New Activity Pants that zipoff and become shorts

[BrentAllen]

Gern,

I held the sample of these new miracle pants in my own two hands, and I still can't believe it's true! Everyone standing around looking at them kept saying the same thing - "this just makes too much sense to be true."

 

If the BSA is truly entering the 21st century, maybe they will at least start making the socks in Smartwool. On second thought, that might be a bad idea - then we wouldn't have any excuse for not wearing them on camping and hiking trips.

[GernBlansten]

Supplex is wonderful. Especially for sailing or camping. You get wet, it wickes the moisture from you and dries very quickly. It doesn't chaffe. Its light. It doesn't get dirty so quick. It looks sharp and crisp no matter what stuff sack you just pulled it from.

I stood in the scout shop after summer camp standing in front of the rack of traditional scout shorts and pants. I just couldn't do it. I never wear cotton in the field. Its just not practical. And I wasn't about to drop some serious coin on a "dress" uniform I couldn't use in the field.

Now, if what you say that it will be considered a "Field" uniform, ohhhh, my heart be still!

Just don't tell me they are made in China!

 

[moxieman]

John-in-KC wrote:

ACTIVITY... NOT FIELD. They botched it again.

 

Tooth of Time Traders has activity pants from Columbia already.

http://www.toothoftimetraders.com/philmont/

 

We need stuff that qualifies for the Class A uniform.

 

Yup, I guess they goofed again. Not only does Tooth of Time Traders have'em already. They've have had them since at least 2004 (saw'em while attending a training conf then). At that time, they were selling faster/hotter then Philmont Belts. You'd think National would take a hint, especially one that would be VERY PROFITABLE for them. (shrug) Oh well.

 

Or looking at the rest of the thread, maybe they finally got a clue.

 

But like most other clothing today, they're probably made in China (sigh).

 

I grew up in the hometown of Hathaway Shirts--which got bought out about 4 years back and was shut down with all the equipment being shipped to China. Until 4 years ago it had been the oldest shirt factory/name in the USA--they made uniforms for our soldiers from the Civil War throught at least the 1st World War...but I'm moving off topic. Shame they couldn't have tried to land the BSA contract before they got bought out. (shrug)

 

 

(This message has been edited by moxieman)

[BrentAllen]

Unless Tooth of Time is selling some pants not on their web site, they don't offer these same pants. The closest match is the Columbia Convertible Hiking pants - Arrowhead logo. These are tan, not green, and are 100% nylon Omni-Dry canvas, not Supplex.

 

I didn't look for a "Made in ..." logo on the sample. Could very well be China. My Columbia GRT pants are made in Vietnam.

[AK-Eagle]

Unless I misunderstood the professional scouter that told me last month that new pant is the new field uniform (Class A, sorry uniform police) pant not an activity pant.

 

Phillip Martin

Scoutmaster

Troop 700

Juneau Alaska(This message has been edited by AK-Eagle)

[Midwest Monty]

Here is the link to my council's website showing the specs of the new official scout pants.

 

http://www.bsa-ia.org/formsanddocuments/SwitchbackComing_MidIowa.pdf

 

Enjoy!

 

Monty

[trlarue]

Any word when the new pants will go on sale? Will there be pants like this for cubs too?

[nldscout]

I hope that they retain the old pants also, cause I HATE zip=offs

[Vicki]

In St. Louis they are projected to be available in mid to late August.

 

Vicki

[VentureScoutNY]

 

Would this supplex nylon stuff be good for winter time use as well?

 

YIS

[nldscout]

CNY,

they probably will be terrible as cold weather pants. Of course the old ones were too. buy a pair of wool ones for winter time, you can order them in a green that almost matches BSA green.

[BrentAllen]

I disagree with nldscout about the new supplex pants. I think they will be much better than the current pants in winter, due to their breathability and quick drying qualities.

If you want another opinion, I found this at http://www.sunprotectivefabrics.com/about_fabrics.htm

 

What are "Wicking"/ "Breathable" Fabrics:

 

When clothing gets wet from perspiration it sticks to the skin and hinders the evaporation process. The evaporation process keeps our body temperature at its appropriate level to keep us cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In the summer months, keeping cool is pretty obvious, surprisingly, in the winter, the same process keeps us warm.

 

When we work or play outside in the cold our body temperature heats up causing us to sweat. The sweat soaks into our clothing causing them to stick to our skin hindering the evaporation process. The wet fabric lays on our skin keeping us cold even while we continue to work or play hard. Add rain or snow to this mix and we get into some real problems trying to keep warm and dry!!

 

Cottons, nylons and polyesters have always been notorious for hindering our evaporation process. While wool has been known to be warm when wet, it weighs a TON when in this state. But thanks to modern technology we have learned how to battle the elements in a comfortable and fashionable way by turning fabric breathability into an art.

 

The new fabrics have one basic character, Breathability! They have special weaves that give them the ability to let our cooling process happen by "wicking" the sweat away from our skin. There are lots of different ways that the manufacturers have applied this weave to the clothing industry. Supplex nylon has a special weave that lets the steam out while keeping the wind and even the rain out. Gortex and Ultrex products have developed a special coating to put on to fabrics to make them virtually waterproof while still being breathable. Polar products have developed a lofty fabric to make the clothing warm (remember air trapped in the weave make little heat pockets) and breathable. The hundreds of variations on all of these styles have made the world of outdoor clothing fun and exciting!!

 

Always keep in mind that the idea behind clothing is to be comfortable while we are working or playing. These new products not only feel good but look great too!!

 

What is Supplex??

 

Supplex is a nylon fabric that Dupont created to have all the good qualities of nylon (easy care, great color retention, little or no ironing, durability, softness, etc.) without the stickiness that nylon creates. Supplex is a high-wicking, highly breathable nylon that comes in many styles including wovens and knits and can be found with many different treatments such as water proof/repellent treatments, sun protective treatments or antimicrobial treatments. This fabric is used to line other breathable fabrics, it can be used as the outer layer of a breathable garment or can simply be used alone as outerwear or fashion wear.

 

[Bucky Flatlander]

I looked at the sample pair that was sent to my local scout shop and I am ready to get several pair of these new zip-off or "switchback" pants. They look great and these will great for hiking or any outdoor activity.

[John-in-KC]

I have yet to see anyone say these are Class A pants and they are qualified to replace the "de la Rentas" for purposes of the uniform inspection worksheet.

 

Would someone care to make that authoritative statement, or has Supply Corporation missed the boat again???

 

Hell's Bells, I once commented that the BSA Philmont Shorts have a BSA Official Uniform Tag in them (same in fact, as my Green Shorts), and the UP shot them down as Class A shorts.

 

 

[BrentAllen]

John,

All I can tell you is the staff at the AAC Scout Shop, including the woman in charge of purchasing, say these will be official Class A Field Uniform pants. They are the same exact color as the current uniform.

Why would they make them the same color if they weren't going to be replacements for official BSA pants? When they issued the activity shirt, it was a different color. They have certainly gone to a lot of trouble to make these look like the current pants.

Does anyone know if they sent a sample shirt to all of the shops before they issued them? They have done this with these pants.

We should hear the official word on August 1.