Fjällräven Keb Agile Winter Trousers | Tested and reviewed

First came the Fjällräven Keb walking trousers. Tough, rugged, good looking – we liked them a lot. In fact, they won the ‘Best in Test’ award in our winter walking trousers review that year.

But if the Kebs have a flaw, it’s that their robustness is perhaps at the expense of flexibility, making them less suitable for more agile mountain activities. So, Fjällräven created the Keb Agile Trousers. Like the original Kebs, these are highly featured, with pockets, vents, adjustment at the ankles, and G-1000 reinforcements for extra durability in high-wear areas, but their stretchier fabric makes them lighter and less restrictive.

And like the original Kebs, we liked these a lot too. In fact, they won a shortlist place in one of our walking trousers reviews as well. This gave Fjällräven an ideal pair of general all-season trekking trousers in the original Kebs, and perfect pair for more energetic mountain pursuits like scrambling in the Keb Agiles.

But what about winter? Were either pair perfectly honed for the cold?

Where do the Keb Agile Winter Trousers sit in the Keb range?

While both the Keb and Keb Agile trousers can be layered up with base layer leggings to make them more winter compatible, neither were really created with that in mind. And that’s where the new Keb Agile Winter Trousers come into play.

Using fabrics with greater winter-resistance – both in terms of weather and warmth – and with a more generous fit than the non-winter Agiles to allow for more comfortable layering, the Keb Agile Winter Trousers take all the best DNA of the Keb range and evolve it for performance in the more challenging winter environment.

But there’s always a risk when you add to an established range – does the new addition dilute the strength of the originals? Let’s find out if the Keb Agile Winter Trousers are good enough to sit alongside the Keb and Keb Agile…

Fabrics

To give the Keb Agile Winter Trousers some inherent weather resistance, they use a softshell fabric made with recycled polyester and nylon, blended with elastane, and given a PFC-free water-repellent treatment.

This makes the trousers able to tolerate snow or light rain, meaning you don’t have to pull on your waterproof overtrousers until the weather gets really bad.

The main double-weave, four-way stretch fabric is both tough and flexible for adventurous mountain pursuits, while the brushed inside helps trap heat in the fibres and makes the trousers extremely comfortable next to the skin.

There are many different sizes on offer for men, with a combination of eight waist sizes and three leg lengths, with the overall fit being roomy enough to accommodate thick winter base layers if required.

However, the big omission is that there’s no women’s version of the Keb Agile Winter Trousers The Abisko Winter Stretch Trousers are the closest alternative for female hikers.

Features

In areas of high wear and impact, reinforcement panels made of tough G-1000 Stretch fabric have been added to the Keb Agile Winter Trousers. These areas include over the thigh pockets (objects in pockets can make delicate outer fabrics more prone to damage), over the knees (which inevitably get a lot of abuse during mountain activities) and on the inside of the ankles (to protect against damage from burly winter boot soles or even crampons).

Because these trousers have been created for use in winter, they’ve been designed to be as compatible as possible with the sorts of footwear winter walking demands.

So, the leg endings have a zippered gusset to fit over the chunkier ankle cuffs of winter boots. The hems are also equipped with lace hooks to firmly attach to boots – useful for helping to keep snow out.

Sustainability

There are two key approaches that Fjällräven has taken with the Keb Agile Winter Trousers to boost their sustainability credentials.

Firstly, their construction makes use of recycled polyester and organic cotton and is PFC-free. Perhaps more importantly, though, is that they’ve been built to last and provide many, many seasons of use.

This is reassuring not only from an eco point of view but the price tag makes these something of an investment.

Price and competition

Sure, the Fjällräven Keb Agile Winter Trousers are very well made and quite sustainable, and that is worth paying for. But there's no doubt that brand is having a big influence on price here. Fjällräven is one of the most desirable outdoor brands around and there's no question it's driving the price up.

These trousers do have plenty of competition – competition that offer considerably better value. Two examples are the Montane Tenacity XT Pants and Helly Hansen Odin Huginn 2.0 Softshell Pant.

We've tested both of these options too, and like the Keb Agile Winter Trousers, are tough, comfortable softshell trousers for winter. But are asking about £100 less. In terms of durability, we think the Keb Agile Winter Trousers outdoes both, but still, food for thought.

Verdict

There’s no escaping the high price, but the Fjällräven Keb Agile Winter Trousers are suitable for almost any winter mountain activity, and have been built to last, which could make them better value in the long run.

How we tested the Fjällräven Keb Agile Winter Trousers

LFTO and Trail Magazine Gear Editor Ben Weeks put the Fjällräven Keb Agile Winter Trousers to work.

Ben has been with Trail for over 10 years, and is a qualified Mountain Leader and Climbing Instructor. He loves gnarly Scottish winter routes so is a master at putting cold weather kit through its paces.

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