Down pants, booties, mitts

Well I really like my Feathered Freinds booties I like the double snaps on the inners and the two elastic cords on the outers. It’s been a few years since I bought them but they wound up being $5 cheaper than the ones from Goosefeet for my size and amount of down. The WM pants are nice but overbuilt if you are going to wear them as a mid layer only.

I have used WM  pants, vest, and hooded jacket for years for winter camping in the Southwest – very light, very durable, very warm.  In a recent quest for down booties, I went for Goosefeet as they were least expensive when I figured in shipping and I wanted their overbooties as well. – I just got the socks in the mail and they fit great.  Haven’t had them in the field yet.

Don’t forget about Borah gear. I too am a big fan of WM and I’m still currently using my Megalite and Flash jacket on every trip but my next down garment purchase will be from Borah gear. Quality Idaho gear at a great price.

The OP does mention Borah. I just got a Snowyside bivy from them and am happy with the quality of construction.

I have a pair of Gooses feet down booties and over boots and really like them.

I have tried out WM flight, goose feet and Borah down trousers but never liked the stitch through constuction, I find I prefered my FF Volant pants (box wall ( or synthetic Arcteryx Atom LT (for not so cold trips).

One poster mentioned the Feathered Friends Volant pants and their fully baffled construction. Nunatak also offers the Kobuk and Skaha line of fully baffled down pants and has a line of down booties. Like FF, Nunatak has top notch materials, construction, and light weight. The main draw back of FF and Nunatak is the price, but you get what you pay for.

Just to make things more complicated, check out PHD Mountain Software. A bit more expensive but i dont think anybody comes close to the weights for insulated socks and pants.

http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/

It does cost 50 dollars to have them shipped stateside.

I like my WM Flight down pants but they have two full length zippers which are wasted weight to me and instead would get something custom made like Goosefeet—many more options, fill weights and colors.  Maybe a pair is on my wish list but the Flights are still hanging in there and light enough.

My down booties are also WM which have ensolite soles making them excellent around camp walking in the snow and even wet snow.

As for down mittens, well, my backpacking buddy Patman turned me on to a pair of waterproof mitts from Mt Headwar called Nilas mittens and I bought a pair and they are now part of my standard winter load—

Here is Patman showing off his Nilas down mittens.  Super nice and super light and can be worn over liner gloves for finger dexterity.

They can also be used as makeshift in-tent foot warmers when you don’t want to haul out the booties.

Another important piece of winter gear are a pair of MLD eVent shell mitts to keep your fleece gloves bone dry during the worst weather activities like taking down a wet shelter in a 35F rainstorm, or pulling slushy snow off a tent at midnight.  Nothing worse in the winter than getting your dry fleece gloves soaked after 2 minutes of chores.

I have the Borah Pants, GF booties with the covers and the BR foldaway mitts. All quality products.

If you plan on hiking with the mitts in subfreezing temps, pick up some of the gas mitts from a gas station to act as an VBL. I sweated through my mitts the first time I used them.

I am considering down pants as well (for winter use) and it occurred to me, that for it to be useful, a down pants almost have to have full zips.

In any conditions, left alone when it’s freezing, I am not likely to bother with layers if I have to take shoes off. I am considering Montbell’s, given my good luck with their down jackets. Any experience with these?

Anton, I do not find zippers necessary for down pants depending on how you use them. I have a pair of Montbell pants (non-zip) and they work very well for me. When I get to camp I am changing out of my lightweight longjons/underwear and putting on heavyweight baselayer tights. If cold enough, I will also put on the down pants at this time. Like other Montbell down garments, the pants are quality. I am not a huge fan of the stitch pattern but who cares. Does not leak much down at all and does not feel too fragile. With that said, the pants are a heavier weight shell than my ex-light which is also surprisingly durable considering the material.

I certainly understand when full zip insulated pants would be prefered but in my situation, not so much.

I also have the Goosefeet down socks with I think 50% overfill. I honestly do not use these too much as expedition weight smartwool socks keep me very warm but I do use the overbooties more frequently. They come unsealed so that is something you will need to do yourself. Without sealing they are NOT waterproof and wet snow/water will soak in pretty quickly. After sealing, so far so good!

If I could do it over again, I would stick with the GF down socks and get custom made pants from GF or Borah Gear. Nothing against the montbell pants but a customized fit is the best/easiest/most efficient way to make the most of the down. Can also choose the materials etc.

+1 for PHD Mountain Software, quality gear and very very light.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.  Even more options to consider!

I lust after a pair of WM or FF down pants for camp and sleeping. Maybe soon…

As for mittens, yes, down is much lighter but fleece is more reliable. My Eastern Mountain Sports double layer fleece mitten liners inside X-Large O-R GTX shells are easily good for -40 F. (as tested by me). Much colder than that and I stay indoors if possible.

Eric,

FF and WM do not use DWR down.

Yeah Stephen, I am aware of that sad fact but since I can’t find pants like those with DWR down I’m forced to get top quality un-messed-with down.

I’m hoping – perhaps dreaming – that there will be better and more durable DWR down treatments coming along soon and that more companies will use them. A boy can only wish.

I have custom GF down pants and booties, what sets them apart from WM and others- is that they are custom- what shell material do you want, how much fill, you want the pants oversized to pull over your trail pants, higher waist, bigger thighs, on and on. The price is right too, often beating production pants/booties.

I recently picked up a pair of Black Rock mitts, like their down hats- top notch quality

I have the Montbell down TEC pants (with full side zips) and really like them. Absolutely fantastic to be able to put them on immediately upon arriving at camp without removing snowshoes/boots, and not lose heat while stomping out a tent platform in the snow. FYI, they seem to run large (at least mine did), unlike most things from Montbell.

Hi Eric,

Gooses Feet uses DWR down and so do Borah.

This past year ai have been using synthetics mainly in clothing.

That’s good news about GF using DWR treated down. Now I’m interested. I have lots of good synthetic clothing from hunting but UL backpacking means goose down.

Thanks for the info Stephen. I’m looking at GF and Borah right away.

Shoutout to Goosefeet Gear.  I got my wife a pair a pair of pants for xmas since she is always cold.  I’ve never purchased custom garments before and didn’t even consider it until I realized that MontBell’s offering was less down for more cash (1.8 oz down for $169 for MB vs 4.5 oz for $160 for GF) and Western Mountaineering was just too damn expensive.  I was still a little hesitant since you can’t return custom stuff but I am super glad I did order them.  My wife has runners quads and pants frequently don’t fit well.  I got the 20D sewn thru pants with 4.5 oz of down with no extra bells or whistles.  They came in at 7.8 oz (she is a small).  They fit her great, are super comfy, and kept her warm when sitting on chair lifts at 0F.  The real purpose of the pants is so when we are backpacking she will be willing to hang out past dark (normally she gets cold and runs to her sleeping bag).

For this genre of pants Goosefeet seems like an easy choice.  (In fairness to Borah gear, their offering is at a similar price point with custom sizing available, but I have no experience with them.)

Another vote for GooseFeet Gear, Ben does excellent work.  I have his booties and they are phenomenal.

MontBell pants are a great value but after this season I will be replacing mine with GooseFeet.  I agree zips are unnecessary as you will most likely throw them on after you are in camp and in your down booties (with over booties so you can walk around in the snow).

Black Rock down mitts are just fantastic, I like the flip ups with a liner under them.  Bonus, they are on sale now on Evan’s site.

Good luck.

Steve

Has anyone tried the highrock down pants from Aliexpress?  They are $55 shipped and look to be similar to a light down jacket.  I would think they would provide a significant boost in warm and the price seems good.

I have looked at, but not bought, down pants on Aliexpress and also eBay (seem to be very similar products). Based on feedback I’ve seen about other low-priced Chinese down garments, I would expect that quality on these is pretty good, weight a bit more than brand names, and sizes will run small.