|
| Home | Guest - Not logged in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
» Register
» Login
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
» Contact
|
Reviews > Clothing > Pants and Shorts > Ibex Fall Line Pant > Coy Starnes > Field ReportIBEX Men’s Fall Line
Pant
Field Report January 30, 2006  Author collecting water while trying not to mess up his Fall Line pants
Tester Bio I live in North East Alabama. I enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities but backpacking is my favorite pastime. I enjoy hiking with friends and family or solo. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3-season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length. Product Information
Product Description The Ibex Fall Line pants are designed for winter, or more specifically, for individuals who are on the go in winter weather. The website suggests backcountry skiing and backpacking usage. From the IBEX website "The newest addition to our pant collection is this all-purpose piece for serious outdoor adventure. The Climawool® Cirrus softshell exterior keeps the elements where they belong. The fabric exterior consists of PTT (in the Lycra® family but much more durable and with stronger stretch recovery) and polyester. The interior is 100% eco-washed wool. Fully articulated knees and seat make this a form-fitting, stress-free companion wherever you go." The pants feature the afore mentioned Climawool® Cirrus softshell (PTT, Polyester exterior, 100% eco-washed wool interior). The pants are classically styled with a snap closure, belt loops and inside suspender loops. The waist has hidden elastic. There are four zippered pockets in the front and zero pockets in the back. The top pockets are slash style while the ones below these are almost square. Interestingly, the lower pocket on the right side is a lot deeper while the slash pockets on both sides are the same. All zippers except the fly have a small ribbon like pull-tab with the IBEX logo over a raised soft section to making it easy to grab the tab and work the zippers. The pants have articulated knees and seat. I can clearly see where four V-sections of fabric are removed at each knee which make the pants bend naturally toward the rear. The bottom (cuff) of the pants has elastic built in. There are adjustable drawcords, boot tie grippers (rubber like ring around inside cuff) and down loops at the inside cuff. Inside the pants are sewn on patches with information. One label gives care instructions and a breakdown of the fabric; 88% Polyester and 12% Wool. The Polyester is further broken down as PTT 65%, PTE 23%. This is not a laminate but rather a double weave. Field Testing Locations and Conditions During the past few months I have worn the Fall Line Pants on a 3-day hike as well as several more overnight hikes, both here in Northeast Alabama and Southern Tennessee. While hiking I have been rained on a few times and the temperatures have ranged from around 70 F (21 C) to a cool 17 F (-8 C). Trail conditions have varied from fairly mild to pretty wild (rocks moving underfoot, steep descents, blowdowns etc), and with rain, some have been muddy and slick. Field Test Results Describing my results is a little difficult for a couple of reasons. For one, these pants were really too warm for most of the times I wore them. It is difficult to be objective about the comfort of something when you are wishing for something cooler to wear. Second, while I found the pants were very comfortable when the temperatures were more appropriate, I always had this nagging feeling that the pants were made to fit a more athletically built person. They seemed a little tight on the front of my legs and sagged in the seat area. I'll start with the several times I wore the pants on short dayhikes and short overnighters on trails close to home. I found out quickly that unless it was below 40 F (4 C) these pants were not a good choice to wear and that they were more suited for even colder temps. I got them pretty soaked just from sweat on several trips back up the side of the mountain. On the plus side, the pants always dried out really fast and the wool was always comfortable with no itchiness. I also noticed that the pants actually felt a little better while I was walking downhill which leads to a minus. When walking uphill or even on flat ground the fabric felt like it was restricting my stride somewhat even though the fabric is very stretchy. I next wore the pants on an overnight hike to the Savage Gulf area in Tennessee. It was around 25 F (-4 C) and windy on the 6 mile (10 km) hike to my campsite. I wore a thin synthetic shirt and a thin wool shirt over that but wore the pants as my only lower body layer. The pants were just about perfect for this temperature. I wore the matching synthetic bottoms to bed so I left them on when I put the Fall Line pants back on for my hike back out. It was now down to 17 F (-8 C) but the pants kept my legs nice and toasty. I was a bit surprised that the front of my thighs where the pants fit fairly tightly did not get cold. I did not bring any more clothing for my lower half and I was a worried that I might not have enough clothes to keep my legs warm. Fortunately, the Fall Line pants proved to be more than adequate for the job. I also wore the Fall Line pants on another hike back at Savage Gulf. This was on a 22 mile (35 km) hike but unfortunately the weather was much warmer this time. It was about 45 F (7 C) when we started hiking the first morning and warmed into the mid 60's (18 C). As I feared, the pants started feeling hot by mid-morning when the temps started to warm a little. Still, I wore the pants for the entire 9 miles (14 km) hiked that day. The overnight low the first night was 41 F (5 C) but it quickly warmed up again on the second day. For the first 5 miles (8 km) I was fine but when we started the ascent out of the Gulf I felt like I was going to melt. It was already in the mid 60's (18 C) again and we had about 3 miles (5 km) of uphill walking ahead so I told my hiking partners to continue on while I made a quick change of clothes. The pants got a chance to rest for the next 6 miles (10 km) that day. The last morning was also warm at 51 F (11 C) so I decided to wear my shorts on the 2 mile (3 km) hike back to the car. Water Resistance One area that has really pleased me is the water resistance of these pants. I wore them in a few light showers and sat on wet logs and rocks several times. I even washed some mud off in streams several times while out hiking. Through all of this I don’t believe I ever felt any wetness work its way through the pants. Of course it is hard to say for sure because I was sweating in the pants on several of these same occasions. I do know that when I washed the pants off by splashing water up on the legs, the water would just bead up on the legs and did not soak through. Durability These pants are tough. During many of my dayhikes I wandered off trail and scratched and scrubbed my way through some pretty thick vegetation as well as climbing on jagged rocks etc. I got the legs pretty muddy several times and also wore some pretty good limestone marks on the seat and legs from sitting or climbing on rocks. The outer material is still in excellent condition with no picks or runs developing. Ease of Care  I had no trouble washing or drying the pants. I
usually washed them inside out in warm water along with some other wool
garments using Woolite detergent. I always hung them outside on
my deck to
dry. I have not observed any shrinkage. After the first
several washings all stains came right but upon washing them after my
last hike, there seemed to be a few white stains (I'm guessing from the
limestone) lingering mostly on the seat but also down on the legs,
where I must have scrubbed hard on limestone. I did get them wet
and muddy while filling my water bottles in a small cave like entrance
while
sitting on some wet limestone rocks. They later dried on me, and then
went another day and a half in my pack before I got home to wash
them. After seeing this, I decided to wash them a second time
with the outside of the pants facing out and in regular detergent
instead of Woolite. After drying I inspected them again and this
time the stains were gone and still no shrinkage. The pants also seemed
to not mind being washed without flipping them inside out as the sewn
on care instructions indicate. It is possible; even likely, that
it was not the orientation of the pants but rather the second washing
that did the trick. The picture on the left shows the kind of
limestone stain I was dealing with. I should mention that the
water around here is considered hard and I do not have a home water
softener system installed. A friend suggested that I might try
putting some white vinegar on the offending stains before washing to
get out the limestone stains. If I get them stained this bad
again I will give it a try. Overall Performance I am impressed most by the warmth of the pants. They are as light as a pair of jeans but much warmer. I am also pleased with the toughness of these pants. I expected the outer shell to hold more odor than it did but to my surprise, the pants were fairly easy on the nose after wearing them more than one day and with a lot of sweating going on. If I could change anything, it would be the cut of the pants. I sincerely believe they would work better for me if cut more like regular jeans. Maybe they are intended to be most comfortable in the slightly knee bent position of a skier. However, since the website suggests backcountry skiing and backpacking usage I expected them to be designed for both. As I mentioned previously, perhaps they are designed for someone more athletically built than me. Having said this, when I need some warm pants, these will do an excellent job. The fit is not that bad but worth mentioning. I will say that the tight fit on the front thigh area made the pockets which are all located in the front less usable. I could keep my comb there but anything like my wallet was not comfortable riding in any of the front pockets. Continued Testing. I will continue using the Fall Line pants as my primary hiking pants for as long as winter lasts. February is typically the coldest time of year in these parts and I plan to be out for more dayhikes, overnight trips and perhaps another multi day trip. I will record all trip locations, weather conditions and anything else, which has a direct bearing on the test or would be beneficial for understanding the way the pants are used. Stay tuned for my Long Term Report. Read more reviews of Ibex gear Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes Reviews > Clothing > Pants and Shorts > Ibex Fall Line Pant > Coy Starnes > Field Report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||