Finding hiking pants with zippers at the ankles (that don't cost $100+) is somewhat tough, so when I saw these in the $60 range, I jumped on it!  I don't understand why all pants that have zip off legs don't have zippers at the ankles too.  If they don't, you have to remove your hiking boots to get the legs off!  As another person said "DUH"!!  I haven't worn these hiking yet, but believe they'll work as great as they feel.  They have a little stretch to them and are VERY comfortable.  I have older hiking pants that are pretty rough on the skin and don't "give" at all...  these have a totally different/softer feel, MUCH better. I wonder if I'll ever wear my older ones again!  The pockets at the waist are fairly deep and the thigh/side zip pocket is wider than deep (kind of wraps the outside of your thigh) and is definitely large enough for a cell phone. To me, the only thing lacking in these pants is not having a thigh pocket on both legs!  BUT, the ankle zippers are worth a lot more to me than having the 2nd pocket, so no real complaint from me!  Having one zip/back pocket is a plus and helps some.  For those of you interested, I'm 5 ft 5.5 inches, weigh 130 and the size 8 fit perfectly.  After trying them on, I immediately ordered TWO more... I LOVE THESE PANTS!!