I have had the pleasure of collaborating with KÜHL clothing for several years now. In 2024, I wrote a review of their renegade pants. I used them on several fishing trips, and I have been using them nonstop ever since on many canoeing, hiking, and fishing adventures. When the company reached back out to me to see if I would be interested in reviewing KÜHL ambush cargo shorts, the answer was a no brainer.
GoPro selfie at the put-in at Stephen C. Foster State Park with KÜHL ambush cargo shorts.
KÜHL outdoor clothing durability
Reviews can often be tricky because you only have a limited time to try them out before writing how you feel about them. One question that is hard to answer is durability. For example, I bought a Yeti backpack cooler about five years ago. The zipper just imploded. While five years is a decent time to own a cooler, I feel for the price paid, the cooler should have lasted many years.
Related: KÜHL Renegade outdoor pants great for adventure
Wearing the shorts in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Since I have previous experience with KÜHL and their product line, and the pants are still going strong, I feel confident that the pants and my new shorts will stand the test of time. They pass the eye and feel test as well. The fabric, zippers, the stitching all look rugged and that they can take any pounding that an outdoor trail can impose.
KÜHL shorts on the Black River in Wisconsin.
One year of KÜHL ambush cargo shorts
I have enjoyed the KÜHL ambush cargo shorts now for over a year, so there have been many trips I have enjoyed them on. Since I have received them, they have fished with me on northern lakes in Wisconsin, hiked with me on the famous Pipeline road that is adjacent to the Panama Canal in Panama, canoed several rivers, and will definitely be joining me this summer when I hike the Inca Trail in Peru and the Andes in Ecuador.
River crossing with KÜHL ambush cargo shorts.
Hiking the Pipeline Road in Panama looking for birds
In late March of this year, I visited Panama to hike the Pipeline Road, which is a road through the dense jungle adjacent to the Panama Canal. In such a hot and humid climate, it was great that the KÜHL ambush cargo shorts are not only durable, but they are also light and breathable. I saw such memorable sights on my hike including a keel-billed toucan, a snake trying to ambush a wren nest, howler monkeys, and many other tropical birds.
KÜHL shorts at the beginning of the Black River.
KÜHL ambush cargo shorts on the Black River Wisconsin
A new tradition for me is canoeing the Black River in September before school gets crazy. I am a teacher and once we get in full swing, it can be hard to get away. Plus, winter is just around the corner, so I have managed paddling the beautiful Black River in the Driftless Region in Wisconsin the last two autumns. Usually the weather is still warm, so it is nice to get one more blast of summer before the fall chill comes in.
Great Smoky Mountains with KÜHL shorts.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park day trip hiking and birding
I attended the University of Tennessee for college, and I made a visit this last fall for a friend’s bbq and birthday celebration. The next day, I went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a little fall color and hoped to see some fall migration bird action. It was a beautiful crisp fall day in the mountains. It was still warm enough to wear the KÜHL ambush cargo shorts. I drove the Cades Cove Scenic Loop and stopped at points along the 11 mile drive and walked along the cove and into the woods looking for warblers and vireos.
Beautiful skies in the Okefenokee Swamp.
Okefenokee Swamp National Refuge Georgia
The headwaters of the Suwanee River is the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia. This is one of my favorite places to paddle and adventure. I enjoyed it even more with KÜHL ambush cargo shorts keeping me comfortable and dry while paddling this amazing ecosystem. Okefenokee means “land of trembling earth” in local Native American tongue, so adventurers who want to camp here either do so on platforms built into the swamp or on a few islands that have campsites.
Slaying the brown trout with KÜHL ambush cargo pants.
Deep sea fishing Lake Michigan with KÜHL ambush cargo shorts
Even though Lake Michigan is a lake, the style of fishing we enjoyed is more in line with deep sea fishing. We embarked out of Waukegan Harbor for an afternoon out on the lake with Jawzon Charters. We enjoyed catching salmon and trout on a beautiful late summer day. The last two years, I have been lucky to catch a brown trout, which is somewhat rare. I did this all in rugged comfort with the ambush cargo shorts.
Related Lake Michigan charter trips with Jawzon
Where will I use my KÜHL shorts next?
Will use KÜHL ambush cargo shorts for years to come
I know I will be enjoying wearing KÜHL shorts and pants for years to come. I have a full slate of summer trips including my usual canoe trips to Wisconsin along with a fishing trip to northern Wisconsin. At the end of June, I am heading to Ecuador and look forward to wearing KÜHL shorts and pants in places like the Andes, Machu Picchu, and the Galápagos Islands. I know Darwin will be jealous of the way our adventure clothing has evolved.
Disclosure
A representative from KÜHL reached out to me and provided me with a complimentary pair of pants and a pair of shorts. They were needed in order to write this review and the previous one on the pants. While I was grateful to receive the products, it did not impact what I thought about their performance. I have used both the pants and the shorts on many trips, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them, but the offer of free products did not sway my opinion of them. The thoughts in this article are my own.
Adventure on!
