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Reviews > Clothing > Pants and Shorts > Ibex Fall Line Pant > Andy Mytys > Field Report
Tester's Biographical Information:
Backpacking Background: I live in Michigan and have been hiking seriously for 15 years, although I've camped since I was 6 years old. I consider myself a lightweight hiker. I carry the lightest gear I can get my hands on which will provide a comfortable wilderness experience and adequately support the goals of my trip. Unless my goals are time/distance oriented, my pace is always slow. I rarely exceed 1.5 miles (2.4 km)/hour. I rest frequently, hike long days, and enjoy whatever nature throws my way. Product Information:
Product Description: A pair of Polyester/Wool pants designed to support cold-weather, highly aerobic activities such as hiking and backcountry skiing.
Test Unit Description: The Ibex Fall Line Pants are designed with cold-weather, highly aerobic activities in mind. They fit into the "softshell" category of clothing - the fabric is lightweight, breathable, and highly weather-resistant. The interior lining of the pants is made up of 100% eco-washed wool, while the outside "shell" of the pants is Climawool® Cirrus softshell, essentially an 85% Polyester (65% PTT and 23% PET) and 12% wool blend. The result is a garment that is soft, stain resistant, and has some stretch to it. The knees and seat of the Fall Line Pants are fully articulated, and the crotch is gusseted. The cut of the pants is semi-fit for layering. The waist expands, thanks to four short lengths of elastic found at the front and rear of the pants. There are also belt loops sewn into the waistline, in addition to hidden suspender loops. The pants have a zip fly with a snap closure. The pants have four zippered pockets - two handwarmer pockets and two additional zip pockets, one at the side of each leg. Each pocket's zipper has a pull cord attached to it, with the end of the cord protected by a rubber cap - these caps have the Ibex company logo molded into them. When in the closed position the zipper pulls are shielded from the elements by a small awning, as seen in the image to the right. The lower pocket on the right leg has the Ibex logo sewn into it. The cuffs of the pants are elasticized, with adjustable draw cords and down loops along their insides. The down loops are located about 3 inches (75 mm) up from the bottom of the cuff, and have cord locks attached to them. When the shock cord is pulled, tightening the cuff of the pants around the leg or boot, its position can be held fast by the cord lock, with the excess cord stowed above the down loop. This system ensures that any excess shock cord is out of the way and unable to poke out the bottom of the cuff.
Field Conditions: The Ibex Fall Line Pants have been worn while dayhiking, pulling a sledge filled with winter gear during a four-day trip, on casual walks around town with my dog, and as everyday pants. Outside temperatures have ranged from 5 - 42 F (-15 - 6 C), while inside temperatures have hovered between 65 and 72 F (18 - 22 C). Trail conditions have varied. The pants have been subjected to periods of high winds, with gusts blowing at up to 30 MPH (50 KPH). The strongest winds I experienced were during times when temperatures were around 20 F (-6 C), bringing wind-chill temperatures under 0 F (-15 C). The pants have been worn while hiking in periods of both rain and snow, in addition to nice, sunny days and everything in between. During my four-day winter campout, I had to set up backcountry campsites, free-climb up steep embankments and cliff faces, and dig myself into a secure position while pulling sledges up steep angled terrain - all of these activities allowed me to experience using the Ibex Fall Line Pants in wet snow and other, less than ideal, conditions.
Impressions From the Field:
Fit: Generally speaking, the pants fit loose in the waist and tight along the hips and thighs. The seat of the pants is has a "generous" fit to it - everyone comments about how it looks as if I'm wearing a diaper underneath. The looseness in the waistline means that I have to either wear a belt or suspenders with the pants. I decided to take the suspenders route, as I like to have as little pressure around my stomach while hiking as possible. Worn without any support, I found that the pants had a tendency to slide down on my legs a bit, resulting in the angled corner at the rear of the pant legs slipping down behind my knees, which caused chafing to occur (it should be noted that I'm on the low end of the Ibex Fall Line Pants waist sizing for the size large being tested). On milder days, when I started out hiking with a heavy pair of gloves and a wool hat, I found the loose waistline to be a handy storage location for my hat and gloves and that, in adding a little padding between myself and the pants, they would stay up without the help of either a belt or suspenders. While I noticed a tight fit along the hips and thighs, I did not notice that my movement in the field was restricted as a result. In fact, I even hiked with various base layers worn underneath, from Capilene to simple cotton flannel pajama bottoms, and found that my walking pace remained unhindered. I found the 31-inch (79 cm) inseam of the pants to be a bit short for my tastes - on my long-legged frame, the cuffs came down to about my ankles.
Comfort: Assuming that I was wearing my suspenders, I found the pants to be extremely comfortable. The pants breathed exceptionally well and, even while trail running at the upper end of field temperatures (42 F or 6 C), I couldn't get my legs to sweat. I didn't have any sensitivity or "itch" issues with the 100% wool lining of the pants either.
Warmth: In terms of providing insulation, I found the Ibex Fall Line Pants to be warm down to about 25 F (-4 C). In colder temperatures, I found the need to wear a light base layer on my legs. The primary reason for this was that the pants, particularly where the fit was tight along the hips and thighs, became cold on their exterior. I could feel this coldness against my skin and conductive heat loss occurred. It should be noted that wearing the pants with a base layer allowed them to remain comfortable at an ambient temperature of 5 F (-15 C) and that, when worn with a complementary layer, the pants continued to breath well - I didn't feel overheated in the least, even as the day's temperatures climbed above freezing. When wearing the pants with trail runners, a second source of heat loss became the cuffs of the pants. As I mentioned above, the pant's short, 31-inch (79 cm) inseam meant that the cuffs fell down to about my ankles. While the elasticized cuffs do have a length of shock cord in them, tightened the cord around the cuff's 1-inch (25 mm) thick elastic band caused the cuffs to crumple and develop channels through which cold air and even snow was felt rushing inside. The issue with the cuffs disappeared when the pants were worn with boots that came up above the ankles - it was only when the pants were worn with below ankle trail runners and other low-cut footwear that the cuffs failed to keep drafts out. The Climawool® Cirrus softshell exterior of the pants is a winner in terms of blocking wind, shedding snow, and being water resistant. When hiking in wet snow and short periods or rain, the pants stayed dry. I didn't notice any "darkening" of the fabric due to their having "wet through." I only noticed the pants wetting through and becoming cold when water was applied to the pants with pressure, such as when kneeling in wet snow or mud while setting up my camp. However, the pants didn't seem to absorb and distribute water - the area that was pressed into direct contact with water became wet, while those areas where there was no pressure remained dry. Furthermore, once the pressure was released the pants were still warm, even around the wet area - I attribute this to the wool used to line the inside of the pants.
Dry Time: As mentioned above, the pants never really got wet to the point of "soaking through" and, even when the pants did become damp, they continued to insulate. As a result, the only time when I noticed a "discomfort" due to the pants being wet was when kneeling directly in wet snow or mud. Once the pressure was removed, the wet knees no longer felt cold, thanks to the pant's wool insulation. After an hour or so I would look down and notice that the pants were once again dry, presumably due to body heat. The pants also dried quickly when left folded in a pile overnight under my tarp. When I went to sleep, the knees of the pants were wet. When I awoke, the pants were dry. This occurred even when nightly temperatures ranged from 18 to 22 F (-8 to -5 C).
Utility: When I first examined the Ibex Fall Line Pants, I thought the smallest of the pockets to be sized too small for any real use. In the field, I found this pocket to be really great for holding small, infrequently used items that I wanted to have close, for one reason or another. This included holding my Leatherman "Micra" multi-tool, a mini-BiC butane lighter, a single spare car key, and some lip balm. The hip pockets were used to hold my OR Motion Fleece Balaclava and a pair of fleece gloves. I also used them for their intended purpose - warming the hands. I found that the handwarmer pockets worked fine for momentarily sheltering my bare hands from the wind and cold, but overall my legs didn't generate a sufficient amount of heat to keep my hands as comfortable as I would have liked - I found that the handwarmer pockets weren't a substitute for even my thinnest liner gloves. I haven't found myself using the largest of the pockets - the map pocket - yet. The maps I carry are accessed often, and the map pocket is narrow both in width and depth. In addition, the pants are form fitting, so the pocket lays tight against the skin and the pocket's zipper tends to press up against anything that sticks out of it. Rather than having to pull out my maps from this pocket and constantly fold and unfold them, I just store my maps in a large Zip-Loc bag and place that between my shell jacket and first insulating layer. I always have my jacket partially opened for ventilation purposes while I'm moving, so accessing a map stored in this way is fast and convenient. I have tried using both the map and handwarmer pockets to hold my main set of car keys, which are bulky due to the keyring holding other keys, in addition to my car's keyless access module. Due to the tight fitting nature of the pants, jagged and bulky items such as my car keys can be a source of discomfort while walking in the pants. Overall, I found the zipper pulls on the pockets to be handy at opening the pockets although, because the pants fit so tight, I really couldn't get into the pockets themselves if wearing gloves made of material thicker than say a 200 weight fleece.
Maintenance: The pants are real easy to wash. I have washed them in lukewarm water on a gentle cycle, inside out, using a mild detergent. My washer's spin cycle pushes enough of the water out of the pants so that afterwards, they are barely damp to the touch. When pulled out of the washer, the wool lining of the pants feels almost dry, and the shell is slightly damp. They dry out completely in a few hours when left hanging or lying out flat in room temperature. The pants even wash clean, without any special care, after being left in a corner lying covered in mud for a week or so. They get "the lazy man's" stamp of approval!
Durability: The Ibex Fall Line Pants have proven themselves to be one tough pair of pants. The first time I noticed their "toughness" was during a midnight hike with a group of friends. Headlamps were carried but left in our pockets, in favor of the natural lighting provided by the reflective white blanket of snow on the ground. While the trail was easy enough to pick up, a blizzard was falling around us and, in some areas, the trail became difficult to follow - large trees had fallen over the path, which in itself wasn't so much of a "trail" as much as an infrequently used route known to only a small group of local hunters and inquisitive hikers. As I advanced through the deep snow, my leg caught on a branch and was scraped. I could feel that the branch had broken through the skin, and that I was bleeding. If I hadn't witnessed it myself, I would have thought that the branch simply slid under the cuff of the pants and cut my leg. What I did see, however, was the branch digging into the outside of the pants, and my shin giving up skin inside. As for the pants themselves, they did not rip. In fact, there wasn't even a scratch on them. In addition to being durable, the material of the pants does not seem to attract hitchhikers such as seeds and burrs. On my four-day backcountry sledge trip, I found myself pulling the weight of the sled behind me, up hills and over downed trees, using two lengths of PVC piping attached to the front of the sled. I held the ends of the PVC in my hands, anchored on either side of my hips. I thought for sure that the friction caused by the PVC rubbing against the Ibex Fall Line Pants would cause a wear spot to appear on the pants, if not an outright hole. Instead, after hiking in this fashion for up to eight hours a day, the pants came out without a scratch. Overall, the pants look as they did when new, with absolutely no signs of wear to them.
Next Steps: Long-term testing will fall into late winter periods, which are typically characterized by a mix of mild and lingering cold temperatures. I'm sure to find myself in conditions that are both wet and cold, with snowmelt, rain, sleet, and high levels of humidity in the air. The insulating, wicking, and moisture management characteristics of the pants are sure to be put to the test, and my final report will comment on the results. Read more reviews of Ibex gear Read more gear reviews by Andrew Mytys Reviews > Clothing > Pants and Shorts > Ibex Fall Line Pant > Andy Mytys > Field Report | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
