difference. Interestingly, the difference is a little more than the 2.3-inch difference I measured between the Futureworks and Futuredarts.
This is probably to accommodate the thicker fabric of the 1.5 inches of extra double turn back hem, for those who need just a little extra length. The length was perfect for me, even without the extra hem. It bunches just the right amount when I wear my GORUCK MACV-1.
While the Strong Dungarees has a coin pocket in its right pocket, the Strongdarts has a larger, sorta a hidden pocket.
Conclusion
I actually kind of like these pants, but not more than the Strong Dungarees. This is pretty unexpected since I liked the Futuredarts way more than the Futureworks.
The main thing is the structure of the Strongtwill fabric, that makes it less casual and laidback. In fact, the aggressive taper makes it sleeker than the Strong Dungarees, but losing the laidback look I like for an everyday pant.
Additional Images
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