The ’travel pants’ war has been won. And it’s from a complete unknown.

Men are increasingly wearing “travel pants” – more comfortable pants that stretch – to work and elsewhere. We’ve completed a 20 pants review of all the players and the undisputed winner in our office was a funny company with a serious product: Birddogs pants.

The Tradeoff: Comfort vs. Looks

Our editorial staff tried on each competitor (tags removed) and rated each pair 1 to 10 along two dimensions: comfort and look. See the compiled results below.

One thing became apparent: the more comfortable the travel pants, the worse they looked. The more stretch and softness that was added to the pants, the more they looked like an old trampoline cover. Sure you can feel better, but be prepared for the look of coarse nylon and a soapy sheen finish.

The Exception: Birddogs Pants

Birddogs pants looked and felt the best of all our samples. The material looked exactly like high end chinos but they also managed to rank among the most comfortable.

Birddogs pants looked and felt the best of all our samples. The material looked exactly like high end chinos but they also managed to rank among the most comfortable.

How? Being different isn’t always a bad thing.

Most of the brands we sampled seemed like they were stamped out from the same factory. Images of a jet-setter, grinning as if he just placed a very smart trade, trotting through an airport with drops of imaginary rain inside a terminal. Birddogs didn’t get the memo, or more likely missed their flight. It’s a good thing though, because this independent streak translated into our new favorite pair of pants.