After returning from a fun, but cold, trip to the Red River Gorge I've decided that a great thing to have would be insulated pants, sort of like the insulated pirmaloft REI jacket I have. Does anyone have any experience making their own insulated pants? Are there any good patterns out there, or any useful hints/tips. I was thinking of using pirmaloft and a lightweight nylon. Thanks!

Seriously consider Sgt. Rocks suggestion of buying a pair of Army Surplus field pant liners. I picked up a pair from an Internet Surplus store for $8.00. They are very light and make quite a fashion statement! :-)

check with Blackbishop351 at Hammock forums; he made a pair of insulated pants.

Egads

I bought a pair of snowboard pants from campmor a few years ago for $20.

They are about what you describe. They wouldn't pack small though

I love my ski bib in the winter, and I have thought about making a homemade version out of lighter materials.

I was thinking more along the line of the Montbell Thermawrap Pant: a lightweight pant for in and around camp that are less bulky than fleece pants. I started to price out fabric and insulation and I'm not sure that they can be had for much less than the Montbell ones.

Lightweight ski pants I bought for $3.99 at Goodwill. Not bibs, just pants: thin fleece line and nylon outers; two front pockets; and elastic waist.

I was thinking more along the line of the Montbell Thermawrap Pant: a lightweight pant for in and around camp that are less bulky than fleece pants. I started to price out fabric and insulation and I'm not sure that they can be had for much less than the Montbell ones.

I have a pair of the thermawrap pants from Montbell. They are awesome.

Just get fleece pants. Power stretch is the best. People always say high loft pants are less bulky than fleece, but I've not found that to be true. The army field pant liners mentioned are nice, but are bulkier than fleece. I've tried the Integral Designs primaloft pants but found them to be too heavy for their warmth. High loft pants are warmer when you're standing around, but as soon as you get in your sleeping bag, the insulation gets crushed by the weight of you sleeping bag and legs and doesn't keep you as warm anymore. If I could find a pair of high loft pants that weighed less than 8 ounces and wasn't made of such a weak insulation as primaloft or otherwise a short-lived insulation as polarguard I wouldn't be saying this, but seriously, your best bet right now is fleece. Unless you wanted to make your own out of Climashield... then check with AYCE at thru-hiker.com...

I agree with Lyle. Surplus field pant liners are about half the weight of fleece and compress much better. They are short though so if you don't wear gaiters you'll have a cold spot from mid calf to ankle. I used them on the flightline in Michigan's UP many years ago and just gave them a new life hiking.

Here's another vote for fleece. Wearing them under windproof pants makes them very warm. Wearing them alone, they aren't quite as warm, especially when it's windy. It makes them good for multiple temperatures, whereas shelled synthetic pants aren't as versatile, and they may dry more slowly also, since the shell keeps air from getting to the insulation quickly. Wind blows right through fleece. It's easy to dry on a sunny lunch break.

Coziest, warmest, most compressable pants I've ever had: Army poly-pros. Great underneath and goofy by themselves - they rock.

Here's what I've been doing since I but a pair of wool pants at Marden's for $2.50; 90% wool, 10% cashmere, 16oz. I've been hiking in just the wool pants, plus boxers, and a heavy wool sweater. With the cold wind blowing through they are not too heavy. So all I pack, besides hat and mitts and extra pair of socks, is 4oz skin layer long bottoms, 4oz skin layer long top, 5oz wind layer top, and rain poncho/tarp. So the stuff I carry is very light and packable, but if I put it all on at once it would give me a pretty good range from cold and wet and windy, down to very cold and dry and windy. They dry out pretty fast also. They are a very loose tweed, so they are pretty warm for their weight when you add the skin layer under and the wind layer over.

I neglected to add that I need to get a light pair of wind pants and pack them also to make this work well. So I'm looking for breathable wind pants in the 4oz range. Current ones are 8oz, may as well carry hiking pants. Hard to find cheap light nylon wind pants.