Insulated Chaps - Arm or Legs

Insulated Chaps - Arms or Legs

I am getting ready to hike about 60 days or so on the AT starting at Springer Mountain in a few weeks. To help keep my pack weight as low as possible I am trying to make a set of gear where each item will do at least two different things. I used my Tunic / Quilt for my hike in Oct and it worked well when it was below 45 degrees. I was able to wear it so it did not count toward my pack weight. The only down side was that when the temperature was between 32 and 40 degrees and windy my arms got a little cold. I needed something more than just my Patagonia #2 Wool Crew to keep my arms warm.

Back in San Antonio - last week it got down to 32 in my backyard. I am taking advantage of the cooler weather to test my sleeping gear. I am using my home made Bivy, Climashield Combat Liner and my Tunic / Quilt inside the Bivy along with my Stephenson's Warmlite DAM. My feet got a little cold when I slid down the DAM and my feet were hanging over the foot end of the DAM. My legs also got a little cold but not enough to keep me awake. I am only wearing a set of #2 Wool top and bottoms but have my modified #2 Wool Hoody on and one pair of socks. I also have on pair of the new Patagonia Capilene Light Glove Liners.

This temperature was pushing the amount of insulation I had and I was real happy that I was able to stay as warm as I did. To add a little more insulation I decided to kill two birds with one set of gear. I would make a set of Insulated Chaps. I would made them in a way that I can wear them on my arms and under the Tunic/Quilt during the day. This will give me the extra insulation to keep my arms warm when necessary. The Insulated Chaps would be worn at night on my legs to add a bit of insulation to my stomach and leg area.

The Insulated Chaps are made from Pertex Quantum with PrimaLoft One (1.8 ounce per sq yard - pre-quilted) Insulation. The pre-quilted PrimaLoft One is really easy to work with. I have a clo value of 1.51 with the PrimaLoft insulation. The Chaps weigh 4 ounces each or 8 ounces for the pair.

The following pictures show my construction sequence and a with a few of me wearing the Chaps on my arms and wearing them on my legs.

I am going to make another Tunic / Quilt using Pertex Quantum for the shell material and Polarguard Delta for the Insulation. The Pertex Quantum will work better in the weather than the Silk that I used for my Prototype.