Chinese Down Pants on eBay

[JCH]

On the off chance that anyone has direct experience with these down pants, I thought I’d ask.  Specs seem pretty decent for the price…only real concern I would have is construction/sewing quality.

$65, free shipping from China.  Advertised specs for size large: Weight 8.54 oz. 20d nylon outer and inner fabric. 2.82 oz of 700FP 90/10 white goose down.

The photographer did a great job of making them look SUPER puffy :)

[Kevin Burton]

offbrand + china = feathers (not down)

Just my bias talking though.

[JCH]

I’m right there with you Kevin…extremely dubious.  Thus the search for anyone with DIRECT experience.

The seller actually goes to some length touting the quality of the down. It’s not impossible that this is a good quality product, I’m just not inclined to be the first one to find out :)

[J R]

No direct experience to share, but you should be covered by eBay’s buyer protection if it is not down. My suspicion is that it is down but perhaps not harvested ethically and/or perhaps not washed properly. Also watch the sizes — the size “L” you’re looking at has a 31.5 inch waist, minus the 2.4 inch allowance they say you should make, equals a size suitable for a 29 inch waist.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

“not washed properly” is not the end of the world… if they were flippant on washing (or didn’t) the down will have more natural oils, which is a good thing. Natural DWR.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Just looking at the basic dollars to quality ratio, if you compare to a Uniqlo down jacket this would be similar, so I’d expect quality on that level – which is not bad. What I’d pay attention to is sizing – these sure look like they are a slim cut, I’d size up to play it safe, even after adjusting as JR mentions above.

[rmeurant]

I think I’ve seen these on AliExpress also.

[JCH]

Also watch the sizes — the size “L” you’re looking at has a 31.5 inch waist, minus the 2.4 inch allowance they say you should make, equals a size suitable for a 29 inch waist.

I’ve think the recommendation to add 2.5 inches to the waist measurement is just the seller being very cautious and wanting to head off a lot of returns from people not used to sizing garments for layering. I would think the measurements for hip width, leg opening and outseam are equally important and I’m actually impressed that those specs are supplied.

Also note that the 31.5 inch waist measurement on the size Large is with the (elastic) waistband completely contracted…it is listed as 37.8 inches “stretched”, which seems like a pretty standard “American” sizing.

Clearly ordering something like this comes with a number of risks.  The phrase “Buyer Beware” was never more appropriate than here.

[Don Burton]

Following

i saw these too. The main thing that turned me off was the apparent cut that I see from the pictures. I wear skinny jeans but I don’t really want to wear skinny down pants. Hopefully someone can take one for the team and buy a pair and report back.

[JCH]

Don,  I seriously considered doing exactly that…but I think there is at least a 50% chance of seeking a return for refund and can only imagine how high the shipping cost to return it to China would be.  Not to mention the time lag of shipping both directions and then to actually receive the refund.

re: fit.  Well, as I previously mentioned, I would carefully study ALL the dimensions before hazarding an order.

All in all I’m pretty darn happy with my Montbell UL pants :)

[Don Burton]

JCH,

I have a Costco quilt that I’m going to convert to some cheap down pants to use a season or two but I was eventually thinking about getting some MB down pants. Which one do you have? I was thinking the Superior down pants mainly for the weight but I’m not sure if the zippered sides are necessary for winter camping.

[JCH]

Don,

What I have is a couple years old…the version before they changed the name to “Superior”. I think they were called UL Down Pants, but I’ll be darned if I can see how the design has changed…they seem pretty much the same as the Superiors.  They are not exactly “utilitarian” as they have zippered pockets, a zippered fly and snap waist.  I really dig the snap and fly, but since I ALWAYS wear them under my hiking pants (for the added protection) and only in camp, the pockets are pretty useless to me.  20d inner and outer fabric, 2 oz (IIRC) of 800FP down and about 9.8 oz total weight in size XL.

These replaced a pair of 2008 Montbell Thermawrap pants (which I will probably put up on Gear Swap soon) that had the “7/8 length” side zippers, eg. do not separate all the way to waist.  The Thermawraps are a joy to don/doff.  My experience with them makes me say that if you don’t want to take off your boots, the side zips are pretty sweet.  For me, they don’t justify the extra weight.

I love Montbell stuff…everything I own from them is exceptional, and it just fits well.  The down pants are no exception.  I can’t see how you would be disappointed with the Superior pants.

[JCH]

Uh…Yeah…curiosity was killing me so I emailed the seller asking for a size recommendation.  Told them I was 6’1″, 215 lbs, waist 36″, inseam 33″. Here is the response:

It seems size 3XL is better for you depending on your height and weight.
But size 3XL is a little loose around your waist. It’s waistline from 36.2″ to 45.5″.
Size 2XL is suitable for your waist but i’m afraid thighs and calves may be a bit tight.

You get what you pay for. Sticking with Montbell :)

[Eric Blumensaadt]

MontBell has similar pants for $149. with far batter quality.

“Buy (quality) once, cry once.”

[Todd Stough]

These seem pretty good.  There is lots of products coming out of china that are perfectly fine quality.  They are less than half the price of the Montbell.  My uniqlo jacket is great and I don’t see why this wouldn’t be similar quality.

[J R]

I’m pretty impressed with the e-mail response JCH got — quick, detailed, on-topic, and understandable. That isn’t always easy to get from a company in the USA, let alone in China.

[Ken Thompson]

“MontBell has similar pants for $149. with far batter quality.”

So you have had the chance to compare them side by side have you then?

[Author]

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