Another dirt-bagger gear review of an unlikely item for the outdoors: Dancing warm up pants!
Sometimes the gear that works for the outdoors is not necessarily “real” outdoor gear.
Military surplus has long been a dirt baggers favorite for some outdoor favorites (the boonie hat, wool gloves, m65 jacket liner, and others). A thrift store dress shirt works well for anyone on a budget who wants some bug and sun protection. A sports drink bottle is lighter and less expensive than a Nalgene bottle. A can of cat food is fashioned into a stove. And a thrift store aluminum pot works just fine for boiling water thank-you-very-much.
Add to this motley collection of items some warm up pants for dancing.
Clued in to these pants via a thread at Backpackinglight.com
My Montbell UL pants finally ripped after eight plus years of hard use while in New Mexico this past year.
Even the mighty duct tape would have trouble holding together the worn, used and expensive pants. 🙂
What to do? Being a little older and wiser (?!), I did not want to spend lots money for what amounts to glorified wind pants.
Enter Dancing Supply pants!
Made of material a bit studier than standard warm up pants, they turned out to be water resistant, very breathable and work well when paired with thermal underwear bottoms during cold and wet weather. They are NOT water proof. However, with my legs pumping out a lot of body heat, I personally prefer something that breathes better than water proof pants.
Though marketed for women, they are sized unisex it seems (e.g. a 33″-34″ waist is called a large on the website).
Besides being a great pant for general outdoor use, they are also light and compact.. A size large weighs ~3.5 oz. and stuff quite small. Compared to my old Montbell UL pants at just over 3 oz or so, these pants are very competitive in terms of weight.
The main difference between the two pants? The price!
At $18 with shipping and handling, these pants are very economical.
I’m not the only one pleased with these pants, either.
Lightweight pants with some ultralight footwear in fashionable pink!
BOTTOM LINE
For $18 and ~3.5 oz, you can’t go wrong with these light, durable and inexpensive pants. Breathable and highly water resistant they have quickly become a staple of my outdoor activities.
(Dance shoes optional!)
Updated note: Here it is 4+ years later after the initial purchase and I am still using them. Light, durable and effective. Functionally I really can’t tell the difference between them and my older Montbell pants. Some suggest adding DWR wash to them. Have not tried it myself; may be worth a shot if you backpack in drizzly weather.
OK, so not saying I wouldn’t try them…and I’m more than curious about the utility of a few other items on the discount dance supply site now (never knew what a dance belt was before and probably could have lived a happy life without knowing) but there’s got to be more of a back story here! I feel like the original BPL poster needs more recognition for their willingness to transcend normal athletic boundaries and with so much wisdom realize the potential of merging dance and backpacking kit. Along with the fact that they deserve a monumental trail name (I… Read more »
You know, that is true. Besides mining the Dance Supply store..what other stores can we look at? Gardening supply shop? Mime supply company? The store where ever nuns and priests get their clothing? 🙂 This shirt is my next purchase 😀 http://bit.ly/YX0YiH
Awww. But they only come in black. And black gets so dang hot. And I generally where long pants for the sun protection. But I’m thinking of giving them a go. And I’ll be dancing down the trail. Literally. Check out my hiking partner and daughter’s website – http://www.wildernessdancer.com. Dancing on the trail really happens. But I digress.
I use them more as rain pants rather than hiking pants…dancing on the trail with them, i have yet to do. 🙂
Have to check out the sites!
Do they come in green color to complete my Halloween Genie – I am Ali Baba here to grant you 3 wishes – outfit? 🙂
been following you for years, and finally got myself some daaance pants, bought a second pair a few days ago, best option ever for windpants! thanks for this budget item!
Pretty cool little item for sure. Glad you like them!