Today I received my cuben / down pants and they look great.
My intended use of these is at camp and when sleeping for temperatures of 20F to around 0F. Ben was great to work with, and the pants are custom fit. After discussing the pants for a couple days I paid on November 10th and received the pants today the 18th.
Here is a picture of me wearing the pants, I asked for several inches of additional rise so I will get excellent overlap coverage with a jacket on. These may not be the height of fashion, but they are very warm!

Laid out flat and doubled over they measure 5.5-6" which indicates about 1.5" of single layer loft. Ben suggested upgrading to the 900 fill down and I asked that he use a little less. I think the vbl effect provided by the cuben will make these very warm.

The only way air can get in to loft the down is through the needle holes where it is sewn. The pants take a couple minutes to fully loft.

These pants use the .51 cuben which is very strong.
The noise is not a big deal, I don't think they are loud. Quieter than a plastic grocery bag.
Now I just need a matching jacket. :)