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Long Term Report:
Big Sky Products
Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants
Date: June 12, 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:
Finally pursuing a
long-time interest, I started backpacking 3 years
ago. I've progressed from day-hiking
and single overnights my first year, to weekend trips the second, and
finally
to a 7-night trip on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia this year.
I
hike and backpack mainly in the hills and valleys of West
Virginia,
and generally 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 still trying to lighten that a bit.
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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
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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. For test details during the early part of the test,
please see my Field
Report.
Field
Information:
In January, Big Sky Products recalled my Warm-n-Cozy Epic Pants
for replacement of the zippers due to problems we were
experiencing in our tests. I received the repaired pants back at
the end of March. Since that time, I have used them day-hiking
and at Girl Scout camp in western West Virginia, at
elevations from around 600 to 1000 ft (200 to 300 m); at an
outdoor workshop in the eastern
mountains of West Virginia at elevations around 2500 ft (750 m), on
a 7 day trip on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail from
Springer Mountain to Unicoi Gap, where elevations ranged from around
2500 ft to
close to 4500 ft (750 to 1200 m), and on Snowshoe Mountain, West
Virginia at elevation
up to 4800 ft (1450 m). Trip temperatures have ranged
from around 30 F (0 C) to around 90 F (30 C), with the pants being
worn up to about 75 F (25 C). Conditions have ranged from sunny
to rainy, and from calm to breezy. Weight carried has varied from
little more than a half liter of water up to 37 lb (17 kg).
Use:
I've worn the Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants over a
combination of different bottom layers, including silk and mid-weight
base layers, nylon convertible hiking pants, and polyester
shorts. I also wore them a couple of times over briefs only while
doing some laundry at stops along the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and
once on a day-hike in West Virginia. Although the weather in
Georgia during my trip ended up being dry and mostly hot, I found them
ideal for wearing while I was doing laundry - they were light and
comfortable, warm enough but not overly hot, and decent looking enough
that I felt very comfortable wearing them to dinner at full service
restaurants in Dahlonega and Helen, Georgia. Although I didn't
hike with them along the trail, I felt this made them an especially
valuable item in my pack - rain gear multi-tasking as trail town
pants. I also appreciated the fact that they did not seem to
absorb odors either while wearing them or in my pack, so they always
stayed fresh smelling.
The most rain I experienced while using the pants was at Becoming an
Outdoor Woman, an outdoor workshop weekend where I helped teach
Leave-No-Trace outdoor ethics and canoeing, where it rained off and
on most of the day. "On" when we were teaching a workshop under a
shelter and
moving between workshops, "off" when we were canoeing. In spite
of
this, I did get to wear the pants in some fairly steady rain, and
they
performed well, keeping my nylon hiking pants perfectly dry underneath.
The last two weekends, I've had the chance to give the pants an
additional workout in the rain. While camping at a Girl Scout
event on Snowshoe Mountain, we had about an hour of steady rain.
The rain started out lightly, and I first pulled on the Big Sky
Products Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket that I have also been testing, but
soon found the rain increasing and my nylon hiking pants getting quite
wet from the water running off the jacket! So I added the
Warm-n-Cozy Epic Pants over them and found not only did they keep me
from getting wetter, but my nylon hiking pants soon dried underneath
the Epic Pants. I also used the Epic Pants the following weekend
for about 30 minutes at one of our local Girl Scout camps when I was on
parking detail in a moderate steady rain, and again found they did a
great job at keeping me dry. It was during these two events that
I came to really appreciate the full length zips, since I was already
outside, wearing hiking shoes when the rain started. I unzipped
the
top zipper pull down around mid-thigh level and brought the bottom
zipper pull up to
meet, then I had only to briefly step through a small circle of
fabric. This not only made it easy to keep the inside of the
pants cleaner, it made it easier to keep my balance without the need to
hold onto anything while pulling the pants on or off.
Final Conclusions:
I've found the Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants
comfortable over a variety of bottom layers, good looking and
comfortable enough to wear on their own, and reliable at shedding rain
or snow. The fabric seems to breathe quite well, and the full
length zippers add a venting option for warmer temperatures. Over
the course of the test, I've washed the pants about
3 times, using
warm water and my regular liquid laundry detergent, hanging them to
air-dry after washing. I've noticed no signs of wear
what-so-ever. The replacement zippers do seem to slide a little
easier than the original zippers, and don't require any more pressure
to operate than a normal non-water resistant zipper.
I've grown a little more used to packing the pants, and instead of
trying to fold them, I just gather them together, twist, and stuff them
in my pack or inside the pocket of the Warm-n-Cozy Epic Jacket.
They're light and easy to carry, packing down smaller than a 32 oz (1
L) Nalgene bottle.
One thing I don't like about the pants is the heavy snap at the ankle,
which I find very hard to open. I have to partially unzip the
pants at the ankle in order to grasp the fabric from both sides and
pull very hard in order to get the snap open, which I find moderately
annoying. I'd like to see a lighter weight, easier to operate
snap.
I also miss having pockets, but considering the light weight of the
fabric, the pants might droop or sag under the weight of the type of
items I usually carry in my pants pockets while hiking - a camera,
knife, snacks,
keys, and sometimes even a small platypus of water.
The versatility of the Big Sky Products Warm-n-Cozy Full Zip Epic Pants
has made them a valued addition to my pack, and I plan to continue to
bring them on all my backpacking trips as long as they hold up, which I
hope is many years.
Likes:
Light weight
Easy on and off
Nice feel to the fabric
Efficient at shedding water
Dislikes:
Ankle snap difficult to open
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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