Convert Official Shorts to Long pants with zip-off legs?

[Rip Van Scouter]

I noticed that the poly-cotton "utility" pants are the same as the shorts. My problem is that I got the poly-wool dress pants for meetings and ceremonies, and the poly-cotton utility shorts for warm-weather activity wear. Would my uniform still be official if I added a hidden zipper to my short's pant legs and cut off the legs from an otherwise useless (broken zipper, torn bottom, etc.)and put the other half of the zipper on them, to make zip-off pants?

 

As shorts they would be indistinguishable, except for an extra bit of hemming for the zipper. As long pants, there would be a faint "seam" around each leg, and might not even be noticeable from a distance. I might even do it with velcro for a smoother look.

 

What do you think?

[KoreaScouter]

Official or not, they'd sure be a lot more useful...

 

KS

[EagleBeaver]

What do I think? I think most every scouter that sees you will ask, "Hey, where can I get a pair of those?" :-)

 

Every few months, I enter a request for convertible pants in the feedback form at ScoutStuff.org in the ongoing hope that someday it will happen.

 

[Leigh]

What a wonderful idea! It sure would save the $40 bucks you have to spend on offical shorts then the $44 bucks for the pants!

 

[fotoscout]

I think that most of us who have expierance with kids and convertalble pants know that one of leg pieces always gets lost before the kid outgrows the pants.

 

So what might turn out to be a great idea for the adults could in fact end up costing the parents a lot of extra money.

 

[Rip Van Scouter]

Well, I was not suggesting it for kids, necessarily. However, I have worn convertible pants on several camping trips and let me tell you, it is very nice on those early spring and late fall days, when it is a little bit chilly in the morning, but warms up nicely by afternoon, then cools off again after sunset. The convenience, and somewhat of a novelty still, of zipping off the legs when it warms up, or to go wading in a stream, then putting them back on later when it is cold or when bugs start to bite, and not having to go into a tent or find a hiding place to change back and forth between long and short pants is great!

 

As a leader, it is nice to be able to be in complete uniform to set the example, so that is the reason for my question. Are there any precedents for personal modifications of official uniforms that have been found acceptable in the past? I would think that sometimes the only way to get change to happen is to seize the bull by the horns.

 

I remember when red felt "brag" vests were only a homemade item which Boy Scout mom's made for their boys (Cub Scouts did NOT wear them back then!). Now they are made commercially and sold through the Scout shop. Even if they are not "official", they still are worn with the uniform. I am guessing that the semi-official (activities only, so far) "Expedition" hat is the result of many Scouts and scouters wearing similar commercial "crushable" felt hats on outdoor activities. I also remember when the Philmont stamped leather belt and brass buckle were the only alternatives to the green web belt. Now BSA sells two versions of a Scouting stamped/tooled leather belt, with even more buckle variations, all official uniform accessories!

[Proud Eagle]

I have some zip-off pants made of similar material to Scout pants. They are horrible. They type and weight of the fabric causes the zippers to rub. The weight of the fabric requires heavier zippers than most zip-offs, and so they really don't feel very nice.

 

Zip-offs are fine for very light materials like thin, quick-dry nylon. It isn't such a good idea for most other types of material.

 

At least that is my experience.

 

Also, zip-offs need to be a little looser fitting to keep the zippers from becoming uncomfortable.

 

Finally, the two types of fabric will likely fade at diffrent rates. So pretty soon they legs won't match the shorts. At least I suspect that is the case. If they were the same type of material it might work out.

 

 

[Rip Van Scouter]

Proud Eagle wrote:

 

>I have some zip-off pants made of similar material to Scout pants. They are horrible. They type and weight of the fabric causes the zippers to rub. The weight of the fabric requires heavier zippers than most zip-offs, and so they really don't feel very nice.< Hmmmm. Maybe velcro WOULD be better.

 

>Zip-offs are fine for very light materials like thin, quick-dry nylon. It isn't such a good idea for most other types of material.< I have some fairly heavy cotton utility pants with zip-off legs and they work great. They have a strong, but lightweight plastic zipper with very fine teeth. The typical jacket zipper probably would not work very well.

 

>Also, zip-offs need to be a little looser fitting to keep the zippers from becoming uncomfortable.< Good point!

 

>Finally, the two types of fabric will likely fade at diffrent rates. So pretty soon they legs won't match the shorts. At least I suspect that is the case. If they were the same type of material it might work out.< What two types of materials? I was talking about using official poly-cotton shorts and legs from official poly-cotton pants.

 

And the way I keep my "legs" from getting lost or not fading the same is I never wash the shorts alone without the legs and I always put the legs back on the shorts at night when I go to bed if they are not already on.

[Proud Eagle]

I thought you were condisering putting poly-wool legs on poly-cotton shorts. Sorry, I must have misunderstood you.

[Rip Van Scouter]

Sorry for any misunderstanding. Poly-wool long pants are my "dress" and winter indoor meeting pants. Poly-cotton shorts was my other choice when I ordered my custom-made pants (2 pc. minimum) else I would have just ordered one pair of the poly-cotton "utility" long pants and been done with it. Now I wish I had the "utility" pants also, and am considering obtaining a slightly used pair (e-bay?) to make my shorts into convertibles.