I鈥檝e made a New Year鈥檚 resolution, and this year听I intend to honor it. Between now听and the time when听daytime temperatures again average 70 degrees, I will not wear any pants that are not lined in fleece.
There are several reasons for this decision, the foremost of which is comfort. It鈥檚 cold outside in winter, especially here in Montana, and I like to stay warm. While dressing for an听outdoor activity is relatively straightforward, dressing comfortably across a range of conditions is challenging.
The range of conditions I need a pair of pants to perform in听includes everything from spending time on a mountaintop in minus-30-degree temperatures听to sitting in front of the fire at home. More mundanely, I听drive places in a nice听warm pickup truck, then stand around a cold gas station; I walk to the grocery store, then wander around inside, trying to decide what to cook for dinner; and I spend hours upon hours engaging in shouted chats with my neighbors on the other side of the street, while I pretend to shovel snow.
But it鈥檚 probably my custodianship of three hell hounds that creates the most unpredictable changes in climate. If any one of them decides it鈥檚 time for a bathroom emergency, or that they need听to cough up a hair ball, I have听to let them听out of the house or car without delay, then linger in the kinds of terrible conditions they seem to take the longest time to do their business in.
The traditional way to keep your legs warm in winter has always been with base layers. But听base-layer bottoms听involve some limitations that fleece-lined pants do not. First, the job of base layers听is to move moisture away from the skin, so by design they need to be breathable, which also means they鈥檙e usually thin. Even my heaviest, 250-weight merino-wool tights aren鈥檛 warm enough on their own in below-freezing temperatures. And layering those heavy base layers under normal pants is restrictive, limiting comfort whether听you鈥檙e moving or just sitting around. Further, expensive merino base layers don鈥檛 take kindly to frequent washing and drying, meaning you only want to wear them when really necessary鈥攏ot every day鈥攐r embrace body odor, which my wife tells me听I鈥檓 not allowed to do.
What about midlayers? I鈥檝e got everything from thick puffy items听to thinner fleece sweatpants听to hybrid designs that try and map insulation by area, reducing the bulk of the puff. But听they only fit under the kind of pants that would听have gotten you bullied if you wore them to high school, and all of them are so warm that they need to come off the second you move inside a heated space.
Enter polyester fleece.听Invented as part of a collaboration between Patagonia and Malden Mills back in the 1970s, polyester fleece was conceived as a more affordable, easier-to-care-for alternative to wool. The result was so successful that Malden ended up changing its name to Polartec, and polar fleece now likely needs very little in the way of introduction. The material insulates by trapping air between its fibers, it wicks moisture by drawing water along its fibers and听dries quickly, it鈥檚听easy to care for, and it鈥檚 durable. Available in a variety of thicknesses, it can add a bit of warmth听or a lot. And听it鈥檚 comfortable next to your skin, so听 you can wear it on its own or anywhere within a layering system.
Or听you can wear a pair of pants lined in polyester fleece. Note, however, that听not all polyester fleece linings are created equal. Some brands听simply hang a thin fleece liner inside a shell, connected only by the stitching at the waist and cuffs. This acts more like a nonremovable midlayer than it does a lining, adding little听more than bulk and discomfort. What you want is a fleece lining that鈥檚 permanently attached to the shell all over, either bonded听(read:听glued)听or woven right in,听creating听a unified material that should fit and move with you, just like a regular pair of pants but warmer.
Here are听the three pairs of fleece-lined pants that are getting me through this winter.
Sitka听Dakota Pant听($229)
The Heavy-Duty Option
I first tried the听听in 2017听on a cold-weather duck hunt. Layered over a thin synthetic base layer, I don鈥檛 think my legs have ever听felt cozier. But听printed in the brand鈥檚 very effective, very ugly Waterfowl Marsh camouflage, it听wasn鈥檛听exactly something I could get away with wearing outside of a duck blind. So I spent three years trying to locate a pair in plain brown (a color Sitka charmingly refers to as 鈥渕ud鈥). I guess my 32 waist, 34 inseam is popular, becuase it took me until last fall to find a pair in my size.
The Dakota听is听made from a thick, stretchy woven nylon shell, backed by a heavy bonded fleece liner, so they鈥檙e听not only extremely durable听but also extremely warm. Layered over nothing but ($69), these pants are warm enough for conditions well into the double digits below zero. But they鈥檙e breathable enough that, on their own, you can wear them in heated spaces, too. Vent pockets slashed across the thighs can dump enough warmth that you can hike in them in merely freezing weather.
The sturdy听materials, belt loops, buttons, and zippers make these pants feel like they鈥檒l last a lifetime, which goes a long way to justifying their price.
Beyond Testa K5听Pant听($135)
The All-Arounder
Employing a similarly stretchy soft-shell outer with a bonded fleece liner, the 听is a little thinner, a little lighter, and significantly less expensive than the Dakota. That makes it听a better option for daily wear across a wider range of winter conditions. I鈥檓 writing this from our cabin in northern Montana, where my wife, dogs, and I have spent three weeks over the holidays. The Testa听is听the only pair of pants I brought with me, and they鈥檝e proven comfortable on听every hike we鈥檝e taken, every hour I鈥檝e chopped wood, and every night we鈥檝e spent in front of the fire.
Breathable enough to hike in on听40-degree afternoons, the Testa is听a solid option on its own听inside the cabin. But听because the lighter material isn鈥檛 quite as good听at blocking the wind as Sitka鈥檚 very heavy pants, these work best with a slightly听thicker听base layer in cold conditions. (Paired听with some 200-weight Smartwool Intraknit tights, they鈥檙e all-day cozy in single-digit temperatures.)
A friend听who also has a pair of听Testas called them 鈥渟tretchy, warm pajama pants for the outdoors.鈥
Duer Fireside Denim Jeans ($159)
The Pant听You Can Wear in Public
Both the Sitka and Beyond designs are technical soft-shell pants that听stand up to extreme outdoor conditions. And while they look great there, they听aren鈥檛 the kind of thing you鈥檇 wear to a restaurant (if we ever get to sit inside those again). That鈥檚 a problem听听were听created to solve. To everyone else, they look like nothing more than a fashionable pair of jeans. Only you will know there鈥檚 a soft fleece secret inside.
Duer has found a way to听weave the fleece into the denim, resulting in听a material that appears, feels, and moves like normal denim on the outside听but is warm and fuzzy on the inside. Not any thicker than normal unlined听denim, I was skeptical that these pants听would provide the additional warmth I was looking for. But I was wrong. Wearing these is loosely equivalent to wearing a thin base layer under regular听jeans, only it鈥檚 a听unified material that isn鈥檛 as restrictive.
Like other Duer jeans, the Fireside Denim is composed of a cotton, polyester, nylon, and elastane blend that makes it stretchy听and a little less prone to soaking up water than a normal, 100 percent cotton alternative. Combined with the brand鈥檚 signature crotch gusset, it frees up movement to a degree you won鈥檛 find in other jeans. You could totally wear these hiking in cold weather and remain comfortable, as long听as conditions were somewhat mild and you didn鈥檛 work up a huge sweat. But the cotton blend that makes this garment听good-looking still as true outdoors apparel.