Goosefeet down pants

No experience yet. I am 4 weeks into the 10 week lead time. Also looked at Montbell as well as Borah but felt that the GF was the best value.

I got the Borah ones last year. They are really, really nice, for what they are, and getting them custom sized is golden. But the cut is a it too "low-cut jeans" style to be perfect. Yeah it saves weight but on an item like this I rather have a bit higher waist. I you go with Borah then maybe ask them for 2 inches more in the distance between the crotch and the waist if you think you would feel the same about the issue.

I hope its not because my ass is just too big – do these puffy pants make my ass look big? :-o

Mark,

I had the same issue with my Borah pants, I felt they needed at least another inch in the back.

My wife and I both have Goosefeet Down pants. I think they were the first two pairs Ben made. They are good highly functional pieces. The sewing wasn't quite at mainstream standards, but they're solid. More importantly, the warmth:weight ratio is much better than the Montbell pants. Down pants are really only useful when you're hanging around camp, and in this regard the warmer the better. The Goosefeet pants are a great size because you can layer them under your hiking pants for protection.

In terms of sizing, I'm sure Ben has refined things a bit since our pairs. I found the inseam a little short and the waist a little high on the first pair, so I requested the second pair a couple inches longer with a bit less waist height and that pair is a perfect fit. Ours weigh 7.3oz and 7.1oz.

Dan,

I read about your issues on another thread. Sounded like Ben fixed that. How much fill did you use?

I'm pretty sure they're 3oz. So 42% down by weight which is awesome. That's similar to Borah's 30D pants (43%) but not as good as Borah's 10D pants.

In my view, down pants are a pretty good application for a lightweight nylon shell fabric because you'll usually have more durable hiking pants along anyways which can worn over top when you're not in bed. When you get into using heavier fabrics the weight quickly shoots up (ie. Western Mountaineering Flight pants with 4oz down out of 12.5oz total weight) and suddenly you can't justify the weight outside of true winter use.

So the Borah and Goosefeet pants seem pretty similar. If you really want 10D then go Borah, otherwise choose whoever gives you the best fit or customer service. The Montbell pants aren't nearly as warm for a similar weight, and the WM pants are just too heavy.

I absolutely love my GFG down pants! This is my second year to use them, and I love them more and more each time I take them out with me.

Mine have 3.5 oz of down fill, and weigh 6.1 oz total. They are Nobul 1 (gray) inner & Nobul 2(black) outer (Nobul material is 10D, which used to be “8D.”). I will admit though, the inner leaks down a bit more than I would like, but not bad enough for me to feel like I am losing enough down to really matter. If I were to order it again though, I would go with Nobul 2 for both the inner and outer. (Also, I have heard some good things about the Argon material the Dutch sells, but don’t think that Ben uses it.)

Anyway, I highly recommend them, and dare I say over the MB and even the WM down pants for no other reasons than you can choose exactly what materials you want, how much down you want, and even get them custom fit, all for roughly the same price as the others. (When I got mine they were $160, which was actually less expensive than the other options…)

Edit to add:

Dan makes a good point about using lightweight materials in down pants… The colder weather that warrants me to carry my down pants also warrants me to carry my rain pants (otherwise I just carry a rain kilt), which are Driducks (read: oversize). At camp, before crawling into my bed, I will wear my rain pants over the down pants, which will protect the pants, and even help with a little extra warmth… So, no need for heavier/tougher materials… Now, if I were in conditions that I needed to wear them while hiking…

I love my Borah down pants, only problem is I went with the 32 inch seem and they are way too tight in my crotch area. My next pair will be with a 34 inseem, so I will be dumping the pair I have now..in the spring, on gear swap for really cheap, lol. If you go with the Borah, size up on your normal inseem. For some reason everytime I try to get on Goosefeet website to order down booties it says invalid certificate..so I have not ordered anything from them and couldnt comment on their products.

I'm looking forward to getting my Goosefeet Gear down pants. I'm currently 11.5 weeks into my 10 week lead time…

Philip (and others),

We are experiencing some production delays – due to the winter storm that hit the Southeast US last week, we were out of power for almost a week, and some of my employees (who work from home) are still without power now.

We are trying to catch up as fast as we can, but some of the orders that were due around this time will be delayed.

Sorry for any inconvenience!

Thanks,

– Ben Smith
GooseFeet Gear