New Activity Pants that zipoff and become shorts

[oldsm]

My son is at NOAC. Spoke to him on the phone last night and told him about the new zip-off pants I was at the local Scout Shop. It will be interesting to see how they look in actual service. I would have a little problem with appearance for formal occasions like Council dinners and similar events where non-Scouting people pay small fortunes to attend.

 

Son said he'd already seen them and was not impressed. It seems that some NOAC contingent is wearing them. He says they're a different color - sort of a sage green instead of BSA green. That entire contingent wears them and always in the long configuration.

 

Maybe they're not the official BSA zip-offs, but one of those "find it somewhere else" knockoffs, especially since the new ones supposedly aren't available until September.

[jmenand]

Oldsm- after talking to a couple people and referencing the previous post, I speculate that what you say is true: the pants your son saw were probably not from BSA Supply. I can only speculate this because I have not seen the BSA pants in person yet. However, everyone I have talked to "in the know" says that a lot of effort was made to match the color of these new pants to the old color. If the pants your son saw were a slightly different color, and because the entire troop was outfitted in them, I am thinking they were not the BSA pants.

 

That said, they might have been the real McCoy. It is possible this troop had early access to the BSA product for some reason. Also, colors (especially on clothes) can be very tricky, and different materials can look like different colors depending on the lighting. Take for example the Poly/Cotton shirts compared to the 100% Cotton shirts. In some lighting, they look like the same color. But under other lighting, one looks slightly "pinkish," especially after laundry.

 

In other words, we will all just have to wait and see.

[Bucky Flatlander]

Does anyone know what date these new pants will be available?

[gwd-scouter]

Went to Roundtable last night and no one I talked to has heard of these new pants. Maybe here in upstate South Carolina, word hasn't gotten out yet.

 

I do have one concern about the new pants. Considering the different rates that Scout clothing fades when washed (especially the socks!), won't it be interesting when the shorts are washed throughout the summer and then the legs are zipped back on for winter wear and don't match!

[TerritoryManager]

These new exciting pant/short/belt combo will be available for sale in all outlets on August 24th and not before.

[BrentAllen]

August 24th is what I have heard as well. Our shop cleared a rack for them back on August 1st, thinking they were coming in then. I guess I can wait a few more weeks...

[packsaddle]

This is good news, although I always liked the current official pants as well. I'll buy a couple pair of the new ones. The problem for me is always getting the inseam length right and it sounds like these are going to do the trick.

I try to avoid the spark hole problem by reserving a couple of pair of Holy pants, repeatedly offered to the fire gods as sacrificial burnt offerings. They just get Holier and Holier.

Gern, I'm with you on the sock thing. But the sock color scheme does sort of remind me of a favorite local brand of rum (Red Cap), good stuff, too.

 

OK, boasting rights now...I write this while sitting this morning on the veranda of an estate overlooking the Caribbean high up on a mountainside in Dominica. Planning trip...someone has to do it. Life is good.

[acampbell]

I saw the new pants to day. YESSSSSSS. They go on sale this THU. I was told $40.00. Let's hope they hold up to hard wear. Now if we can get a workable shirt.

[Hunt]

These can now be seen on Scoutstuff.org, and they do appear to be official uniform pants. But gosh, the shorts seem awfully short, almost like hot pants. My son won't wear really short shorts--I wonder how these will go over with the youth?

[purcelce]

Stupid question time.

 

Are these pants just for the Boy Scout Uniform.

Can you wear them with the Cub Scout and Venturing uniforms.

 

[msnowman]

I talked to our Scout store manager and they don't have anything on the new pants so they probably won't have them for the next month.....I guess I'll be ordering them from Scoutstuff as Nephew needs pants now....good timing though.

 

YiS

Michelle

[GernBlansten]

The shorts do look a bit high and tight for my tastes. But I rarely zip off the legs whilst in the field for fear of a repeat of the Great Blansten Chicken Leg Incident of 1994.

Heading to the scout shop today, will report back what they have.

[emb021]

"Stupid question time.

 

Are these pants just for the Boy Scout Uniform.

Can you wear them with the Cub Scout and Venturing uniforms."

 

They are only available in olive, so they would be inappropriate for wearing with Cub Scout or Venturing uniforms.

 

And as far as Venturing goes, so what? Venturers have never been required to obtain the official pants/shorts from National. We have always been able to obtain charcoal gray pants/shorts from other sources and still be in official uniform. So if there exist zipoff charcoal gray pants, that will work in Venturing.

 

 

[jmenand]

Just picked up my pair today. They seem really great so far! Everyone go check em out.

[oldsm]

Got mine tonight and have been wearing them for the past 4 hours to see how they feel. My observations thus far:

 

They feel lighter than regular scout pants.

They don't wrinkle - at least not badly.

Because of the ankle zippers, they are finished lengths. That means no more hemming.

Sizing is quite generous, unlike most sports clothing these days. I wear a 30" length, but these pants in 30" length definitely drag the floor without shoes/boots. It's a good thing I tried them on at the Scout Shop, because I needed a size smaller due to the roominess (yay!).

The waist is elasticized, which helps movement.

Plenty of room in the seat/legs, which is nice for us larger guys.

Converted to shorts, they aren't as short as "short shorts", but they're above the knee.

All pockets have velcro closure.

Not sure I like these for formal wear (such as COH). The extra line at the zip-off point is visible, and the pulls on the zippers hang down just enough to show.

Color is quite faithful to the standard green pants - a little different, but not much more than the variation you often find between dye lots.

The hang tag touts a "gear loop" for hanging things off of. Mine don't have it, unless they're referring to a belt loop.

Very comfortable and airy, but I wonder how they'll be in cold weather.

 

My son saw these and immediately said "I want some". Go figure! At least I beat him to it.

 

I'm still not giving up my regular pants for formal occasions. Sometimes the dressier look is appropriate.

 

All in all, I like them. The price is right, too, considering the convertability.