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Integral Designs Denali Pants
Long Term Report - April 9, 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: Upper Darby (Philadelphia suburb), PA, U.S.A.
Date: April 9, 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. Throughout the testing period, almost all of these outings included a minimum of 2 nights of camping, with temperatures around 21 to 31 ºF (-6 to 0 ºC) when I wore the pants. Elevations ranged from sea level to approximately 2,000 ft (610 m). We only had two cold-weather trips this winter: Thanksgiving weekend (last weekend in November), and a Winter Survival campout held the first weekend in January. These events generally involve a significant amount of time spent just standing around, watching and/or supervising the boys, something which these pants are quite suited for. I have not had opportunity to wear the pants much, as it has been rather warm around here this winter, but I did manage to investigate some of my concerns.
Overall, I have been happy with the Denalis, although I would probably go up one size and definitely get them in a shorter (custom) length to better fit my proportions.
Things I was 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 Gregory Z Pack. 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:
- 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. I would consider moving up one size, for a bit more ease in getting them around my mid-section, but they are workable at the current size. Since my Field Report I have worn the pants in my sleeping bag to determine fit and found sufficient room and ease of movement.
- 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 slept in the pants, due to the warmth of the season, but they do make a fabulous pillow/neck roll 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. The mud I managed to get on the lowest parts of the legs pretty much brushed off after drying. I would have had less mud to deal with had the pants not been so long and bunched around my ankles.
- 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. If I were a little more limber, and a little less... ummm... sizable, I would not have as much difficulty getting the pants on. I don’t think this is the Denalis’ fault.
- A bit long on me. My only issue with this has turned out to be the excessive bunching around the ankles, which has resulted in two issues. These issues should be alleviated with pants of an appropriate length:
- Tendency to get much more of the pant leg muddy in nasty weather, as there is more pant leg near the shoes
- No way to wear my gaiters over the Denalis without a huge amount of excess material at the top of the gaiters
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) web 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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