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Reviews > Clothing > Base Layers and Undies > Terramar Sports Thermolator Bottoms > Test Report by jerry adams

Terramar Body-Sensors - Thermolator II Pant
TEST SERIES BY JERRY ADAMS
LONG-TERM REPORT

INITIAL REPORT - December 12, 2009
FIELD REPORT - March 10, 2010
LONG TERM REPORT - April 30, 2010

TESTER INFORMATION

NAME: Jerry Adams
EMAIL: jerryaadamsatyahoodotcom
AGE: 56
LOCATION: Portland, Oregon, USA
GENDER: m
HEIGHT: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
WEIGHT: 190 lb (86.20 kg)

Backpacking Background: I started hiking about 45 years ago. My first backpack was 40 years ago. I currently try to do one backpack trip of 1 to 5 nights every month (which can be tricky in the winter). Mostly I stay around Mount Hood, Columbia Gorge, Mount Adams, Goat Rocks, and the Olympic Peninsula. In recent years I have shifted to lightweight - my pack weight without food and water is about 15 lb (7 kg). I make a lot of my own gear - silnylon tarp-tent, bivy, synthetic bag, simple bag style pack. My sleeping pad is a Therm-a-Rest air mattress.


INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Terramar Sports Inc.
Year of Manufacture: 2009
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.terramarsports.com/
Size: XLarge
Measured Weight: 6.75 oz (191 g)

The Thermolator II bottom is a 86% polyester and 14% spandex long underwear. The polyester is microfilament yarn to make it more comfortable against the skin.

It stretches in 360 degrees. It wicks perspiration. It is anti-microbial. It has a UPF 25+ rating.

It's colored black. The seams are sewed with black thread, in a complicated zigzag stitch typical of knit fabric garments designed to allow the fabric to stretch without being hampered by the thread which isn't stretchy.

There's a flap on the front for men to urinate, typical of men's underwear. There's an elastic band on the top to keep them from falling down.

Bottoms worn under shorts which is how I will typically use them:
IMAGE 1

Close-up of front:
IMAGE 2

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

This is exactly what I expected, based on what I saw on the Terramar website.

I requested size L but got size XL. My waist size is 38 inches (97 cm) which is the top of the range specified for size L. The size XL that I got fits fine, probably just a bit loose which is fine with me.

I did a close-up inspection - all the fabric and seams were good.

I wore the bottoms around the house all day and they felt good. I went outside a few times. It was 32 degrees F (0 C). The bottoms provided some good warmth.

SUMMARY

So far so good.

I'm looking forward to testing these on a number of trips over the next four months. This should include some cold trips to test warmth, and some good exercise to test moisture wicking.

Thanks to Terramar and backpackgeartest.org for letting me test these.

Look forward to the Field Report in about two months.


FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

December - 4 day hikes, 5 miles (8 km) 1.25 hours brisk walk each. 30 to 42 F (-1 to 6 C). At warmer temperatures I got a bit sweaty but they felt okay when damp. The pants were better suited to the colder temperatures.

1/13/2010 - 4 night backpack on the Deschutes River in Central Northern Oregon. 35 to 45 F (2 to 7 C). 25 miles (40 km). 1000 feet (300 m) elevation gain. Wore them while hiking and overnight.

2/1/2010 - 20 mile (32 km) 4 night backpack up Siouxon Creek in central Southern Washington state. 35 to 45 F (2 to 7 C). 1500 feet (450 m) elevation. Wore them the entire time. There were rain showers and I got sweaty occasionally so they got damp and then dried out several times.

2/16/2010 - 30 mile (48 km) 6 night backpack on Zigzag Mountain and Ramona Falls in Northern Oregon state. 22 to 45 F (-6 to 7 C). 2000 to 4600 feet (600 to 1400 m) elevation. Wore them the entire time. Got sweaty a few times, felt okay, dried quickly. I felt cold at night.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

The Terramar Thermolator Pants are a nice pair of long underwear.

During the day I wore the pants under shorts and gaiters, and at evening I wore without gaiters in my sleeping bag:
IMAGE 1

Several characteristics:

The fabric was comfortable against the skin. The fabric and seams weren't scratchy or anything.

The fabric was slippery against outer clothing layers. If the outer layer sticks against the base layer then it constricts movement.

The pants provided the warmth I expected. When I wore shorts and gaiters over the Terramars, I was okay down to 22 F (-6 C) (a little chilly though). I wore them comfortably in my sleeping bag at the same temperature, was cold, but the Terramars functioned well.

The pants dried out quickly when they got a little damp from sweat.

After wearing them all the time for 4 and 6 days, they smelled a little but not too bad.

I don't know about wicking capability. It seems like the trick is to remove clothes as necessary to prevent sweating. If the pants get wet, it takes heat to evaporate which cools me off. Maybe the wicking capability means they're more comfortable against my skin when they get a little wet, which they were during my test.



SUMMARY

The Terramar bottoms met my expectations.

Good:

The Terramar bottoms are lightweight.

They kept me warm in cold weather.

They were comfortable against the skin - due to the small fibers, stretchiness in all directions, and seam construction.

When they got wet they were still comfortable against my skin and dried out quickly.

After multi-day trips they didn't smell too bad.

Nothing particularly negative to report.

Thanks to Terramar and backpackgeartest.org for letting me test these.

Look forward to my Long term report in about two months.



LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

3/14/2010 - 6 night 36 mile (58 km) backpack down the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. 35 to 65 F (2 to 18 C), wore Terramars the whole time.

4/12/2010 - 5 night car camp on central Oregon coast, 25 miles (40 km) day hiking, 34 to 57 F (1 to 14 C), wore Terramars the whole time.

4/22/2010 - 3 night backpack and 2 day car camp on the Metolius River in central Oregon, 25 mile (40 km) backpack and 8 mile (13 km) day hike, 28 to 65 F (-2 to 18 C), wore pants all the time except when actually backpacking.

In the FR and LTR periods, I wore the Terramar pants for 23 nights of backpacking, 7 nights of car camping, and 3 day hikes. I washed them 8 times. I walked a total of 186 miles (242 km). Temperatures ranged from 22 to 65 F (-6 to 18 C).

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

Overall, I was satisfied with these pants. Nothing much more than what I reported in the Field Report. Fairly light weight. Some nice warmth. Didn't smell too bad after 4, 5, and 6 day trips.

On the Terramar web site, it says the pants are "an ideal base layer for a range of cold weather activities". In my experience, they are good for backpacking in a wide range of temperatures. I normally wear shorts, but need to take pants year round, just in case it gets a bit cool in the evening. These pants fill this need at a low weight.

After the last washing, I looked the pants over very thoroughly and didn't notice any signs of wear:

IMAGE 1

SUMMARY

Overall, I am very pleased with the Terramar Body Sensors Thermolator II pants over a wide range of backpacking and hiking.

Good and Bad are the same as in the Field Report.

I will continue to use the Terramar pants on future backpacking trips.

Thanks to Terramar and backpackgeartest.org for letting me test these pants.

This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1.5 Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Read more gear reviews by jerry adams

Reviews > Clothing > Base Layers and Undies > Terramar Sports Thermolator Bottoms > Test Report by jerry adams



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