Waterproof hiking trousers

[TheGander]

Can anyone recommend a pair that will stand up to the British weather? I’ve just returned from a week in Wales and realised my cragghoppers are showerproof not waterproof. Today in Ellis Brigham an assistant told me there are no truly waterproof trousers because they wouldn’t be breathable. He advised just putting a pair of goretex over trousers on top of my cragghoppers. Is that correct? Seems a faff.

I've had some success with the Acai trousers (I have two pairs plus one pair of shorts), but I think they are only showerproof too. For me they are fine for a good walk if the weather turns bad. But I wouldn't fancy my chances if I was planning to go out for a walk when it is raining hard.

I have an ancient pair of Gelert trousers that aren't waterproof but dry very, very quickly. They were dripping the other day but were bone dry after 10 mins in the car with the heater on.
Plast waterproof overtrousers trousers are crinkly and horrid.

These work https://www.paramo-clothing.com/en-gb/explore-range/product/womens-cascada-ii-trousers/
They are warm so not suitable for summer. Perfect for winter. I’ve worn them in prolonged rain, and the only time I got wet was when I split the bum seam when I was scrambling. So I had a wet bum but everywhere else stayed dry!
Most of the time I wear “water resistant” or showerproof walking trousers, and carry Goretex overtrousers in case of really heavy prolonged rain.

Paramo used to do a lighter weight version which are pretty effective

I'd have used the cascadas this last few weeks though

You don't need to wear leggings or trousers underneath if you are warm

Thanks guys this is the kind of info I was looking for. I found Which? has reviews of waterproof trousers and Paramo came out on top, they are apparently quite ethical too. Not the cheapest but I’ll try some on and probably buy a pair and hope they last me a long time. I agree @HarrietSchulenberg overtrousers are horrid. I was heartened though that they came in handy for my bike commute to work in the rain, that might turn out to be their role in life.

I've just completed the 3 peaks in these over leggings, and they didn't let a drop of water in. I've never experienced rain like it coming down scafell pike at 2am but these kept my legs dry!

My dad always insisted shorts were best for walking in the rain.

Then just dry your legs afterwards

Yes, I feel the cold really badly and I’ve been too hot in Cascadas in winter because I put a base layer underneath! On top of a thin base layer on the tops in Scotland in Dec/Jan - in the snow - they were perfect.

Is he a postman? 😁

No, a northerner that didn't want to spend money on expensive waterproof trousers for us all as kids! 😄

Painful if the rain turns to hail though!

Paramo are expensive but seem to last forever

The lightweight trousers I have were my dads and he died 10 years ago

They also do reasonable repairs if you decide to bum slide in your cascadas and bounce on a rock by mistake

I had mine repaired too when I split the bum seam 😁

Ah…..

I like that you can get stuff repaired. I’ve sent my brasher boots to a service called Lancashire Sports Repair as the rand on them had gone- so pleased they can be fixed, must have had them for about 20years, so comfy.

Well done for completing the 3 peaks @shivbo2014 in what sounds euphemistically like “ challenging conditions “!