Salomon Wayfarer 2.0 Pants review: the three-season default, updated

Every big outdoor brand has one trouser that does most of its work, and for Salomon that is the Wayfarer: a light, stretchy, water-repellent softshell that covers everything from a coastal day walk to a fortnight of hut-to-hut trekking. The Wayfarer 2.0 is the current version, and Salomon's pitch for it is short: the go-anywhere pant, water-resistant, four-way stretch, streamlined pockets, built-in belt, bottom-hem drawcords.

That sentence is also a fair summary of what changed. The fabric formula carried over from the original Wayfarer; the hardware around it got rebuilt. This review covers what the update means in practice, where the 2.0 sits against the Montane Terra and the North Face Exploration pairs it now competes with, and who should buy the lined Wayfarer Warm instead.

Who the Wayfarer 2.0 is for

This trouser is for: walkers who put mobility first. Three-season day walking, fast miles, big step-ups, scrambly coastal paths and warm-weather trekking, anywhere the priority is a trouser that moves with you and disappears from your attention. It also suits the one-pair traveller: the clean cut and drawcord hems dress the trouser up or down, and Salomon leans hard on that everyday crossover in how it styles the range. If you liked the original Wayfarer, this is the same trouser with a better waist and more adjustable hems.

This trouser is not for: rough off-path ground that punishes fabric. An elastane-rich stretch weave gives up before reinforced nylon does when the terrain includes rock, gorse and constant abrasion, and the Montane Terra's CORDURA panels exist for exactly that walking. It is also not the winter pick: the fabric is light and unlined, and cold-season walkers should read the Wayfarer Warm review first. And like every DWR softshell, it is not waterproof, so the waterproof trousers guide covers the layer that goes on top in sustained rain.

Specs

Fabric

85% polyamide, 15% elastane, four-way stretch

Pocket fabric

100% polyester

Weather resistance

DWR treatment, rated for light rain and splashes

Fit

Regular fit, zip fly

Waist

Half-elasticated with belt loops and slim integrated belt

Pockets

2 hand pockets plus 1 cargo pocket

Hems

Bottom-hem drawcord adjustment

Sizes

S to 2XL, with short, regular and long legs at some retailers

Care

Machine wash cold (30°C), tumble dry low

Price

£100 at Salomon, often discounted

One number is missing from that table because Salomon's published spec for the men's 2.0 does not state a reliable weight. For context, the outgoing Wayfarer was listed at 270g and the women's 2.0 at around 255g, so this is firmly a lightweight trouser; treat the exact figure as unconfirmed.

What the 2.0 changed

Put the old and new spec sheets side by side and the update is easy to describe. The fabric did not change: the original Wayfarer used the same 85% polyamide, 15% elastane stretch weave with a DWR. What changed is everything you touch.

The waist went from a plain elasticated band with belt loops and a button to a half-elasticated waistband with a slim integrated belt, belt loops and a zip fly. The hems went from fixed cuffs to bottom drawcords you can cinch over a boot or above the mud. The pockets were reorganised from a zipped leg pocket plus two front pockets into two hand pockets and a single cargo pocket, the layout Salomon calls streamlined. The styling followed: the 2.0 is cut and finished to work as an everyday trouser as much as a trail one, which is where the whole category has moved.

None of that changes what the trouser is. It changes how often the trouser annoys you: a belt that is always there, a waistband that flexes under a hipbelt instead of pressing a buckle into your gut, and a hem you can lift out of wet grass without rolling it.

The fabric: 15% elastane, and what that trades

At 15% elastane, the Wayfarer 2.0 sits at the stretchy end of the walking trouser market. The North Face Exploration runs 6%, the Berghaus Ortler 4%, the Wayfarer Warm 8%. That number is the trouser's character: the fabric gives generously in every direction, high steps and stile crossings meet no resistance, and the regular fit can sit closer to the leg than a rigid fabric could without restricting anything.

The trade is durability and toughness against abrasion. Elastane is the first fibre to suffer from rock contact, bramble and repeated heat, and a stretch-first weave will never match a reinforced nylon for years of rough-ground use. Salomon also makes no wind-resistance claim here, and the light weave that makes the 2.0 so comfortable in May is part of why the brushed, denser Wayfarer Warm exists for January.

The DWR is rated by Salomon as light-rain ready, which is a fair description of the limit: showers and splashes bead off, dew from morning vegetation mostly deflects, and proper rain means overtrousers. The fabric is quick to dry, and care is simple: machine wash cold, tumble dry low, which also keeps the DWR working.

Waist, pockets and hems

The waist system is the best thing on this trouser. Half the band is elasticated, so it fits through the normal range of a day's eating and bending, and the slim integrated belt trims the rest without a bulky buckle. Belt loops remain if you prefer your own. Under a pack hipbelt this layout is exactly what you want: nothing rigid at the front, nothing stacked at the sides.

Pockets are two hand pockets and a cargo pocket, all in polyester rather than the stretch face fabric, which keeps a phone from bouncing against the weave. Three pockets is the minimalist end of the market. The cargo pocket takes the phone and the hand pockets take everything casual, but map-and-snacks walkers who load their trousers rather than a pack will run out of room, and Salomon's spec sheet does not state a zip on the hand pockets, so treat them as open storage.

The drawcord hems are the sleeper feature. Cinched, they hold the leg off wet ground and boot mud on a filthy descent, and they neaten the silhouette for everyday wear. It is the same job the North Face solves with button roll-ups, done faster.

Wayfarer 2.0 vs Montane Terra

The Montane Terra at £85 is the UK's long-serving benchmark and the Wayfarer's natural rival. The Terra brings a cotton-feel TACTEL nylon with CORDURA reinforcement at the knees, ankles and seat, zipped mesh-lined thigh vents, a part-elasticated waist with a removable belt, and three leg lengths, at a listed 350g.

The split is stretch against armour. The Salomon is the better mover and the sleeker everyday trouser; the Terra shrugs off the rock, heather and gorse that would gradually eat an elastane-rich weave, and its thigh vents solve hot climbs in a way the Wayfarer cannot. At £15 less, for UK hill mileage on rough ground, the Terra is my pick and the full review explains why. For paths, speed and crossover wear, the Salomon takes it.

Wayfarer 2.0 vs TNF Exploration Regular Tapered

The North Face Exploration Regular Tapered at around £65 is the other crossover trouser in this fight: 94% polyamide with 6% elastane, FlashDry moisture management, a PFAS-free DWR, a tapered cut, and four pockets including two zipped thigh pockets.

The North Face wins on price and secure storage, and its tapered leg is the cleaner look off trail. The Salomon wins on stretch, more than double the elastane, and on the waist: the TNF has plain belt loops where the Wayfarer's half-elasticated band and integrated belt manage the fit for you. If £65 covers the walking you do, the TNF is excellent value. If you want the more athletic fabric and the better waistband, that is what the extra £35 buys here.

The budget alternative: Berghaus Ortler 2.0

The Berghaus Ortler 2.0 is the value wildcard: a proper all-season 180g/m² twill with articulated knees, four pockets plus zipped thigh vents and a PFC-free DWR, normally around £90 but sitting at roughly £35 in the Blacks clearance at the time of writing. At that price it undercuts the Wayfarer by £65 while carrying more features.

It is a different animal: heavier at a listed 340g, only 4% elastane, all-season rather than warm-weather-first. But if your budget leads and your size is still in stock, the Ortler is the strongest counterargument to paying full price for anything in this class, and the reason the Wayfarer 2.0 is most compelling when discounted itself.

Pros and cons

• 15% elastane four-way stretch is among the most mobile fabrics in the category
• Half-elasticated waist with slim integrated belt works under a pack hipbelt with no buckle pressure
• Drawcord hems cinch over boots or lift the leg clear of mud in seconds
• DWR sheds light rain and splashes, and the light fabric dries fast
• Clean regular-fit styling crosses over to everyday wear
• Frequently discounted below its £100 RRP

• Elastane-rich weave is the wrong fabric for rough off-path ground; the Montane Terra outlasts it there
• Three pockets, with no stated zip security on the hand pockets
• No thigh vents, and no published weight on Salomon's spec sheet
• Unlined and light: winter walkers need the Wayfarer Warm instead

Verdict

The Wayfarer 2.0 is a disciplined update: same proven stretch fabric, better waist, better hems, tidier pockets, no gimmicks. As a three-season trouser for paths, coast and fast days it is one of the easiest recommendations in the category, and the waist system alone puts it ahead of most rivals for anyone walking under a pack.

It rates 4.2 because the spec has real gaps at £100: minimal pocket storage without stated zips, no venting, and a fabric that trades long-term toughness for its stretch, which is why the £85 Montane Terra still edges it for hard UK hill use in our best hiking trousers guide. Catch the Wayfarer discounted, or value mobility and everyday looks above armour, and the maths moves firmly its way.

Wayfarer 2.0 FAQ