I was wondering if anyone had used arm and leg warmers in place of tights for fringe season backpacking. I already use a pair of pearl izumi arm warmers along with a short sleeve shirt and I really like the way they perform.

My main concern was slippage of the leg warmers over time while hiking. Does anyone use a pair? Any tips for keeping them up?

Hello,
I use a pair of wool arm warmers in the Fall and Spring as well. They work wonderfully as long as they are super tight or they fall down. I also tried knee warmers but did not have great results. They constantly fell which was super annoying so I ended up just taking them off. I cannot say I recommend them. BUT if you are just going to use them in camp or to sleep in, they do the trick and save weight.

I just got back from Mt. Shasta where I found out at 5* that my old sleeping bag has lost some of its warmth. Fortunately I had a primaloft jacket with arms that zip off. My core was warm but my legs where freezing. I zipped the arms off and put them over my legs, I was actually able to get a little shut eye with this method.

I have never tried anything while hiking but maybe sewing a loop to the warmers like Jonathan describes could be of help. I am thinking rain chap style

for reference, a link to some rain chaps...

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=77&osCsid=85d7d37dd844927ac01d3287930d4c2e

My wife and I have also tried our Pearl Izumi (cycling) leg warmers for hiking. Hers work. Mine slip too much.

I'll probably build a solution when the weather cools. I intend to put a couple buttons at the top of the warmer and button holes in the cuff of shorts. Or string loops from the inside of the waist band (somewhat like a garter belt) could attach to the buttons. The task should take slightly longer than writing this post.

update: I ripped the top hem and unrolled to uncover the elastic. Better grip and extended to a better spot on the leg.

Edited by tippymcstagger on 11/07/2008 16:27:54 MST.

I made my own from an old tight fitting Polar Tech PowerStretch shirt. After some frustration with the arms slipping down, I sewed a small piece of Velcro to the top of each arm. This helped a great deal but has not completely solved the slippage problem. I'm thinking about adding some sort of yoke to them perhaps with a button or snap attachment so the yoke is removable. The yoke itself will be the old crew collar plus some shoulder fabric from the original donar shirt.

I've never used leggings. Seems like they'd be trouble. I like tights better.

Peter

I love the idea of buttons on the leg warmers and button holes on my shorts. I really think this is a great solution to the issue of slipping which was my only hold back from going with this instead of tights. The way I see it I've saved around 3 oz's and gained a lot of mobility. I'll put a button in the back and one in the front. Since I usually hike in conv. pants I can put a button hole in very easily without effecting the performance of the pants in any way.

My Ibex wool arm-warmers are among the most versatile garments in my outdoor wardrobe. My arms are proportionally short for my torso, so instead of tops with too-long sleeves, for all but winter I wear a short-sleeve top and arm-warmers. Arm-warmers work particularly well with vests. This combination gives you more options than a sweater or a fleece jacket for locating the ventilation/warmth sweet spot during aerobic activity. Ibex makes them in 4 sizes, so you have a good chance of finding a good fit.

First post on this forum, after following it for months.

I use 2-safety pins for each.

If running, I pin them to the inner leg liner. For hiking, I pin them to the inside of pant/short leg.

For the arms, just pin to the sleeve.

I have used arm warmers. They work well. But they are a lot heavier than they ought to be.

Back in the day before I knew about convertable pants
I always used the wool arm/leg warmers from my bike touring kit. The arms always stayed up, but the leggings would work their way down in fairly short order, a result of the hiking shorts being loose at the hem rather than tight like cycling shorts. The first time out with them I used safety pins from my repair kit to hold them up; later I sewed on elastic bands around the top and applied some silicone stripes for grip. At the time the light weight was appreciable (215 g); however, comparing them to the zip-off legs of convertables (175 g), not so much. For shoulder season though they can be a useful addition when the temperature can drop 15-20 F in half an hour because of an approaching front and worth the extra weight for the comfort.

Edited by TarasBulba on 06/06/2009 13:31:11 MDT.

I bought a fleece sweater from the thrift store and cut off the arms. I put an elastic drawstring on the large ends. I can use them as arm warmers or as leg warmers or even as sleeping socks if I cinch up the drawstring at my toes. This has turned out to be a really good addition to my kit. Lighter than the bicycle ones and lighter than my old wool sleeping socks. I can use them as a pillow when not needed. 4 uses.