Sitka Equinox Midi alternative

[KW33]

I'm upgrading / replacing all of my old gear & foolishly drank the Sitka Kool-Aid. Right now I'm looking for something comparable to the Equinox Midi pants for under a set of Stratus bibs, I have some other 200-ish weight Polartec pants that would probably work okay or some fleece lined Wrangler ATG pants that solve the problem of two fleece layers sticking together, but the thought of paying close to $200 for what are essentially lined sweatpants is a bit tough to swallow (with the Equinox Midis).

Is there anything else comparable people have come across that's basically a heavy fleece lined jogging pant with a smooth outer shell? I'd think that would be a thing, but am having trouble finding much.

 

[H80Hunter]

They aren’t as thick but the Patagonia r1 pants work well.

 

[KW33]

Thanks for the recommendation - looks like those have a less “grabby” surface than regular Polartec. I might be on to something, seems like wader pants / liners might be a good alternative

 

[Slipnslide]

I have the midi pants. I only wear under rain gear for late season whitetails when stand hunting. If your gonna move at all you might be better with a heavy weight merino

 

[Castronova]

I've been looking for used midi pants for seemingly forever but they are hard to come by. I just ordered a fleece lined snow skiing pant from Amazon for around $40 to try, they have zippered bottoms and are waterproof.
I have heavy weight merino base layers but that won't extend me to the temps I would like with the stratus. I used a puffy pants and jacket under the stratus last year and sat for hours from 22 - 30 or so. I want something less bulky and more versatile to extend me below 30 degrees. If I don't like these I may just bite the bullet. My longest walk is about .35 miles/600 yards.

 

[WoodBow]

Depending on your situation, I think you should consider a zip off merino layer with whatever kind of hiking pant. This will allow you to ditch the bibs if it gets hot or if you are hiking a lot. Not sure what kind of cover you hike through but green briar here would have equinox pants for breakfast. You can also remove the zip offs to further modulate temp. I hate that swampy feeling i get wearing fleece bottoms and getting sweaty walking out. Merino does a much better job for that.

I will add that I bought the equinox jacket last year and it is pretty useless if it isn't dead calm or layered under a wind protection layer. As an outer layer, it is the equivalent of a screen door with any wind at all. Pretty disappointed for $200. I should have known better.

 

[Castronova]

I have the lightweight zip off kuiu base layer pants I was going to wear under. I definitely don't want to get stuck wearing fleece only under the stratus bibs. I had the zip off kuiu down pants last year and it went from 20's to near 60 mid day when I went to switch tactics.

There is not much in way of briars or snagging for the most part.

I guess I could always just wear attack pants and merino base under the stratus I'm just not sure that will get me down too cold. I need to take better notes so I can remember what I did in previous years.