lightweight packable insulated pants

I had been searching for some lightweight insulated pants to keep in the pack while touring for emergency bivouacs primarily. It's hard to find quality made pants in this category (except for bulky fleece) for less than $200 so thought I would share this. Patagonia, RAB, and Mountain Hardwear have options but I found an even cheaper one. I stumbled across a brand that I had not heard of before and even with repeated searching hadn't come across this brand until reading some hunting forums. The company is Enlightened Equipment and the pants I ordered are the Torrid APEX. Not a lot of reviews on the pants, but plenty on the jackets that were very favorable. Comparable in warmth to the nano puff series from what I can glean and these are customizable and made in USA. Haven't tried them yet since I just ordered them, but can post some impressions once I get them.

Anyone familiar with these? Are they the FTP gloves of the insulated pants world? I sure hope so.

https://enlightenedequipment.com/tor...-pants-custom/

Spyder has some too:

https://www.spyder.com/products/mens...de-hybrid-pant

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Originally Posted by johnnyg82

Spyder has some too:

https://www.spyder.com/products/mens...de-hybrid-pant

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Saw those but couldn't find a reliable weight source.

Curious of the breathability of the enlightened.

They make some nice lightweight quilts too. And this... If it wasn't ridiculous enough as-is, they then named it rev-HOLE-ation
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Originally Posted by 2FUNKY

Curious of the breathability of the enlightened.

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I put all insulated pants in the "yer gonna sweat yer balls off" category if wearing them while hiking, skinning, etc. Lightweight nylon with a dwr so shell fabric sounds breathable, I have no idea how breathable the insulation is.

Montbell
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I have the light down pants. They get a lot of use.

My enlightened equipment quilt has held up better than my FTP gloves! But I never use the quilt on a rope tow.

I wish those pants had side zips, but I get why they don't. Kuiu super down is maybe the only one with full zips in that weight class?

I’ve got a pair of TNF knickers that I originally purchased for this purpose. They are fairly light (9oz), full side zip, and a bit breathable. I’ve ended up wearing them quite a bit over my softshells on cold days. The apex pants seem sweet, but more emergency only as the 10d fabric just wont hold up to any regular skiing wear and tear

knickers, meh didn't those go out with sweatbands? or maybe it was wool fedoras...

20D ripstop outer is an option (which I ordered), I just want something light and well made that stuffs into a small package, not looking at hard use

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Enlightened is definitely popular for quilts. I know two people who have them and love them. You could just go ultra-minimal with the "snow wrap" which looks like an insulated kilt. Would be pretty funny to see someone skiing in it. I think some AK mountaineer dude swears by the down skirt for warmth so maybe there's something to it....

https://enlightenedequipment.com/snow-wrap-custom/

Enlightened makes nice stuff typically.

First Lite makes some synthetics with full side zips but those do add some weight. Pretty nice considering.

https://www.firstlite.com/collection...gre-puffy-pant

I also have a pair of the old Pat sun puffy pants that won’t die. I think they are going on 15-20 years. Definitely not 5 oz light though.

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Originally Posted by Conundrum

Enlightened makes nice stuff typically.

First Lite makes some synthetics with full side zips but those do add some weight. Pretty nice considering.

https://www.firstlite.com/collection...gre-puffy-pant

I also have a pair of the old Pat sun puffy pants that won’t die. I think they are going on 15-20 years. Definitely not 5 oz light though.

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I have a pair of those First Lites. I can get them on and off quickly due to the zippers. If this was strictly a pant for emergency bivy then I could see going without zippers, but if I ever wanted to use them other times, zippers would be a must, otherwise you're taking off boots.

I'd like to see how much warmth 5 oz pants can add, and how durable? With the First Lite pants the warm up is immediate and I'm not too afraid to sit on rocks/brush with them.

Hard to find on sale, but you can get lucky.
https://www.westernmountaineering.co...s/flash-pants/

I ended up getting these insulated shorts - pretty light, side zips, not cheap (but none of this stuff is) - https://www.ortovox.com/nl-en/shop/m...z-boe-shorts-m
But still think a full length insulated pair would be good for winter camping and bivy

The unpronounacbles are way to warm to ski in.

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Originally Posted by zion zig zag

I have a pair of those First Lites. I can get them on and off quickly due to the zippers. If this was strictly a pant for emergency bivy then I could see going without zippers, but if I ever wanted to use them other times, zippers would be a must, otherwise you're taking off boots.

I'd like to see how much warmth 5 oz pants can add, and how durable? With the First Lite pants the warm up is immediate and I'm not too afraid to sit on rocks/brush with them.

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Agree on zips if on/off a lot. I always have a pair of lightweight shell pants that I would wear over these and some thick thermals if needed underneath. Some years back I decided to just hike into the mountains on a whim with nothing but fleece pants, a down coat, light thermals, and some food/water. Had no idea where I would end up just hiked until it got dark then slept on the ground to see how cold it would really be without shelter, fire, etc. Don't remember how cold it got, but there was frost on the ground and soil was frozen in the morning. I just kept thinking if I ever do bivouac I want something warmer for my legs because they froze. Torso was okay though. I carry a SOL bivy now too which would have been a lot warmer than being exposed.

I could have just gone with thicker / more durable insulated pants instead of thermals, shell, and these but like the idea of having layers as needed. Probably end up liking these, wear them more than I think, and then wish they had zips, lol.

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Originally Posted by m104da

I ended up getting these insulated shorts - pretty light, side zips, not cheap (but none of this stuff is) - https://www.ortovox.com/nl-en/shop/m...z-boe-shorts-m
But still think a full length insulated pair would be good for winter camping and bivy

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I've been using an older version of these for 6 years. Older version has Full side zips, fly, adjustable Velcro waist. Have been an amazing layer. Easy on/off, over or under pants doesn't matter. Great for the hill, cold day touring, long snowmobile approaches, or just at the bottom of the pack as an emergency layer. Highly recommend.

^^^ good to hear re the ortvox's, and current version do still fully side zip on both sides. one manufacturer (maybe norrona?) makes a pair that has different color zippers on the right and left, so you easily match up the correct side. I can definitely see myself struggling with this in the wind/cold - and getting mad

I ordered a pair. They'll be 6-8 weeks to be made and delivered. Will report back then.

I went heavy duty. 10g outer, 10g inner. Large, 34 length.

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Originally Posted by margotron

I ordered a pair. They'll be 6-8 weeks to be made and delivered. Will report back then.

I went heavy duty. 10g outer, 10g inner. Large, 34 length.

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I neglected to mention the wait time, thanks margotron. They did have some pre-made ones ready to ship but only in XL. They said those typically go pretty fast.

i owned a pair of the BD stance belay pants. durability of face fabric was terrible but full side zips were huge for me. now looking into the OR refuges or the Arc leaf atom pants gen 1.

https://www.taigaworks.com/collections/down-wear

I got the deluxe, Taiga has been around vangroovy for many years

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

https://www.taigaworks.com/collections/down-wear

I got the deluxe, Taiga has been around vangroovy for many years

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i can just tell from the photo that those are stupid warm.