First Lite puffy pants

[Tim in Wa.]

Looking for opinions on
First Lite Uncompahgre pants
Thanks
Tim

 

[Deplorable77]

FOLLOWING

 

[*zap*]

Great, light and packable outer for above 40 if your not bushwacking (somewhat delicate material) and a very good mid layer for cold. Great emergency layer for a cold night.

 

[Tufrthnails]

let me precendent this saying I'm a Florida boy that travels to cold weather. I got a Uncompahgre set for my first Colorado trip 2cd rifle this year. Thank goodness I did too. It was amazing how well it worked. I ran Icebreaker merino base, Fleece mid and an army gortex jacket pant combo for outshell. And packed my puffy. waist deep snow 10k' teen temps and when we stopped for extended times I threw the puffy on as an outer. Holy motheris that think warm. I couldn't imagine running it as my midlayer.

Fast forward to Kentucky the past three weeks. subtract the fleece midlayer and it was my same setup. sitting for hours up in the wind temps dropping to 20's and toss the puffy on I'm good to go.

What really sucks about it is durability. They have matching tenacious tape I got to repair a small rip in the knee of the pants I got one of the few times I actually walked around in them (snowing like crazy). Surprisingly the tape is actually holding up and working very well.

 

[Kotaman]

i disagree...For a puffy pant they are not light nor packable compared to down. I like them, but when I go to the mountains I want something lighter and more packable than these.

 

[Tufrthnails]

i disagree...For a puffy pant they are not light nor packable compared to down. I like them, but when I go to the mountains I want something lighter and more packable than these.

I do wish they packed down tighter. weight wise I don't have anything to compare to first hand. What is your puffy of choice if you don't mind me asking.

 

[Kotaman]

I’m not a huge KUIU fan in general, but their SD puffy pants rarely leave my pack. The KUIU are 8 oz. The FL are 18! That is HUGE IMO. Not to mention the KUIU could be packed inside a Nalgene bottle, while the FL’s don’t fit in a shoe box.

Nothing synthetic is going to pack really well. And when you pack synthetic, it loses its loft FAST. Synthetic has its place in a wet environment, but for as little as I use puffy pants on a hunt, I want the packability and weight of down.

 

[ChrisAU]

100% agree with @Kotaman , if you don’t plan on wearing puffy layers in humid environments then there are much better options for backpacking. I only wear mine in CO when glassing in cold (but dry. It’s always dry) weather or in the tent to supplement my quilt/bag. And if I should happen to want to glass in wet weather I’ll wear my rain layers over them.

Ive grown to LOVE my Arc’Terx Cerium LT Hoody for a top, in warmth it beats the snot out of the Uncompahgre, but it is even more fragile. For bottoms this year I used the Kuiu SD Ultra but I was so scared of ripping the bottom that I didn’t wear them much, and when I did I didn’t notice a significant warmth difference. I now have some True Timber puffy pants at about a 3 oz weight penalty but at the price level I’m much more likely to risk them durability wise and I think they are a bit warmer too.

I’m a certified FL fan boy btw haha, just think they don’t have it going with puffy layers. I also had a Brooks jacket and it was absolutely pitiful compared to my Arc’Terx and a SG Grumman I had. The Chamberlain is 3x warmer than anything I’ve ever owned but stupid heavy and bulky.

 

[jkb0626]

Something I didnt see above, i feel like there isnt much flexibility in them. Like if i take a full stride going uphill, when layered over the corrougates, i feel like im going to rip the crouch out of them. Decent for glassing though

 

[*zap*]

Uncomphagre material is not very durable for hiking where there is much brush.....I do like my jacket and pants thou, just wear them mostly while stationary. They are actually a bit warm for hiking if you have any load....pack down well for a 'prepared' layer.