fleece pants

[Benjamin Smith]

I have a trip planned at high elevation, and I expect temperatures in the low 20’s at night. I have a warm bag, so nights won’t be an issue, but it’s going to be a relatively low-mileage trip, so there will be a good bit of standing/sitting around time. I use a pair of basic shell pants for hiking – what do you folks recommend for a base layer, or if you feel additional insulation is needed, what would you recommend? I’m an ultralighter (sub 9 pounds so far – 4 of it on my sleeping bag) on an ultralight budget (less than $50 spent so far – lol), so walmart/target suggestions are always welcome, as well as the tips on higher-end gear.

Ben

[David Bonn]

Kind of depends on your metabolism. For me I’d probably go with midweight polypro long underwear or tights under wind pants. Fleece pants are generally (for me) either winter camp wear or what I put on in the car after a long sweaty ski tour (for me, usually the coldest part of a ski trip is sitting in the car after five or six hours on a ski tour — the combination of being satisfactorily whipped and then inactive (in clammy wet clothes) usually generates a bout of uncontrolled shivering).

I got an excellent pair of Patagonia Fleece pants (with side zips) for about $15 (maybe an 80% mark-down) at a ski shop. Golly knows why they had it in the first place but they were trying to clear out inventory. If you are trying to run cheap, prowling lots of outdoor stores. Outfitters in “recreation” communities have very limited shelf space, and have to clear inventory out one way or the other at the end of a season. A lot of determined prowling is a good way to save some money.

[Benjamin Smith]

Yeah, San Antonio is not great for prowling, I have learned. I hear great stories from some people about scoring Patagonia/Montbell/etc. gear at Goodwill stores, but unfortunately, for me, they will remain merely stories… thanks for the thoughts on fleece. I suspected that they might have been overkill, but wasn’t sure – I’ll likely see colder temps at Wheeler Peak NM than I will all year here in south Texas.

Ben

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