Dress for Success — Part 1 of Our Gear Series
One of the most commonly asked questions we get is: "How do you dress to be outside in the elements all day?" If you've ever spent a full day on the water at 9,000 feet, you know the conditions can change fast — and what you're wearing makes all the difference between a great day and a miserable one.
That's why we're bringing you this new blog series, where we break down exactly what we wear season by season, layer by layer. At Fishing With Bernie, we spend more days on the water than most — which means we find the weak link in all of our equipment, including our clothing, and we've dialed in our seasonal selections the hard way so you don't have to.
Whether you're shopping for yourself or looking for the perfect gift for the angler in your life, we hope this series helps you make smarter gear choices and spend more time focused on the fish.
KUHL Renegade Klassik Convertible
Part 1 - The Best Pants We've Worn on a Boat: KÜHL Renegade Klassik Convertible Review
If you fish Colorado's mountain lakes long enough, you figure out pretty quickly that the weather doesn't care about your plans.
You leave the dock on Lake Granby at 6am in a heavy fleece with frost on the windshield. By 9am the sun clears Knight Ridge and it's 65°F. By noon you're peeling off layers in full Rocky Mountain sun. Then a thunderstorm rolls in from the west, crossing the Continental Divide at 2pm, soaks everything on the boat, and vanishes 20 minutes later like it never happened.
Most fishing pants fail at least two of those conditions. The pair we've been wearing on the water this season handles all of them, and then some.
We recently tested the [KÜHL Renegade Klassik Convertible](https://www.kuhl.com/kuhl/mens/tech-pants/) on guided trips across Grand County - Lake Granby, Grand Lake, and adventuring up and down the river, both in and out of waders. Here's what we found.
Why This Pant Was Built for Anglers (Even If KÜHL Didn't Know It)
KÜHL is a Utah-based outdoor brand that's been making technical clothing for mountain athletes since the early 90s. The Renegade Convertible wasn't designed specifically for fishing, but the three features that matter most on a boat are exactly where it excels.
Feature 1: Flexibility and Freedom of Movement
Fishing involves more awkward body positions than most people expect. You're crouching to dig through a tackle box in the bow. You're leaning hard over the gunwale to net a 15-pound lake trout. You're twisting to reach the rod holder behind you, then quickly straightening up to set the hook.
The Renegade Klassik Convertible is built around KÜHL's DURALUX™ fabric, a fabric blend that moves with your body rather than pulling against it, specifically designed for people in motion. Water-resistant, ruggedly tough, and built with the perfect amount of stretch for bodies in motion, that's KÜHL's own description, and it matches what we experienced on the water.
The Klassik fit is the sweet spot in the Renegade lineup. Neither slim nor relaxed, with a slight taper in the knee and leg opening, it moves freely without excess fabric flopping around when you're working the net or climbing in and out of the boat at the ramp.
After testing this season on guided trips and our own fishing sdventures, our guides consistently report that they forget they're wearing these pants, which is exactly what you want from a technical pant. No pulling, no binding, no readjusting mid-fish.
Feature 2: Fast Drying When Things Get Wet
On a boat, getting wet isn't a question of if, it's when.
A net splash. A fish that throws water when it clears the surface. Rain that moves in fast at altitude. A client who tips a water bottle in the hull, or a guide that spills that morning cup of coffee on himself. If you're wearing cotton or a slow-dry fabric, you're spending the rest of the trip cold and uncomfortable.
The Renegade Convertible is built with a Durable Water Repellent coating that sheds water on contact. Light rain beads right off. When the pants do get wet through, a real soaking from a summer storm — they dry noticeably fast. Their PFC-free DWR coating sheds water effectively, and is lightweight, both features that excel in the boat.
For comparison, a pair of standard cotton fishing pants can stay wet and heavy for hours at 7,000 feet elevation in the Colorado Rockies, where the air is dry but temperatures can drop fast once the sun moves behind clouds. The Renegade Convertible recovers quickly, you stop noticing they were ever wet.
Feature 3: Built for Colorado's Wild Temperature Swings
This is where the Renegade Klassik Convertible really earns its keep on a guided trip in Grand County.
Colorado mountain weather doesn't follow rules. A day on Lake Granby in June or July can swing 35°F or more from first light to midday, and back down again if afternoon weather moves in. Most fishing pants force you to choose: wear pants and overheat by noon, or wear shorts and freeze at dawn. These are decisions you get to make every morning when looking at the forecast. Well, now that decision is easy
The Convertible solves this with an innovative zipper system that allows you to vent the legs or remove them completely when temperatures heat up. The color-coded zippers convert the pants to 9½" inseam shorts in about 30 seconds, and here's the detail that separates these from cheaper convertibles: stealth thigh cargo pockets store the detached pant legs for easy access right on your body. You don't have to stash the legs in a bag or leave them on the seat they zip right into the thigh pockets and stay with you.
When the afternoon thunderstorm arrives and the temperature drops 20 degrees in 10 minutes, you zip them back on just as fast. The whole system is clean and intuitive, no fumbling with velcro flaps or awkward storage.
On top of the convertible system, the fabric itself regulates temperature well and dries quickly when they inevitably get wet while fishing. The fabric also breathes enough for active fishing in summer heat but provides real coverage when the mountain air turns cool.
The Pocket System: Actually Useful on a Boat
Seven pockets sounds like overkill until you're fishing and realize you need places for your phone, pliers, snacks and that pesky trolling motor remote, all accessible while wearing polarized sunglasses and managing a rod.
The seven-pocket design includes two front pockets, two back pockets, two thigh pockets, and one drop-in cell pocket. The thigh pockets are gusseted and zipper-secured, which matters on a boat where bending over repeatedly would empty standard cargo pockets fast. The drop-in cell pocket keeps your phone accessible but protected, important when you're trying to grab a quick photo of a client's trophy lake trout without losing the fish.
UPF 50+ Sun Protection: The Feature Every Angler Underestimates
Most anglers focus sun protection on their face, neck, and arms, and forget entirely about their legs. On a boat, that's a mistake. Sunlight reflecting off the water surface effectively doubles your UV exposure, hitting you from above and below simultaneously.
The Renegade Klassik Convertible offers UPF 50+ sun protection, blocking over 98% of UV radiation through the fabric. On a long summer day, say, a 6am to 2pm full-day trip on Lake Granby, that adds up to real protection, especially at high altitude where UV intensity increases roughly 10% for every 1,000 feet of elevation.
Our Verdict: The Right Pant for Colorado Fishing
After putting these pants through the paces on the water, the KÜHL Renegade Klassik Convertible has become our go-to recommendation for clients asking what to wear on a guided trip — and what our own guides reach for on long days.
If you're planning a trip to Grand County this summer or fall and want to know what to pack, start with a light rain coat, good sun shirt and a pair of these. You'll be comfortable from the pre-dawn boat launch to the post-trip drive home.
Check out the full KÜHL men's technical pants lineup, including the Renegade Klassik Convertible, at [kuhl.com](https://www.kuhl.com/kuhl/mens/tech-pants/).
Ready to put these pants to the test? Our guides have been putting clients on trophy lake trout, brown trout, and kokanee salmon in Grand County for over 25 years. [Book a guided trip with Fishing With Bernie](https://www.fishingwithbernie.com) — we'll handle the fish, you just need to show up dressed for the mountain.
*Disclosure: This post was written in partnership with KÜHL Clothing. All on-water observations are based on real use by the Fishing With Bernie guide team on Lake Granby, Grand Lake, and on the area streams and rivers.*
