I don't do a huge amount of hill walking - typically only when on holiday in a suitable area. Such an occaision was a few weeks ago in the lakes, where we did several walks as well as other outdoor activities.
On one day the forecast was to tip it down with rain all day, so a low-ish walk was planned. As we were going to be out for quite a long time, I thought it prudent to wear full waterproofs, but what to wear under my waterproof trousers? Given that it was unlikely I'd stay completely dry, either through leaks or sweat, I opted to wear some leggings that I normally use for watersports. I knew they dried really quickly, were a good fit & comfortable to wear when wet. So whilst possibly an unconventional choice, a practical one with what I had available. With the forecast thought it safe to assume they'd be hidden all day under the overtrousers.
All good to begin with, but an hour or so in the rain stopped & the sun came out!! The legwear combination was way too hot so the only option was to dispense with the overtrousers! Fortunately I was wearing a fairly long t-shirt so modesty was maintained. Needless to say the sun didn't last very long, and the rain reappeared - gently at first but then gradually getting heavier. I initially didn't put the overtrousers back on, so when I did it was the 'worst case' with wet clothes under waterproofs. However, despite this it was remarkably comfortable to walk in, including a bit of an ascent. Once the rain eased off & I opened the side zips, they quickly dried off with a bit of ventilation. Towards mid afternoon the sky cleared and the sun came out properly, so by the end of the day I was just in leggings and t-shirt!
I was amazed at how comfortable the leggings were in all the conditions. By themselves they didn't seem to have much wind resistance, but this was good when the sun came out as the air could get through them. With a light rain I didn't notice them getting damp - certainly none of that 'clinging' you get with normal clothes. When the weather got worse, it's then easy to add an extra layer, and it wasn't uncomfortable if the leggings were wet underneath the waterproofs.
There were other people walking in leggings. Mostly these were younger women - previously I'd have just put this down to them wearing something that was ok to walk in rather than forking out for 'proper' trousers, but now I'd say it's possibly a specific choice. Needless to say I didn't see any other blokes in leggings...
So given that it's commonplace for men to wear leggings / tights for other activities such as running & cycling, is there any reason other than 'fashion' that they don't wear them hill walking? For occaisional walkers such as myself, it makes sense to use stuff I have from other activities.
A bit of googling revealed an article written by a Canadian. I can't post the link, but you can find it by googling 'backpacking tights'. It seems to concur with my findings, and has quite a few comments agreeing. I think the author is Canadian - has anyone this side of the pond had any similar experience?