by Leslie and Birgit
A three day wilderness hike on Vancouver island with pouring rain. Amazingly this young man stayed dry.
Dressed in Neoshell he bravely faced the elements during his adventure. The young man not only loves these pants but also his jacket. The rainy conditions made it necessary to wear gaiters all the time.
For the pants, we used a lightweight Neoshell from Polartec with a bit of stretch. The fabric is extremely light but still durable enough for hiking. It is a 3-layer ‘waterproof’ breathable fabric. Polartec Neoshell fabrics are built in such a way that pit-zips for ventilation can be avoided. The fabric continuously releases heat and moisture vapor by creating a constant air exchange between the inside and outside of the garment.
The basic pants design has articulated knees which sit at the right place when the knees are bent. Our design included two spacious hand and cargo pockets. We added a patch pocket on the back. Nowadays, youngsters like to put their phones there.
The sewing was pretty straight forward. In general, it does take time to sew outdoor clothing as you need to remember so many details to make them perfect.
At first it looks like there is quite a bit of extra fabric from the front and back of the pants. But as soon as you are out in the elements, in action and wearing a base layer underneath, this extra fabric is needed for non restrictive movements.
by Minna and Birgit