Usage:
- 3 day camping trip, Western Washington -intermittent rain
- 3 day camping trip, Bend Oregon, ~3600’ (1100m) -hot and dry
- 3 day camping trip, Prosser Washington (Beer and Whisky Festival), 720' (220m) warm and dry
- 2 night backpack, Bumping Lake trail , 3500 (1000m)- warm and dry
- 2 night Pacific Crest Trail scouting, central Washington ~5500’ (1700m) – warm, intermittent wind/fog, deep snow on trail
One
of the things I like best about gear testing is when my expectations do
not match the reality of a product and this is one of those cases.
I
want to say the Fjallraven Greenland pants don’t fit well, are too
stiff, too heavy, and being cotton are unsuited to back country
travel…I want to say all that, but I can’t.
The fit of these pants
are rather different from any jeans I have ever worn, and while it took
me a bit to get used to it, I have to say they are really comfortable.
Comfortable enough to sleep in, which I have done. They are loose
(bordering on baggy) where they need to be (in the seat, around the
knees, etc), to allow for free movement during my hiking and everyday
activities, and yet they fit where they should. Also the thickness of
the material plus the tight weave make them great when encountering
sharp rocks/branches, and even thorns. I have experienced scratches and
cuts through my normal thin hiking pants, but these pants are more like
a form or armor when it comes to some of the trail hazards I encounter.
While these pants are thicker and heavier than what I normally wear for
hiking, I am finding them to be quite wind resistant helping me stay
warm while still breathable so they are not as hot as I would have
expected. The added weight has been totally unnoticeable and offset by
the features.
I want to say the leg pocket being in the front
rather than the side of the leg is annoying and results in any large
object in the pocket (e.g. my phone) rubbing while I walk as I expected
it to, but again I can’t. Now that I have used these, I am finding that
placement to work quite well and is easy to access regardless of if I
am standing or sitting, and is quite comfortable even with a heavy item
like my phone.
I
want to repeat the common phrase “Cotton Kills” but at least in regards
to these pants can’t really say that for sure either. During my first
overnight with the pants, while I did not encounter any rain, I was
camped by a lake, and between normal camp chores and playing with my
dog I did manage to spill/splash water on the pants a few times.
Much of the water simply ran off and some soaked in, but they seemed to
dry rather quickly (more quickly than I would expect from a cotton
blend), and as evening came on with a cold breeze while I had to put on
a long sleeve shirt and puffy, my legs stayed quite warm protected by
only these pants.
I will note that I have worn 5 pocket jeans
from a few manufacturers and one common factor I have found is that the
small watch pocket is more cosmetic than functional. I am finding the
watch pocket in the Greenland jeans to be looser and maybe larger,
making them totally functional and it works quite well for my keys,
making them easier to access as well as keeping them separate from the
other objects in my pocket (which more often than not primarily
consists of dog treats).
Between my first and second overnight
outing with these pants I purchased some of the Fallraven Greenland wax
and applied it per the instructions printed in the pants. I found it
more difficult than I had expected to apply the wax. The block was hard
and I had to use significant force to get what I thought was an
adequate amount of the wax on the material, and in the process had to
deal with the material wrinkling constantly. I would note that it was
rather cool in the room during the application (~73F/23C) and I plan to
try treating the pants again after warming the wax some. I used a
standard hair drying to melt the wax into the material and when I was
done could not really see any visible difference. But this is not a
review of the wax so this is just some additional information. On my
second overnight trip, I did not notice any significant difference in
regards to warmth or wind resistance of the material. I did not manage
to get the pants wet, despite all the snow, so I am not sure yet how
effective this treatment was in regards to water resistance.
I
ordered the product based on my normal size (US 36) and found the pants
to fit quite snug, so I had to order a larger size (US 37) which seem
to fit well. These only come in one inseam length so I will have to get
them hemmed.
