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Field Report:
Big Sky Products
Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants
Date: January 3, 2006
Tester
Information:
Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in
(1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77
kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western
West Virginia, U.S.A.
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Backpacking Background:
As spring 2006 looms on the horizon, I'm beginning my third year of
backpacking, and I continue to love it! So far, I've progressed
from day-hiking and single overnights to weekend trips, but I'm
planning a longer trip for spring '06. Hopefully it will be a
section hike of the Appalachian Trail! I
hike and backpack
mainly in
the
hills and valleys of West Virginia, and use a hammock sleeping system.
For a
two-day trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) including
consumables, and I’m
striving to
lighten that a bit. |
Product
Information
-
Manufacturer:
Big Sky Products
Year of manufacture: 2005
Date of Delivery: October 21, 2005
Size: Large
Total Length: 44 in
(112 cm)
Inseam Length: 33 in (84 cm)
Circumference at waist: 34 in (86 cm)
Circumference at hem (one leg): 14.5 in (37 cm)
Advertised Weight: 6.9 oz (196 g)
Weight as delivered: 7.2 oz (204 g)
Color: Dark
Blue
Manufacturer Website: http://www.bigskyproducts.com
MSRP: $89.95
US |
Features -
Water/wind
resistant, breathable Epic fabric
Full side zip
Water resistant YKK zippers
Elastic waist with Velcro closures
Elastic ankle
cuffs with snap closure
Gusseted crotch
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General description:
The
Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants are made of a soft, thin, and silky
feeling fabric that makes a light rustling
sound when handled or worn. They have a full length water
resistant
zipper, hook and loop waist adjustment tabs, and a snap closure at the
hem bottom. For a more detailed description and photos, please
see my Initial
Report.
Field
Information:
So far I've worn the Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic
Pants on
trails, back country roads, and streets of West Virginia. Hiking
elevations have ranged from a high over
4200 feet (1300 meters) on the Tea Creek Mountain Trail to a low near
800 feet (250 meters) at
Charles Fork Lake. Temperatures have ranged from lows in the 20 F
(-5 C) range to highs around 70 F (20 C). I've day-hiked with the
pants on
several occasions, carrying loads ranging from only a half liter of
water to a day pack weighing approximately 7 lb (3 kg). So far,
I've had
them on one weekend backpacking trip carrying a pack weighing
approximately 30 lb (14 kg) including food and water.
Use:
I've worn the Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants over
silk to mid-weight base layers and found them very comfortable so far,
although the combination of the base layer and the pants made me a bit
too hot when hiking in 70 F (20 C) weather. I was able to cool
down a
bit by leaving the waist tabs fastened and unzipping the zippers about
6 in at the top for venting. The pants do seem to add a small
amount of warmth
even though they are thin, and wind doesn't seem to penetrate the
fabric (but will push it against the base layer, transferring some cold
in the process). I did find my legs felt uncomfortably cool at 20
F
(-5 C) with a mid-weight base layer under the pants, although I didn't
feel
dangerously cold. I haven't been
fortunate (or as I would normally consider it, unfortunate) enough to
be
hiking or working in a pouring rain yet. I have worn the pants
while hiking
in a light rain and in light snow, and have not noticed any leaks in
the fabric or zippers. Due to the lack of significant testing in
heavy rain, I tested the pants in my home shower for about 5 minutes
(while also wearing the Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket),
and still found no leaks.
The pants fit me well. I've found them easy to pull on and off,
even without unfastening the waist tabs or ankle snaps when I put them
on without shoes. If I'm pulling them on over my shoes, I find it
convenient to unfasten the waist tabs and unzip the waist around 10-12
in (25-30 cm) and unsnap the ankle snaps and unzip the ankles around
12-14
in (30- 35 cm). This allows me to gather the pants and pull them
on without
getting a lot of dirt or debris in the pants from my shoes. When
I first received the pants I found the waistband a little higher than I
normally like, but the pants are so lightweight and comfortable that
this hasn't been a problem.
So far the fabric is holding up well with no fraying or wear, and the
slight odor I noted upon first receiving the pants has
dissipated. The zippers have worked smoothly, although requiring
a little more pressure to operate than a normal non-water resistant
zipper. The waist hook and loop holds well. One downside I
have noticed is that the ankle snaps remain very hard to open.
About the only way I can open them is to partially unzip the pants at
the ankle, grasp both sides of the fabric near the snap, and pull hard.
The pants are lightweight to carry for rain gear, and pack small - not
much larger than a half liter bottle of water when compressed. I
do find them difficult to fold or roll neatly due to the heavy zipper
making the pants thick and stiff in that area, compounded by the
slippery fabric causing the material to slide around. I've found
it works best just to
gather the pants lengthwise around the zipper, and then sort of twist
and roll them together.
I have missed having pockets in the pants, especially when I wear them
when it isn't raining. However, due to the light weight of the
fabric, I think that a loaded pocket would cause the waist of the pants
to sag and droop from the weight. On one hike, I fastened the
Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket stored in it's own pocket to the hook and loop
of the pants waistband, and found the weight of the jacket really
caused the pants to pull down on that side. This lead me to the
conclusion that pockets probably wouldn't be very useful in the pants
anyway, since I couldn't carry much weight in them.
Testing Plan:
I'll
be continuing to test the Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic
Pants
mainly in West Virginia, on
varied trails and back roads at elevations anticipated at 550 to over
4000 feet (150 to over 1200 meters). Temperatures
could range anywhere from lows
in the 0 F (-20 C) range to highs up to the 80 F (25 C) if we
experience at abnormally warm winter days, which seems to usually occur
at least once in either January or February. We usually
have lots of rainfall, some snow, and occasional sleet or ice over the
winter. Most of my
use for this time of year will be day hiking, although I hope to fit in
at least one backpacking trip if weather conditions permit me to feel I
can safely do so. Many
of my trips are carried out near rivers or
streams, and moisture laden air is often a side effect
in these areas creating dampness in colder weather that adds a definite
chill. I also plan to use the pants during times of
significant precipitation when I am working, which
entails being outdoors for part of most days.
I will continue to monitor how the pants handle
various
weather conditions. Key characteristics that I
will be
testing for include continued waterproofness/resistance,
windproofness,
warmth, and
durability. If I am fortunate enough to have weather conditions
permitting a backpacking trip, my pack weight will
likely vary between 30-35 lb (14-16 kg). During
day
hikes I will be carrying a wide variety of weight from just a water
bottle to
a fanny
pack, to a larger daypack. My
plan is to continue to use the pants as my only lower body rain gear
for work and
play. Will the Warm-n-Cozy Epic Pants
prove to be a lightweight solution to keeping me dry in inclement
weather?
Likes
so far –
Very light weight
Easy on and off
Nice feel to the fabric
Dislikes so far –
Ankle snap difficult to open
Pants difficult to fold or roll neatly for packing
No pockets (not really a bad trade-off for the light weight)
Thanks to Big Sky Products and BackpackGearTest
for
the
opportunity to test the Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants
Read more reviews of Big Sky International gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant
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