Greatest Puffer Pants | Outside Life

Should you’re struggling to remain heat in even the heaviest down jackets, you may want so as to add one other layer to your arsenal: puffer pants. After spending tons of of nights within the backcountry, from summer time alpine to the deep winter, I’ve realized that my legs are sometimes leaking simply as a lot warmth as my core if I’m not cautious. Packing a pair of down pants to make use of when the temperature drops has made an enormous distinction in my consolation, and I repeatedly advocate them to individuals who wrestle with staying heat whereas tenting or backpacking. To search out these suggestions, I checked out down-filled fashions from Mountain Hardwear, Rab, Stone Glacier, Montbell, Goosefeet Gear, and KUIU out into the sector to place them to the take a look at.

How I Examined Puffer Pants

Puffer pants have been examined in quite a lot of environments, together with by members of the Outside Life group throughout a December deer hunt in Missouri. We wore the puffy pants on mile-long scouting treks on public land, on the gun vary throughout goal follow, and whereas sitting in deer stands in each late afternoon and early morning hours, when temperatures dipped properly beneath freezing. Insulated pants have been evaluated on their consolation, match, heat, and general performance. 

As well as, I additionally thought of how the fill energy and fill weight of every pair of down pants balanced heat with layerability, in addition to different options, corresponding to closure mechanisms and facet zippers. Lastly, I seemed on the packed measurement and weight of every pair. 

The Greatest Puffer Pants: Evaluations & Suggestions

Greatest Total: Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Pant

Purchase from Amazon

Execs

• Totally different inseam measurements out there
• Solely down pants in my take a look at with pockets
• Light-weight
• Could be taken on and off with out eradicating sneakers

Cons

• Costly
• Not as heat as different puffer pants in my take a look at

Key Options

• Accessible Sizes:
  Males’s S-XXL; girls’s XS-XL
• Weight:
  9.6 ounces
• Fill Energy:
  800fp
• Fill Weight:
  Unavailable
• Shell Materials:
  15D ripstop nylon

The corollary to the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer—one of many greatest puffer jackets round—is that this pair of deceptively easy puffer pants. Whereas at first look, they seemed like nothing greater than a pair of puffy tubes, this one excels within the particulars. With an elastic waist and a snap-button and zip closure, this one pulls on extra like a typical pair of pants than others I checked out. The Ghost Whisperer was additionally the one pair to incorporate pockets—useful in case you are pulling it on straight over your different clothes because the night temps drop. Zips on the cuff that run midway up the calf enable you to tug it on over (some) boots with out having to take them off. 

Just like the jacket it will get its identify from, this isn’t an exceptionally heat pair of insulated pants—it’s a center of the highway puffer, greatest fitted to summer time alpine or early shoulder season actions until you intend to put on it solely whereas mountain climbing or run particularly heat. What it’s, nonetheless, is light-weight—solely a few ounces greater than my greatest ultralight decide, the Montbell Mild Down Pants, which has far fewer options. 

Greatest Ultralight: Montbell Mild Down Pants

Purchase from Montbell

Execs

• Light-weight however sturdy
• Small packed measurement
• Slim profile layers properly beneath shell pants

Cons

• Run small
• Not heat sufficient for winter situations

Key Options

• Accessible Sizes:
  Males’s S-XXL; girls’s S-XL
• Weight:
  7.1 ounces
• Fill Energy:
  850fp
• Fill Weight:
  3 ounces
• Shell Materials:
  10D ripstop nylon

At 7.1 ounces, the Montbell Mild Down Pants are the proper match for early-season backpackers and alpine adventurers. I’ve carried earlier variations of the Montbell Mild Down Pants in all places from the Excessive Sierras to the North Cascades and by no means as soon as regretted the additional weight in my pack. The three ounces of 800 fill energy down is sufficient to preserve you heat in 30-degree temps within the night (or 20-degree temps in the event you’re on the go), whereas nonetheless compressing all the way down to in regards to the measurement of a pair of socks in your bag when not in use. 

Whereas I checked out a pair of the latest mannequin of the Montbell Mild Down Pants for this story, I’ve a pair in my gear closet that I’ve had for near a decade—it’s picked up precisely one tiny rip in that point, testifying to those puffers’ general sturdiness. 

Purchase from Kuiu

Execs

• Light-weight
• Straightforward to tackle and off
• Bolstered on the seat, knees, and cuffs
• Constructed-in stuff pocket

Cons

• Not sufficient insulation for excessive temperatures, or for sitting nonetheless
• Costly

Key Options

• Accessible Sizes:
  Males’s M-XXXL
• Weight:
  8 ounces
• Fill Energy:
  850fp
• Fill Weight:
  1.7 ounces
• Shell Materials:
  12D ripstop

The issue with one of the best puffer pants is that typically they work just a little too properly—in the event you’re constantly taking off your down pants three minutes into mountain climbing, it could be time to modify to one thing with rather less fill.

The Kuiu Tremendous Down Extremely Pant hits the candy spot of efficiency: higher heat for weight than you’d get out of even the greatest base layers for looking (and extra packable than fleece) however not a lot heat that you simply’ll be soaking the down with sweat ten minutes into an uphill climb. It had the bottom fill content material of any puffer I checked out (1.7 ounces for an 8-ounce pair), making it acceptable for both early shoulder season situations or thirty-degree temps when you’re on the transfer. Whereas at first look it seems like facet zips imply you could possibly placed on or pull off these puffers with out having to take off your sneakers, they solely unzip from the highest to the underside—you’ll must unzip these into two separate items to take them off within the discipline with out eradicating your sneakers. 

Whereas most individuals select to put on their puffy pants beneath different layers of clothes, the KUIU Tremendous Down ULTRA Pant incorporates a thicker 30D nylon on the cuff, knee, and seat for added sturdiness within the occasion you make this your outer layer. 

Greatest Customization: Goosefeet Gear Down Pants

Purchase from Goosefeet Gear

Execs

• Snug
• Means to customise nearly the whole lot
• Comparatively cheap

Cons

• Easy drawstring closure versus the elastic band of different fashions
• 5-week lead time

Key Options

• Accessible Sizes:
  Nearly any you possibly can dream of
• Weight:
  Is dependent upon your chosen specs
• Fill Energy:
  850fp
• Fill Weight:
  Customizable
• Shell Materials:
  8D or 20D

The extra time you spend outside, the extra attuned you get to your actual wants. For a pair of puffer pants, you might need a way of the precise width and inseam, the precise temperature score, the options you need, and those you don’t. (This goes double for backpack hunters and backpackers.) So in the event you’ve been scouring this listing for a pair of down pants that match what’s in your thoughts’s eye, then you possibly can cease scrolling right here.

Whereas the Goosefeet Gear group despatched me a pair of insulated pants to check out—Assistant Editor Ashley Thess took them out into the sector and was impressed by how sturdy and cozy the 20D nylon was, in addition to how heat they have been for the load. Nevertheless, this configuration isn’t what I’d design if I have been planning a backpacking journey. For that, I’d select a 20D shell with an 8D liner to avoid wasting on weight. Subsequent, I’d add a pair of 18-inch zips on the facet of every leg (Different choices embody: 24-inch, 30-inch, 36-inch, full-size zips, or full two-way zips, just like the Stone Glacier Grumman).

Then you possibly can select your 850 down fill energy weight from 2.5 ounces (early alpine mornings) as much as 8.5 ounces (expedition weight). Subsequent, choose your waist, hips, inseam (between 20” and 38”), thigh circumference, and calf circumference.

This degree of customization will not be for everybody, however for critical, weight-conscious adventurers, it’s a should. 

Purchase from Amazon

Execs

• Severely heat
• Comparatively reasonably priced

Cons

• Tough to layer beneath shell layers
• Have to take away sneakers to take off

Key Options

• Accessible Sizes:
  Males’s XS-XXL
• Weight:
  13.2 ounces
• Fill Energy:
  800fp
• Fill Weight:
  13.2 ounces
• Shell Materials:
  Pertex

When looking plans known as for getting up properly earlier than daybreak to sit down in a deer blind in 28-degree climate, there was no query which puffer I used to be going to check: the Rab Argon Down Pants. At 800fp, it didn’t have the best fill energy of the puffers I checked out, however what it lacked in high quality, it made up for in sheer amount. With 5.6 ounces of down packed into its 13.2 ounces, the Rab Argon Down Pants had a little bit of the standard “sausage” look that the puffers of yore have been identified for. And I used to be glad of it. With nothing greater than a base layer beneath these insulated pants, my legs have been truthfully hotter than my double-base-layer, down-layer, shell-layer-clad torso. 

Whereas the Rab Argon aren’t precisely UL, they’re extraordinarily light-weight for his or her efficiency. The draw back of that’s that these lacked a number of the performance of different puffers, just like the Stone Glacier Grumman. The one on-off-mechanism is a zipper, snap-button, and belt on the waist, making it tough to each reasonable your temperature or take away the pants with out first taking off your sneakers. Snag a pair of those in the event you plan to be primarily stationary or in the event you count on unusually chilly temperatures. 

Purchase from Stone Glacier

Execs

• Heat sufficient for late shoulder season situations
• Aspect zips imply you possibly can take off the Grummans with out eradicating your sneakers

Cons

• Heaviest puffer pant I checked out

Key Options

• Accessible Sizes:
  Males’s S-XXL
• Weight:
  16 ounces
• Fill Energy:
  800fp
• Fill Weight:
  4.2 ounces
• Shell Materials:
  15D Pertex

Should you spend sufficient time open air, you ultimately get used to all of the outfit modifications. You begin the day, frost on the bottom, air steaming with breath, sporting mainly the whole lot you may have with you: base layers, midlayers, insulation layers—perhaps even a shell layer. Because the solar rises within the sky, you begin to peel off the layers till you’re all the way down to your base layer, the whole lot else dumped into your pack. This will get fairly previous after some time, particularly if it’s important to take off your sneakers every time you wish to shed a layer. 

Whereas different puffy pants I checked out integrated some facet zip factor, the Stone Glacier Grumman took it one step additional: Two zips on all sides meant that I may pull down the zips on the high so far as I wished to simply pull the puffer pants up, whereas zips on the cuffs made it simple to tug the pants on over my sneakers. (In actual fact, it was really easy that after I did lastly begin overheating at deer camp, I used to be in a position to simply discreetly pull them off proper the place I used to be sitting). Even higher, the Grumman stayed heat even after I wasn’t doing something extra bodily exerting than sitting completely nonetheless in a deer blind, offering loads of warmth for this cold-blooded author throughout low-40 temps. 

Best Bib: Cotopaxi Fuego Down Total

Purchase from Amazon

Execs

• Heat
• Adjustable shoulder straps
• Cellphone pocket

Cons

• Full facet zip solely alongside one facet
• Looser match felt unnecessarily saggy

Key Options

• Accessible Sizes:
  Males’s S-XXL; girls’s S-XL
• Weight:
  14 ounces
• Fill Energy:
  800fp
• Fill Weight:
  Unavailable
• Shell Materials:
  20D nylon

I used to be excited to check these down overalls within the runup to ski season. I’m a type of folks whose extremities are sometimes heat so long as my core is heat, however conserving my core heat is usually difficult in sub-freezing temps when the wind is whipping. Cotopaxi Fuego overalls seemed like simply the ticket to create an excellent stronger buffer in opposition to the chilly outdoors air.

And it did do exactly that. Pulling on these overalls noticeably elevated my general heat past what I’d count on from typical puffer pants. The one draw back was that pulling them on was a bit extra of a chore than I’d have preferred. Whereas most puffer pants you possibly can merely pull on like common pants, the Fuego overalls have a zipper operating alongside one leg. To place these on, it’s important to pull the zip down after which kind of step sideways into them. It’s a little bit of a clumsy maneuver. And, in contrast to the Stone Glacier Grummen, the full-length zip was just one facet of the pants, so that you aren’t in a position to take away these pants with out taking off your boots typically. Nevertheless, that’s a minor ding. If the concept of down overalls appeals to you, then you definitely gained’t be disenchanted on this buy.

What to Take into account Earlier than Shopping for Puffer Pants

Insulation within the Greatest Puffer Pants

The 2 primary kinds of insulation are down (sourced from geese, or much less generally, geese) and artificial. Every has their very own professionals and cons. 

Down is well the higher insulator and offers extra heat for weight than simply about some other materials utilized in out of doors gear. Should you take a look at a down feather, you’ll see that it’s made up of innumerable wisps related to a brief shaft. The dearth of construction to those feathers creates small air pockets, which lure warmth out of your physique and insulate it from the chilly outdoors air. Down-feather high quality is measured by fill energy (fp), or how a lot down it takes to fill one cubic inch of house. As an illustration, one ounce of 550fp down will fill about 9 liters, whereas one ounce of 900fp will fill virtually 15 liters. The Achilles heel of down feathers has at all times been moisture. When down will get moist, the pockets of air disappear, eliminating nearly all of its insulating properties. Lately, producers have began utilizing down feathers handled with a water resistant coating, typically known as DownTek, however there are a number of completely different names. Whereas the waterproof coating offers some safety, a soaking-wet down coat is not going to present anyplace close to the identical insulation as a dry one. With down merchandise, it’s additionally price checking whether or not the product is RDS (Accountable Down Commonplace) licensed, which helps be certain that no geese or geese have been unnecessarily harmed (corresponding to reside plucking). 

The sleeping luggage of slumber events are a superb instance of artificial fill. Excessive-end artificial fill mimics the qualities of down by utilizing brief filaments to create pockets that lure physique warmth. Additional, artificial fill retains warmth whereas moist with out the necessity for extra therapy. The very best high quality artificial fills can strategy the insulation-to-weight ratio of 550fp down, however these synthetics additionally strategy the price of decrease high quality down. Because of the decrease warmth-to-weight-or-size ratio, we didn’t take a look at any artificial puffer pants on this take a look at.

Whereas the fill energy measurement is one consideration when on the lookout for the warmest (or lightest) down pants, one other is the load of the fill. The extra fill you may have, sometimes the hotter a pair will probably be. Though, in case you are layering your puffers beneath a tight-fitting shell layer, it may possibly scale back the variety of heat air pockets in comparison with if it was unimpeded. 

Shell Materials of the Puffer Pants

Down and synthetics are sometimes encased by nylon of various thicknesses, which is measured in denier (D). Most insulated pants use materials between 10D and 30D.

Closure Mechanisms of the Puffer Pants

There was a stunning quantity of variation in how the puffer pants match on the waist, from a typical zip and button closure, to nothing greater than an elastic waist or drawstring closure, to facet zips with velcro tabs. Which one is best for you will rely in your wants. If all you care about is the warmth-to-weight ratio, go along with the elastic waist or drawstring closure, whereas in the event you want your puffers to be simple to take off within the discipline, select a mannequin that means that you can zip alongside the edges to cut back the necessity to take off the greatest mountain climbing boots within the discipline.  

Remaining Ideas on the Greatest Puffer Pants

After testing six pairs of one of the best puffer pants in quite a lot of environments, together with a December Missouri deer hunt and in a single day snowshoe journey, the Outside Life gear group was in a position to establish quite a lot of wonderful choices for various out of doors situations. Anybody trying to preserve the load down of their pack ought to decide up a pair of both the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer or the ultralight Montbell Mild Down Pants. Conversely, people going through the coldest situations (or who simply run chilly) ought to snag a pair of both the Rab Argon or Stone Glacier Grumman or customise a pair from Goosefeet Gear to fulfill their wants.

 

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After field-testing one of the best gear all 12 months lengthy, we all know precisely what ought to be in your purchasing listing. Try the highest performing open air merchandise and one of the best offers out there.