Arc'teryx Palisade Pant
Owner Review - January 13, 2007
Tester Information:
Name: Jason Boyle
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 6"/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Email address: c4jc "at" hotmail "dot" com
City, State, Country: Snoqualmie, Washington, U. S.
Backpacking Background:
I have been camping and backpacking for about 18 years. My introduction to the outdoors started with the Boy Scouts of America and has continued as an adult. I have hiked mostly in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States. I am generally a lightweight hiker, but will carry extras to keep me comfortable. I have recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest and spend most of my time hiking and backpacking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, but I can be found exploring the other wild areas of Washington!
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Arc’teryx
Model: Palisade
Year of Manufacture: 2006
Color: Taupe, other colors available
URL: www.arcteryx.com
Listed weight: 295 g/10.4 oz
Measured weight: 289 g/10.2 oz
Fabric: TerraTex (94% Nylon, 6% LYCRA Spandex)
MSRP: Not Listed
Country of Manufacture: Made in China
Product Description:
These pants look like any other pair of trekking pants, but upon further examination they are not just another pair of pants. The dark green Terra Tex is soft to the touch and makes a slight swish noise when walking. The pants have 5 pockets, two side handwarmer pockets, two thigh cargo pockets, and one rear wallet pocket. The laminated YKK zippers open and close very easily although the zipper pull is quite small. The waist is lined with a chamois and has a integrated 1” (2.5 cm) nylon belt.
Summary:
I have struggled to find a pair of pants that I enjoy wearing while backpacking, I usually wear shorts and a pair of rain pants if I absolutely have to wear something on my legs. Not anymore! These pants are super comfortable, durable, and provide a good balance of between breathability and warmth.
Field Information:
I have used these pants on 11 trips for over 15 nights over the past three months. My trips have included day hikes, snowshoe trips, backpacking trips, and an alpine ski trip. My terrain has been quite variable, from the high desert and steppe of Central Washington to the heavily forested snowy Western Cascades. Temperatures have ranged from 70 F to 20 F (21 C to -7 C), elevation ranged from sea level to 8201’ (2500 m), and I encountered all forms of precipitation including falling snow.
Review:
Before I bought these pants, I hardly wore pants. I always wore shorts and if I absolutely needed them I would wear a pair of shell pants. I did not wear pants because I had trouble finding a pair that fit me well, but these pants fit me extremely well! First they are very soft and comfortable against my skin. Definitely a plus! They have more of a relaxed fit than other quick drying pants that I have worn. They are even loose enough to wear a thin base layer underneath, which I had to do on a cold winter day while hiking on the steppe in Central Washington. The vertical-zippered side pockets are made of mesh and make good hand warmer pockets. I am able to put my cell phone or keys in these pockets, but I prefer not to have anything in them while hiking because it rests right against the top of my leg which I find annoying. The horizontal zippered cargo pockets are large and will hold multiple items but the items bounce around a lot so I try to keep smaller items like my lip balm in there. One nit pick with the pockets is that they have very small zipper pulls, which I cannot open while wearing gloves. This can be easily resolved by adding a piece of line to each of the zipper pulls. The pants have an integrated belt that helps keep the pants snug around my hips and doesn’t chafe underneath my backpack’s hip belt.
A second reason I did not like to wear pants was because of the lack of breathability. I get hot very easily while backpacking or hiking and sweat copiously. One of the ways to stay cool was to allow my legs to breathe by being open to the air. These pants breathe well enough that I am able to wear them without feeling like I am going to overheat. I did get a bit warm on an October backpacking trip where the temperatures reached 70 F (21 C) but they were not unbearable. In colder temperatures they breathe a little too well and did not stop the slight breeze while hiking on the steppe in Central Washington. I was able to add a thin base layer underneath the pants which provided the extra warmth I needed.
The pants appear to be well made with no loose seams or stitching. All of the zippers slide smoothly with ease. I have worn these pants on all types of terrain and off trail hiking and they show no signs of wear. In addition to wearing the pants in the outdoors they are stylish enough to wear in town and I often reach for them when I need to make run into town.
Overall, these pants have helped me convert to wearing pants for Fall, Winter, and Spring hiking. I like the comfortable fit, durability, and breathability of the pants. I would like to see some cord added to the zipper pulls so they could be easily opened while wearing gloves, but this is only a minor annoyance.
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