BackpackGearTest
  Guest - Not logged in 

Reviews > Clothing > Base Layers and Undies > Terramar Therma TX Silk and Wool Bottom > Test Report by Will Dalen Rice

TERRAMAR THERMA TX 2 PANT
TEST SERIES BY
LONG-TERM REPORT

INITIAL REPORT - November 23, 2009
FIELD REPORT - March 06, 2010
LONG TERM REPORT - May 02, 2010

TESTER INFORMATION

NAME: Will Rice
EMAIL: will.dalen at gmail.com
AGE: 29
LOCATION: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
GENDER: M
HEIGHT: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
WEIGHT: 150 lb (68.00 kg)

I began backpacking at the age of 13 when I first went to summer camp (1993). In 1999, I started working with a college tripping organization in outdoor trip logistics (in gear preparation), and then as a leader. My most frequented hiking locations are in the Carolina Appalachians and the Smoky Mountains during the cold early spring and the summer. I stopped being a trip leader in 2004, and now I average about 4 backpacking trips and 4 day hikes per year. I carry between 25 and 35 lbs (11.3-15.8 kg) on multi-day trips.


INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Terramar Inc.
Year of Manufacture: 2009
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.terramarsports.com
MSRP: NA
Measured Weight: 3.5 oz (100 g)
Size Available: Small-2XL (Men's), Small-XL (Women's)
Components: 50% Merino Wool, 50% Filament Silk
Waistband: 2 in (5 cm) wide elastic
Terramar lists a 3 point scale for warmth on their packaging,
This particular item was rated as a 2
Black (appears to be only color option)

IMAGE 1
Pants (note seams)


IMAGE 2
Tag

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Initial Impressions- The pants are very comfortable. They are close fitting. The legs seem a little long, but I have not washed them yet.

Size- I am testing a M in the pants. I normally wear a 32/32 in pants because I like a looser fit (my waist is 31 in/ 79 cm). My inseam is 25 in (64 cm) and the inseam of the pants are 27 in (69 cm). There was no sizing chart that I am aware of.

Materials- The pants are made of an equal parts mixture of silk and wool. They feel amazing. The material is soft, smooth, and very light. It also is a little stretchy.

Construction- The pants are made of five pieces of fabric (two sleeves, a front and back piece in the groin, and a panel that runs up one leg and down the other on the inside of the leg). The waist band is elastic and 2 inches (5 cm) thick. The seams are all flat stitched and about 1/2 an inch (1.25 cm) wide. Seams run up the inner thigh and inner hamstring areas and just to the left and right of the middle of the front and back of the groin. There is a quick access in the front of the men's pant. The pant legs have a knitted cuff (2 inch/ 5 cm) hem at the bottom of them. The feel of the fabric is uniform all over and smooth. The seams appear to be strong and the pants seem to be constructed well.

TRYING IT OUT

I tried these on out of the box when I got them. They are easy to put on. The elastic waistband stretches for easy access to the legs. My legs slide smoothly into place inside each of the pant legs. They fit very closely around my legs and ankles.

Other than wearing them around the house, I have not tried these out yet. The winter is just starting to set in, so I imagine I will get a chance to hike in them soon.

LIKES/ DISLIKES

Likes
- smooth material
- comfortable

Dislikes
- seem a little long (haven't washed them yet)


FIELD REPORT

CONDITIONS , LOCATIONS, and PERFORMANCE

I.
Date: 12/28/2009
Location: Kings Mountain, North Carolina
Weather: sunny, windy (10-15 mph, 16-24 kph), 49 F (9.4 C)
Activity: Hiking to top of mountain (1000 ft/ 304 m elevation gain), 3.4 miles (5.5 km) roundtrip

Performance:
These pants helped to keep me pretty warm. The pants are also very breathable. On the steeper uphill of hiking, I began to sweat and breathe hard. Still, I didn't end up getting wet in my lower body, even though I could feel the heat building in my legs. I wore them with a pair of synthetic zip-off pants.

II.
Date: 1/1-1/3/2010
Location: Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Weather: Overcast to sunny, windy (10-15 mph, 16- 24 kph), 30-40 F (-1-4.4 C)
Activity: Snowboarding (1500-2500 ft/ 457-762 m)

Performance:
When I snowboard, I am constantly between the extremes of being warm while riding (physical exertion) and being cold while sitting on the lift. So, I have to layer real well. These pants worked really well for layering while I snowboarded. They also stayed in place while putting on my outer layers and didn't require adjusting. More important, when I crashed or fell down, they stayed in place against my skin. This meant less snow inside my clothes and no need to remove my gloves to readjust my clothes mid-run. The cuffs on the sleeves are only slightly elastic. This means that they keep the sleeves in place. In terms of snowboarding, I almost always sit down in the snow after I get off the lift to fully strap myself in. As a result, my butt gets snow on it and eventually gets wet. I didn't expect that these pants would prevent this and they didn't. My outer layer was a synthetic pair of zip-off pants. The good part though, was that even with a wet butt, the combination of the Terramar inner layer and the other outer layer kept my legs and butt warm both while riding and while sitting still on the lift.

III.
Date: 1/9/2010
Location: Latta Plantation, Charlotte, North Carolina
Weather: Cold and sunny, 16-37 F (-8-2.7 C), windy (8 mph, 12.8 kph), 48% humidity
Activity: Orienteering (off-trail running for 3 hours, hiking for 1.5)

Performance:
This was my first experience with feeling moisture build-up inside the pants. We were doing some really intense running and I was breathing pretty hard. We stopped for a little while and I noticed the wind was blowing on the moisture on my legs. The sweat evaporated pretty quickly though, and I went back to being dry and warm.

IMAGE 2
Orienteering


IV.
Date: 2/6/2010
Location: Reedy Creek Park, Charlotte, North Carolina
Weather: Cold and cloudy, 33-45 F (1-7 C), 80-100% humidity
Activity: Orienteering (off-trail running for 3-4 hours)

Performance:
The pants have started to become fuzzier after washing them. I again wore them with my zip-off pants. The temperature of my upper body and lower body differ quite drastically when I am doing physical activity. So, even though this may have been a good day to wear my Terramar top, it was a little too warm to wear the Terramar Pants. My legs sweated a lot while running. The pants are very smooth, so when I put a layer on over them, they slide easy and stay in place on my leg. I really like this, since I have historically had a hard time getting my base layer not to ride up my leg as I put on the outer layer.

V.
Date: many days
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Weather: Ice on the ground
Activity: Light Hiking

Performance:
There are some wooded trails that lead from my apartment and go to the university. Often I take these off-road detours to get to class (about 3 mi/ 5 km roundtrip). On days when there is visible ice on the ground, I wear the Terramar Pants below a wide range of outer layers (cotton, synthetic, etc.). I am still surprised every time I put them on how smooth they are, how light they feel, and yet how warm they keep me.

DURABILITY

None of the seams are showing any damage, but the pants themselves appear fuzzier and fuzzier as I pull them out of the dryer. Some of the fuzz is static build up (it's made of silk and wool), but some of the fuzz is likely also from deterioration of the pants.

SUMMARY

These pants have performed quite well so far as a base layer. They are comfortable, light, and easy to put on and layer over.


Likes:
- warm
- keeps moisture from skin, keeps me dry
- light
- ultra-comfortable

Dislikes:
- seem like they might be a little long
- becoming really fuzzy


LONG-TERM REPORT

CONDITIONS and PERFORMANCE

I.
Date: 3/19-3/20
Location: Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Marion, North Carolina
Weather: Sunny and clear (Cold overnight, 40 F/ 5 C, Warm day, 80 F/ 27 C)
Activity: Backpacking (5 miles/ 8 km, out and back)

Performance:
I finally got out into the woods again for an overnight. We didn't get to do as much hiking as I would have liked, but for the purposes of testing, it was good. We got started hiking late and so we hiked into the night, after the sun had gone down behind the ridge. The temperatures rapidly dropped once the sun was down. Stopping to camp also meant a little less activity, and thus time to put the Terramar pants on. These pants are so smooth and slide on really well. I wore the pants to sleep in inside my sleeping bag. My sleeping pad deflated in the night, so the pants gave me some degree of added warmth. However, since the pants aren't very thick, my butt did get a little cold in contact with the ground.
The next morning, as we got up and broke camp, the sun was still behind the ridge. I began my hike out with the pants still on and they helped to keep me warm while hiking. Once we got to the sunny ridge, I shed the pants and my leg sleeves from my zip-off pants. The pants pack away easily (even into a shorts pocket if it's moderately large) and the weight is not even close to noticeable added to a pack.

II.
Date: 4/10-4/11
Location: Congaree Swamp, South Carolina
Weather: warm (80 F/27 C), sunny days, clear cool (50 F/10 C) nights
Activity: Off-trail hiking through swamps and wetland stream-type land (6-8 miles/10-13 km)

Performance:
I wore the pants the morning of the second day. They are super-comfortable and help keep my legs warm without riding up. The fit of them keeps them in place with movement and/or with putting on layers on top.

III.
Notes on Other Uses- These pants are very comfortable, but my legs warm up when I am using them. Because of this, most situations here in the southeast are not cold enough for using these pants. They work well at camp when I am not moving around much, but otherwise they are too warm. In terms of use for cycling or jogging or other aerobic activities, they are just too warm. These pants pair well with the Terramar top, but my upper body has a tendency to need the warmth more so than my lower body.

DURABILITY

Other than a little minor fuzz, the Terramar pants have held up well. The seams are all still in good shape. They haven't held any bad smells in them. I have hand washed them, machine washed them, and even just wore them in the shower. They are still in very good condition.

SUMMARY

Along with the Terramar top, these pants have become the beginning of my packing list for any trips. Since they are so light, I bring them whether or not the weather requires just as a backup set of clothing and for emergency situations.

Usage Total:
Day Hiking- 7+ days
Orienteering/ Run-Hiking- 2 days
Backpacking- 4 days, 2 nights
Snowboarding- 2 days
Cross-Country Skiing- 1 day

Likes:
- smooth and soft
- light
- dries fast

Dislikes
- has become fuzzy


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

Reviews > Clothing > Base Layers and Undies > Terramar Therma TX Silk and Wool Bottom > Test Report by Will Dalen Rice



Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.



All material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org.
BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson