Walking Trousers

The North Face Felik Alpine Leggings | Review

An excellent pair of leggings made for climbing and hiking with plenty of pockets

Leggings are a popular choice amongst climbers and walkers, and for good reason, because a great pair can be comfortable, versatile, and practical. The North Face women’s Felik Alpine leggings are made for climbing over rough, rocky terrain and for walking on the trail, combining comfort, warmth and moisture wicking fabric with robust abrasion-resistant overlays. The Felik Alpine leggings come in sizes 6 to 16.

Materials

The leggings are made from North Face FlashDry-XD fabric, which is majority Polyimide with a touch of elastane.

Our tester Emma using the TNF Felik Alpine in the hills of Wales. Photos: Dave Macfarlane

The Flashdry-XD fabric is engineered to wick moisture away from skin, acting like a second skin as it pushes moisture to the surface of the fabric to keep you dry, cool and comfortable.

The fabric is excellent, the leggings will keep you warm when up on a hillside with a bitter wind blowing, but also will let out the heat when the sun comes out. The XD version of FlashDry features increased abrasion and snag resistance meaning that, as I found out, these leggings can easily take on scrambling over rocks and hikes through rough terrain.

The leggings have a built-in stretch and an aforementioned next-to-skin feel, which makes them comfortable to wear and easy to move in thanks to the considerable amount of flex. It’s also worth noting that the fabric is woven, which gives an extra bit of durability. The leggings feature a DWR treatment – useful in the classic British drizzle.

Features

While the North Face FlashDry-XD fabric is great, it’s the abrasion resistant overlays which are the real masterclass in this pair of leggings.

Positioned on the knees, rear and rear calf sections, the overlays offer an extra defence when scrambling up rougher, more technical terrain. Another nice feature are the long ankle zips. The leggings are tight fitting but I found these zips made them easy to get on and off even when wearing shoes. The slim design additionally means the leggings will also work under shell trousers if needed in the gloriously unpredictable British weather.

The Felik Alpine leggings are high waisted, which makes them easy to wear with most jackets and tops (and large backpacks) and there is an adjustable drawcord on the inside waist which should negate any need for a belt and allows for varying waist sizes.

Of note is also the number of practical pockets which is another area where the leggings excel. There are large open hand pockets on either side, a pocket with flap on the lower left thigh and a zipped pocket on the right.

Verdict

I tried a UK size 10 which was a good fit although I did find the leggings slightly roomy at the waist. The adjustable drawstring waistband helped in adjusting the leggings, but I would have liked a thicker waistband overall for a more secure fit. The knee overlays are an excellent touch, as is the number and thoughtful location of the pockets, and the leggings are very comfortable to wear. All in all, the Felik Alpine leggings tick plenty of boxes if you want a warm, comfortable and protective pair of leggings for use in the hills and mountains.

What I liked: lots of pockets, durability, warmth
What I didn’t like: thin waistband