Arc’teryx Sabria Pants for Women: Review, Fit and Successor

The Arc’teryx Sabria pants are lightweight four-way-stretch hiking trousers with UPF 50+ sun protection, a trim women’s cut and two flat zipped thigh pockets, held up by a drawcord waistband rather than a zip and button. Arc’teryx discontinued the Sabria in 2022, and the Gamma Pant is the closest thing in the current range.

I have worn mine for years. When Arc’teryx asked me to try them I said yes immediately, because hiking below about 22°C (72°F) had been an outfit problem I never solved. Shorts are easy in summer. Everything else is a compromise: leggings have no pockets, sweatpants go baggy and jeans are not an option once a climb gets steep.

What are the technical specifications of Arc’teryx Sabria pants?

The Sabria pants are 87% nylon and 13% elastane in Arc’teryx’s Fortius DW 1.0 double-weave, with UPF 50+ sun protection. The nylon is what makes them hard-wearing and quick to dry; the elastane is what lets them stretch in four directions. They are cut for technical hiking, trekking and scrambling, and they are equally happy walking a dog.

Three details do the real work on a trail. The fabric stretches four ways rather than two, the knees are articulated so they bend where your leg bends, and the crotch is gusseted so high steps do not pull the waistband down. Nothing about that is visible in a photograph, and all of it is why you stop noticing the trousers after the first hour.

The Sabria came in 4 colours: plain black, Black Sapphire (a dark blue), Redox (a light brown) and Shorepine (a green). It listed at $125 (about €115, £93) when it was current.

Sun protection deserves its own line, because UPF 50+ is a garment rating and not a sunscreen rating. A UPF 50+ rating means the fabric lets through a fiftieth of the ultraviolet that would otherwise reach the skin under it, which matters at altitude, close to the equator and for anyone on medication that makes their skin sun-sensitive. On a long exposed ridge that is a better answer than reapplying sunscreen to your legs.

What are the features and performance of Arc’teryx Sabria pants?

The features that decide whether you like these trousers are the sizing, the waistband, the pockets, the breathability and the way the fabric behaves between washes. Each one is below, with the negatives left in.

Arc’teryx sizing and fit

The Sabria follows a woman’s silhouette closely and runs slim through the leg without being a legging. It tapers towards the ankle, which sits well over both a hiking boot and a walking sandal. The rise is mid, and the cut runs long enough that a few extra centimetres of leg would still be covered.

For reference: I am 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and weigh 56 to 57 kg (123 to 126 lb) depending on how much chocolate I had the day before. My legs are heavy and my hips are a good deal wider than my waist. I wear a small and it fits.

Size up if you are between sizes. The waistband has a drawcord that tightens but the band itself does not stretch, so the smaller size is the one that will fight you.

The waistband, which is the real complaint

The waistband is the worst thing about these trousers. It is a low-profile pull-on band with an internal drawcord and no zip and no button, and it is surprisingly rigid for a garment this stretchy. Getting into them means hauling the band over my hips, and getting out of them means doing the same in reverse. If you are at all curvy it is a small workout at both ends of a hike.

Once it is on, the band sits snugly and comfortably and you forget about it. That is not much consolation in a public changing room. A zip and button would have solved this, and it is the single change I would make to the garment.

Stretch and comfort

The fabric stretches out over a few wears and springs back when washed. Pull them on for a second or third day without a wash and they are looser than they were on day one, and hauling them over wide hips every morning stretches them further. Buy the pair that fits snugly on the first wear, because that is the fit you are choosing from.

Pockets

There are 2 zipped thigh pockets with flaps, and they are too small for a phone. They lie flat rather than bulging, which is the right decision for a trim hiking trouser and looks far better than cargo pockets do. What fits is a key, a card, a lip balm and a folded note.

That would annoy me more if I hiked without a pack. I always have a backpack, so the phone lives there and the pockets hold the small things I want without unshouldering. Anyone who hikes with pockets instead of a pack should treat this as a reason to buy something else.

Breathability, water resistance and quick-dry

The fabric is air-permeable, so it moves warm air out rather than trapping it. The double-weave carries a durable water repellent finish, which sheds a light drizzle and a spilled drink without pretending to be waterproof. Get them properly wet and they dry surprisingly quickly, which is what you want from a technical trouser and what cotton will never give you.

Style

They do not look like hiking trousers, which is the reason they got worn far more than any hiking trouser should. The slim cut and the plain colours mean you can walk into a bar at the end of a hike, or run errands in town, without looking like you are on your way somewhere else.

Are Arc’teryx pants worth it?

They were worth it at $125 (about €115, £93) and they are still worth wearing, but you cannot buy them new any more. What I like has not changed after years of use: they are light, they move with you, the fit flatters and they do not announce themselves as technical kit. What I do not like has not changed either: the rigid drawcord waistband, the pockets that will not take a phone, and fabric that loosens between washes.

The waistband is the thing to weigh. Small pockets and a fabric that loosens are preferences you can live around, while the waistband is a daily irritation, and it is the reason I would look hard at the Gamma before buying a used pair.

Where to buy the Arc’teryx pants for women?

Arc’teryx discontinued the Sabria in 2022, so new stock is gone and what circulates is used and clearance. The closest garment in the current range is the Gamma Pant, at $200 (about €185, £150), in Fortius DW 2.0 double-weave at 88% nylon and 12% elastane, weighing 300 g (10.6 oz). That is the same fabric family one generation on, which is as close to a like-for-like replacement as Arc’teryx offers.

The Gamma also fixes the waistband. Where the Sabria used a drawcord you have to fight, the Gamma uses a ladder-lock waist adjuster with an offset buckle, designed to sit under a climbing harness. Anyone who bounced off the Sabria’s drawcord should look at the Arc’teryx Gamma Pant for women first.

Remaining and resale stock shows up and sells out again if you want the Sabria itself, so a saved search beats any single listing. Sizes and colours are whatever somebody happens to be letting go of, and Arc’teryx Sabria pants on Amazon is where most of that stock surfaces. Size it against Arc’teryx’s own chart rather than another brand’s, and remember you are buying a garment somebody else’s hips have already stretched.

There is no men’s Sabria. It was a women’s-specific cut, so a man looking for the same trouser should start at the Gamma rather than at a Sabria listing.

FAQ

Are Arc’teryx Sabria pants still made?

No. Arc’teryx discontinued the Sabria in 2022, and only used and clearance stock remains.

Do Arc’teryx Sabria pants run small?

They run true to size but slim, and the waistband does not stretch. Order the larger size if you are between two, because the band is where a tight fit becomes a problem.

Will a phone fit in the Sabria’s thigh pockets?

No. The 2 zipped thigh pockets take a key, a card and a lip balm, and a modern phone does not go in.

What replaced the Arc’teryx Sabria pant?

The Gamma Pant is the closest current Arc’teryx trouser, in the next generation of the same Fortius double-weave fabric, with a ladder-lock waist adjuster instead of a drawcord.

Are Sabria pants waterproof?

No. The fabric carries a durable water repellent finish that sheds drizzle and spills, and it wets out in sustained rain.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

The 4 tips below come from wearing the same pair of Sabria pants for years and from checking what Arc’teryx sells in their place in September 2026.

1. Buy the size that fits snugly on day one. The fabric loosens over a few wears and tightens again in the wash, so the pair that feels perfect straight out of the packet will feel roomy by the third day. Size up only if you are genuinely between sizes, because the waistband is where the smaller size hurts.
2. Loosen the drawcord fully before you try to pull them on. The band is rigid and the drawcord is the only give it has. Doing this turns the mini-workout into an ordinary step, especially if your hips are wider than your waist.
3. Plan for the phone to live in your pack. The thigh pockets are flat and flap-covered, which looks good and holds almost nothing. They are a key-and-card pocket, so a hike without a bag is not the hike for these.
4. Check the Gamma’s waistband before you buy a used Sabria. The Sabria’s drawcord is the one thing I would change about it, and the current Gamma replaces it with a ladder-lock adjuster. Paying more for the newer trouser buys you the fix, not just a newer label.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this review come from years of hiking in her own pair of Arc’teryx Sabria pants, sent by Arc’teryx for review. The team covers hiking and packing gear for independent travellers, including the trousers, boots, jackets and packs worth buying, and updates this page when a product is discontinued, replaced or repriced.