Bluffworks Envoy Lightweight Travel Pants Review

My greatest fear surfaces in a deep panic before a big trip: “Did I pack the charger? Do I have my passport? Did I stop the mail?” Outside a spreadsheet stacked deep with satisfying checkboxes, the key to traveling stress-free is keeping my kit organized. Transitions between destinations flow more easily when everything has its place, especially with my need-to-haves.

Sure, you can wear any pants when traveling. But a good pair of travel pants protects your legs in the field, organizes your daily carry, and covers your six when you decide to take that shady detour through the open market in Huaraz. This year, Bluffworks released a revamped version of its travel pant, the Envoy Lightweights, refining the pockets and shedding some of the ‘office’ formality.

The Envoy is a better match for warm-weather travelers and suits those who prefer to get a little scrappy outside. It’s not the one-and-done pants for every adventure, but it’s a good compromise that will meet most travel needs. 

In short: Bluffworks Envoy Lightweight Travel Pant ($125) is an excellent choice for men who want a lightweight travel pant that suits up well for dinner on the town, but doesn’t shy away from some adventure on the side. Fewer pockets, less golf-course chino, Bluffworks nailed the perfect travel pant with its Envoy Lightweight Travel pants.

Looking for a new pair of travel pants? Check out where the Envoy Lightweights compare and contrast to the rest of the options out there in GearJunkie’s Best Travel Pants for Men Buyer’s Guide.

Bluffworks Envoy Lightweight Travel Pant: Review

Bluffworks Travel Pant 2.0

Founded in 2012, Bluffworks rapidly rose to the top of the travel pant genre with its venerable Ascender Chino. Purpose-built for life on the road, the pants became the darling of the internet. Globetrotters flocked to them, lauding the pants’ travel chops. The material is robust, and the pocket game is deep. The stalwart has been a contender in my top pant lineup for 5 years running. 

My gripes were mostly superficial. Pockets inside pockets made accessing some contents difficult. That, and they were styled a little too Martha’s Vineyard. It was a personal choice, but it didn’t meet most travelers where we were.

That was then. This year, Bluffworks released a new, lighter-weight, more adventure-friendly pant, the Envoy Lightweight Travel Pant. I’ve been kicking them around for 6 months now, and they’ve addressed our issues head-on. More durable, better pockets, but still sharp enough to pair up with a deconstructed blazer.

Travel-Tested Materials

It takes a lot of confidence to pivot on an already great concept and consider dipping a toe into the dark waters of something better. Loved by customers, the Ascenders set a very high bar. So when the team began looking to make a new pant, they took their time and treaded carefully. It started with the fabric first. 

After evaluating reams of polyester, Bluffworks narrowed it down to two materials that went through a battery of tests, including its own in-house friction machine to flush out the most durable twill. The brand landed on a recycled poly blend that drapes well, has great stretch, and deflects wrinkles when stuffed in a carry-on.

The material has a tighter weave than the twill used in the Ascender. It’s more durable but still breathable. To up the comfort, the recycled polyester blend generously weaves some spandex into the mix. I tested the slim pants, and the spandex doesn’t bind or snug tightly around the calves. The four-way stretch gives you unrestricted movement.

Serious Stitching

The best fabric choices don’t matter if you don’t consider the stitching. Intentional and intricate, Bluffworks marries the fabric with a high-quality polyester thread that deliberately stretches with the panels. By varying the stitches per inch, the pants have more sewn-in durability in high-wear locations like the hip and crotch but fewer stitches (and bulk) in the legs.  

Flat sewn stitches tack the high-stress regions together, like the inseam. The outer leg applies less stress on the pant, so Bluffworks joins the two panels with a chain stitch tacked down with two passes of reinforced stitching.

The Envoys are not overbuilt; they are appropriately built. This combination adds durability where you need it and yields flexible comfort where you want it. 

Secure Storage

Like the Ascenders, the Envoy’s hide ample security pockets in the pants. Unlike the Ascenders, they are more purposeful. The Envoy dropped the hidden document/cash pocket that was accessed by unzipping the front fly. (As if walking through TSA hasn’t become awkward enough.) And the Envoys reduced the number of hidden sleeve pockets, which, frankly, nobody really puts to use. 

The pockets are cleaner, more intuitive, and dedicated. Each hand pocket has an additional internal zipper pocket.

Both rear pockets zip shut, and a new stealth slash pocket zips down the right thigh. They still stitch in a sleeve pocket. It’s inside the right-hand pocket and is large enough to hold your phone down to your thigh. We prefer to keep our coins in it, though. It’s large enough to reach inside to scoop out your euros. 

My favorite pocket remains the signature Bluffworks device pocket. Sewn into the waist hem, the sleeve locks the phone to the back hip. This keeps the device above the butt when seated and is a great dedicated space for easy access on the go. You don’t need to unzip it when you want to snap a quick photo or check an alert, and it eliminates any bounce or slapping against the body.

Some of the GJ staff didn’t like this pocket when they first saw it in the Ascender. They preferred to lock the phone away under a zipper pocket on the thigh.

Fortunately, the new slash pocket and front sleeve pockets are large enough to do just that. And I’d recommend doing so when crushing through a season of inflight documentaries, or walking in higher-risk areas, like London, where a quick bump and an “excuse me,” can lift a phone without you knowing.

Most manufacturers make a phone pocket an “either/or” option. They have a zippered back pocket, but no slash pocket. Or a device sleeve on the thigh, but no zipper pocket. With the Envoys, you have options. All of them. If you’d rather store the phone on your thigh, you can do just that.

Lastly, the Envoys increased the number of zippered pockets from three in the Ascender to five. That’s a lot of security options and potential rigidity in a pant. Bluffworks uses a nimble nylon zipper. It drapes better and allows you to breeze through baggage check without tripping the metal detector. 

All-Day Comfort

For a pant that doesn’t have gussets or articulating panels sewn with body-forming darts, they fit sneaky good. Here, too, we can thank Bluffworks’ choice in fabric, stitching, and its general understanding of the human form. The four-way stretch gives you ample mobility on hikes up steep hills with light scrambling. They don’t bind in the crotch or compress around the calves. They move with you. 

The belt-friendly waistband uses the same stretchy poly and is embossed with a tacky-silicone “Bluffworks” logo. The tabs keep the pants up on the go without a belt, but also give a little when seated, and don’t bind at the hip. The front closes with a button and nylon zipper fly.

Bluffworks Envoy Lightweight Travel Pants: Conclusion

Nearly the perfect pant — the Envoy Lightweights are not without limits. There’s no DWR, no tool clip, or reflective taping sewn inside the leg.

You get a sense that these are designed with city travel in mind. The general cut supports this. Available in both the slim and regular fit, they look and wear like a more traditional pair of pants. 

These pants are a go-to when traveling for work and far-flung urban leisure, where you don’t want to come across as a scoutmaster on holiday, or have a bucket list of adventures you are checking off. But they are capable of the occasional gritty excursion and can walk into dinner afterward. 

And that’s really where the Envoys shine. If nothing else, a travel pant should go unnoticed — both on you and among potential troublemakers. The Bluffworks Envoy Lightweight Travel Pants wear effortlessly, yet are capable of storing all your essentials safely away.