Companion forum thread to:

Make Your Own Gear - Trousers

Edited by bugbomb on 12/27/2007 10:51:32 MST.

Roger,

Sweeeeeeeet.

Have you ever sown integrated gaiters into a pair of trousers? If you have, some details on that would be fantastic...I can see myself making some great winter Rogaining pants here.

Nice work,

Adam

Hi Adam

> Have you ever sown integrated gaiters into a pair of trousers?
No, never tried that. Our gaiters for the Blue Mountains have to be moderately heavy - like 500 denier Cordura, and that seemed a bit heavy to attach to the much lighter Taslan fabric.

Xmas Cheers

Yep, they need to be at least that heavy for here aswell-heavier (or tighter weave) mainly if you are going into spinifex country.

I can see your point though. Might be easier to just make some 3/4 pants.

Sweet!!!

Thanks!

I googled Taslan Pants and could only find one online source:

http://www.bicycleclothing.com/Patrol-Wind-Pants-Unisex.html

Are there any other sources? I'd love to find one that lets you order waist and inseam customized, rather than the fixed inseam for a waist size (which forces me to have them tailored shorter then).

Hi Roleigh

The inspiration for mine were some 'Rockovers' made by Macpac. They looked very similar.
But Macpac went fashion market a couple of years ago and now their trousers now look like everyone else's trousers.

Apart from that ... dunno of any.

Roleigh -

Check out Railriders for some very durable Taslan pants. Their pants are used almost exclusively by some of the top adventure racers. They also have an excellent set of testimonials from thru hikers and "regular joes" alike on their Web site. Two of my favorites are the:

Extreme Adventure Pant

Weatherpant

Hi Sam

> Check out Railriders for some very durable Taslan pants.

I have tested the Railriders Extremes and Backcountry pants (I think that's right). Both very tough pants.

First of all, the fabric is NOT Taslan imho. It is quite different and far more drafty. If draft is what you want (like in hot weather), that's fine. But it does let the dust through rather more. Yes, the fabric is pretty robust.

The metal stud at the top of the front zip fights with the belt buckle and with my pack hipbelt buckle. I shall have to remove it.
The zips at the back fight with my hipbelt and with my hip-bones too.
The Extremes are heavier than mine.
The Railriders design seems to drag at my knees a bit more.

I haven't tried the Weatherpants. They are lighter. Could be interesting.

But what else is there on the market? So I made my own.
ymmv.

Cheers

(which forces me to have them tailored shorter then)

Roleigh,

I can probably offer you a good deal on a classic Singer sewing machine. You could even buy some taslan, order a Thru-hiker wind pants kit for your size (and use the Thru-hiker fabric for other gear if the MYOG bug bites you:-)

> First of all, the fabric is NOT Taslan imho.

I made my statement about the Railriders being Taslan based on product information provided by the manufacturer and not my personal experience with the fabric.

This thread is referring to where to purchase Taslan pants but I would insert a plug for the toughest pair of pants I've owned (Railriders aside as I've only recently acquired them and have yet to put them to the test), the Arc'Teryx Palisade pant. The pants are very lightweight, minimal and extremely durable. In 1200 miles of very tough hiking I only put one rip in them. I repaired them and finished the hike with no other tears.

http://www.arcteryx.com/product.aspx?Palisade-Pant

I've found Railriders' Weather Pants to be excellent for three-season backpacking. They're tough and comfortable.

Weather Pants listed at Railriders website are in a flat front version, rather than the pleated front version that has apparently been discontinued. Too bad, since I don't like the flat version nearly as much as the pleated ones. Nevertheless, so far at least, I believe the flat front version is still a very good hiking pant -- just not as comfortable as the old pleated version.

As for cold and windy conditions, the Weather pants plus Ibex woolie bottoms & GoLite Whims (or Reeds) are right up there with the cat's pajamas.

I recently purchased the winter version of the Weather Pants, but haven't put them to use yet. With additional ply as described by Railriders, the Winter Weather pants appear to have only a bit more "body structure" than the regular version although they weigh a few ounces more. (For some reason, considering the extra material for the pleat, my old pleated version of the Weather pants weighs a few ounces less than the current flat-front style.)

Note: Railriders' winter sale at railriders.com is now underway, with price reductions for certain sizes/colors of Weather Pants (both regular and winters versions) & Extreme Adventure pants. The Adventure Tops and Eco-Mesh Shirts are also at reduced prices.

JRS

Good article for do-it-yourselfers. I also make my own gear.
Pockets with contents below the hips restrict motion and create waste energy. Your thighs, your strongest and most energy consuming muscles expend energy to thrust the weight forward, rearward and upward against gravity.
Cargo pocketed pants are the worst energy waste offenders.
If you don't care about wasting energy than using pockets for storage doesn't matter. I only use pockets on purchased pants for carrying a piece of paper towel to blow my nose.

SBS

Edited by sbsteele on 01/15/2008 09:37:42 MST.

Hi Stuart

> Pockets with contents below the hips restrict motion and create waste energy. ... Cargo pocketed pants are the worst energy waste offenders.
Well, I have to agree about the cargo pockets - fashion gimmick imho.
As to the deep pockets on these trousers - I make them deep so things can't fall out, but in truth all I normally carry in them is a handkerchief.
So I have to agree.

The best pants I had for backpacking in the summer were made of a cotton/nylon blend and were convertible. They were thin, and cool and they dried in minutes.

I bought them at Target about 8 years ago. I haven't been able to find a similar pair since.