Personal Information
Name	Mike Lipay
Age	51
Gender	Male
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	185 lbs (83.9 kg)
Email	hiking AT westernpa DOT us
City, State	Plum, Pennsylvania
Background	I've been hiking and backpacking with the Boy Scouts since the '60s, although currently I hike more solo, with my kids, or as a trail guide for a local outdoor group. I am no ultralight backpacker, my pack (external frame) weighs 29-40 lbs (13-18 kg) loaded (not including food), though I am always on the look out for ways to cut down on the weight. I'm a low-techie, preferring a hiking staff to trekking poles, compass to GPS, fire to fuel; but I do carry some techie stuff as well, recently switching over to a digital camera from film, and an UV sterilizer from a filter pump.

Description
Date Arrived	April 20, 2006	Image from GoLite
Manufacturer	GoLite
Year of Manufacturer	2006
Website	www.GoLite.com
MSRP	$70.00 USD
Warranty	GoLite stands behind its products. We will replace any gear with a manufacturing defect for the lifetime of the product, free of charge. If a product fails to perform as advertised, return it for a repair, replacement or refund. Damage due to wear and tear will be repaired at a reasonable charge to the user.
Mfgr. Specs from website	Model: Whim Pants Size: Large Weight: 4 oz (110 g)
Personal measurements	Model: Whim Pants Size: Large Weight: 3.9 oz (111 g)

Field Usage
Commentary	Unfortunately, due to an excessively long dry period there has been only on additional opportunity to test the capabilities of the GoLite Whim Pants, although I have carried them with me on every trip, day and overnight. Below are the details of my last actual usage of the Whim pants, followed by notes on carrying them on the additional trips.
Date of Test	July 30, 2006
Length of Trip	Day trip
Weather	81° - 87° F (27° - 30° C); hot, humid, occasional storms.
Location	Ohiopyle, Pa.
Field Test	I was leading a day-hike along the river trail at Ohiopyle, a white-water rafting area in SW Pennsylvania. The trail parallels the river, and we took the opportunities to scramble down the hillside to watch the rafters shoot the rapids. The day presented scattered showers throughout, combined with the splashing from the rapids and wet boulders to sit on, I had plenty of opportunities to use the GoLite Whim Pants. At the three-mile (4.8 km) point of this 12-mile (9.3 km) hike it started to rain, lightly at first but why wait for the heavy stuff? I took a few moments to remove the GoLite Whim Pants and put them on over my regular hiking pants. The rain picked up quickly and within two minutes I was in the middle of a heavy shower. The shower passed quickly, so five minutes later I was removing the Whim pants and continuing the hike in my dry hiking pants, sadly the storm did nothing but increase the humidity. At 11:30 AM we reached our lunch stop, the second of the areas where we dropped down the hill side to watch the rafters -- what better way to eat lunch than watching people being tossed out of a raft into the rapids? As one would expect in this situation there wasn't a dry spot to be found to sit and enjoy lunch, so I donned my Whim Pants, found a nice boulder to watch from, and enjoyed lunch watching the rafters. Along with the wet rocks there was plenty of backsplash from the river that would normally have soaked my pants. While the GoLite Whim Pants kept my hiking pants nicely dry, sitting out on in the full sun in black pants I got quite hot, and my hiking pants became wet from the inside. Around 3:00 PM, which was shortly before wrapping up the hike, we started to hear thunder. Not desiring to take a chance I put the Whim Pants back on and continued the hike. By this point the temperature had reached it's peak (87°F, 30°C), as had the humidity; the combination of the two, and the lack of breathability of the Whim Pants, made this portion of the test very uncomfortable. While the rain never made it before we arrived at our vehicles the sweat from the hiking, heat, humidity, and the Whim's was enough to saturate my hiking pants from the inside.
Remaining Test Period
Observations	As stated earlier I have not had any additional opportunities to wear the GoLite Whim Pants, but I have carried them on every outing. The Whim Pants pack nicely into their back pocket, which then fits into any pants pocket. While carrying them hasn't been any real effort, considering their low weight, they do pack into a bit of a bulky package. Depending on the size of the pocket I carried them in there were times when they were uncomfortable to carry, or got in the way of other things I carried in my pockets. Since the Whim Pants don't fit over my hiking shoes, requiring me to sit down and remove my pack anyway, I got into the habit of carrying the Whims in my emergency pocket in my daypack or backpack. Other than that I had no real problem carrying the Whim Pants.
Ratings and Personal Observations
Observations	GoLite has a fine product in the Whim Pants, and I would be more than happy at purchasing a pair for emergencies. Even through all of the packing and unpacking they show no signs of wear; they have held up to minor run-ins with thorn bushes with no real signs of tears (I'm sure a close inspection would turn up tiny holes from the thorns). They have blocked the wind, and every level of rain from drizzle to storms, without failure.
	Extremely light-weight (approx. 4 oz (110 g) Rugged material that resists tears from thorns Packs into an integrated pocket (nothing additional to carry) Windproof, highly rain resistant
	Not very breathable, which allowed moisture build-up from the inside Leg openings are too small to fit over hiking boots Black material absorbs heat from the sun, causing legs to sweat while hiking Bulky when packed into it's pocket
Final Notes	I would like to make two suggestions, first is going with a lighter color pants (perhaps as an option), while the black might work out fine in cold weather, the black color makes the Whims almost worse than nothing in the heat of the summer. The second suggestion is to make the stowing pocket slightly larger, perhaps an additional inch (2.5 cm) all around; this would decrease the bulk and make them more comfortable to carry in pants pockets.

Thanks to GoLite, along with BGT, for giving me the opportunity to test the Whim Pants.

Read more reviews of GoLite gear
Read more gear reviews by Mike Lipay

Long Term Report

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