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Integral Designs Denali Pants
Field Report - January 6, 2004
Contents
Reviewer Information [return to top]
Name: Chuck Kime
Nickname: Fuzzy
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8" (1.72 m)
Weight: 229 lb (104 kg)
Waist: 40” (102 cm)
Hips: 46” (117 cm)
Inseam: 30-32” (76-81 cm), depending on shoes
Email address: ckime AT nelsononline DOT com
City, State, Country: Norwood (Philadelphia suburb), PA, U.S.A.
Date: January 6, 2004
Product Information [return to top]
Manufacturer: Integral Designs
Model: Denali Pants
Year of Manufacture: 2003
URL: http://www.integraldesigns.com
Listed weight, pants: 1 lb 3 oz (535 g)
Measured weight (size XL, standard length): 1 lb 3.2 oz (544 g), scale accurate to 0.1 oz
Listed weight, stuff sack: 0.7 oz (20 g)
Measured weight: 0.6 oz (17 g)
Color: Black (other colours by request)
Other Colors Available (per catalog): Red, Cobalt (blue), Teal (green)
MSRP: $130 USD
Features (from web site) [return to top]
- Insulated with single layer of 4oz Primaloft Sport (0.8" loft)
- Pertex P565 ripstop microfibre shell fabric
- Pertex microlight taffeta inner lining (black)
- Fully separating YKK # 5 vislon leg zippers with inside weather flap and anti snag webbing
- Elasticised waist with front drawcord and side velcro adjustments
- Front fly / belay ziip
- Supplied with Silcoat stuff sack
Description [return to top]
The Denali pants appear to be a basic pant design, having a wide elastic waistband with an internal (front) drawstring and large hook-and-loop tabs at each side. There is a fly/belay zipper in front, allowing the wearer to answer the call of nature or to access his or her climbing harness for belaying. Running down the outside seam on each leg is a fully separating 2-way zipper with a webbing-reinforced storm flap on the inside. The bottom cuff is nearly as wide as the waistband, with a short section of elastic to keep it from slipping down over the wearer’s footwear, even if the pants are too long. Included with the pants was a grey Silcoat stuff sack, marked as a size Small. For a more detailed description, please see my Initial Report.
Field Testing [return to top]
Our Boy Scout troop camps monthly. Almost all of these outings include a minimum of 2 nights of camping, with temperatures expected to be from lows around 25 to 30 ºF (-4 to –1 ºC) to highs around 95 to 100 ºF (35 to 38 ºC), although I don’t expect it to be this warm during the testing period for these pants. Elevations will range from sea level to approximately 2,000 ft (610 m). We have had two cold-weather trips on our schedule so far this winter: Thanksgiving weekend (last weekend in November), and a Winter Survival campout held the first weekend in January. Temperatures last year for these events were perfect for testing insulated clothing, with Thanksgiving weekend ranging from a low of 23 °F to a high of about 43 °F (-5 to 6 °C) outside – maxing out at 50 °F (10 °C) indoors – and Winter Survival ranging from a low of 21 °F to a high of about 31 °F (-6 to 0 °C). All of these events generally involve a significant amount of time spent just standing around, watching and/or supervising the boys. Temps this year were comparable (if not slightly colder) for Thanksgiving, but unseasonably warm in January, with daytime highs between 50 and 60 °F (10 – 15 °C). I have only had opportunity to wear the pants on the November trip so far, as it has been far too warm around here lately, although the weatherman says that’s about to change drastically – yippee! – later this week. The pants were easy to put on, and comfortable to wear (over shorts), although they are – as I suspected – about 4 in (10 cm) too long. I wore them for several hours while guiding the boys through a compass course in damp, blustery conditions, and found myself to be very comfortable. There was no noticeable wind penetration through the zippers, and no irritation to my legs from the zippers or the lining of the pants.
I am currently trying to talk the troop into attending the Valley Forge Pilgrimage and Encampment in February, where conditions are historically (pun only slightly intended) as bad as when George Washington was there over 200 years ago, generally with a fair amount of snow on the ground, if not actually falling during the event. This should be an excellent test of the Denali pants.
Things I am/will be looking for:
- Fit. Do they fit me? I am not tall, and my height is mostly torso, so my inseam is shorter than the average for my size (that’s a nice way of saying I could stand to lose some weight). Do they move well with me? Do they fit (while wearing) in my sleeping bag with me?
- Zippers. Do the zippers work smoothly? Does the anti snag webbing work as intended? Can I actually get the pants on while wearing my boots without a great struggle?
- Fabric. Is the Pertex durable (I have no prior experience with the fabric)? Does it stretch? Does it fade? Is it windproof? Waterproof? Does it pill, pull, or snag readily?
- Warmth. How cold can it get and still keep me warm? How much warmth do they add to my sleep system?
- Packability. How packable are the pants? I will attempt to pack the Denalis as part of my load in/on (preferably in) my Deuter Futura 32. At 10 in x 5 in (25 cm x 12.5 cm), it shouldn’t be too difficult.
- Washability. Are the instructions easy to follow? Do they dry well? Do they hold much dirt in the first place?
- Stuff sack. How well do the pants fit in it? How do they look when they come out?
My findings so far:
- Fit. The pants are, as expected, about 4 in (10 cm) too long for me. If I were to order the pants for myself again, I would order them with a 30 in (76 cm) inseam, instead of the standard 34 in (86 cm). They are very soft and fluid to wear, moving quite well with me.
- Zippers. The zippers work well, opening fully with no difficulty for getting the pants on over my boots. The anti snag webbing seems to work as intended.
- Warmth. The Denali pants kept me warm – in shorts underneath – in damp temperatures just above freezing. I believe I could go colder with no problems. I have not yet slept in the pants, due to the warmth of the season so far, but they do make a fabulous pillow when in the stuff sack.
- Packability. These pants not only fit easily into the included stuff sack, but can be compressed to less that half of their original volume with no difficulty.
- Washability. They haven’t gotten dirty yet, but the instructions seem pretty straightforward.
- Stuff sack. The pants roll to a size that slips right into the stuff sack, and come out looking pretty much the same as they did when they went in.
Things I like [return to top]
- Soft.
- They go on over my boots.
- Well made.
Things I don't like [return to top]
- A bit snug at first. Time will tell how functional the fit is.
- A bit long on me. I will be attentive to any specific issues with the length.
Backpacking Background [return to top]
I started car/trailer camping with the family when I was about 5. I enlisted in the Army Reserve during my first year of college and spent 17 years fine-tuning my packing methodology - by the time I separated from the service, I was down to what I thought was a respectable 75-80 lb (34-36 kg) load. When my son started Cub Scouts, I brought my 60 lb (27 kg) ALICE pack for a weekend. We got to Boy Scouts in the Spring of 2002 and now camp monthly in locations ranging from the Chesapeake Bay area (flat and lightly wooded) to the Pocono Mts (flat spots hard to find and very wooded), in all seasons.
Lightweight (and ultralightweight) sites, along with a day hike up Pikes Peak in July 2003, have led me to seriously rethink my gear choices. I plan to start doing more hiking/backpacking on our monthly scout trips, taking along as many scouts as are willing, to a) get in shape (yeah, yeah, I know… round IS a shape), and b) determine what I really need to take along. I am relatively confident that I will be able to reduce my 3-season pack to 20 lb (9 kg), before food, fuel and water, by the time this season is over.
Thank you for your time.
Chuck Kime
a.k.a. Fuzzy
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