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Another option to the Filson whipcords are these:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...amp;Nty=1&Ntt=whipcord&noImage=0

I've used mine hard for four years IIRC, and the only wear they show is where I hastily crossed a barb wire fence. They survived THAT better than many fabrics would have....

If you are a small or medium, I don't know how you could go wrong with this sale Cabela's has going. $4.88 for wool pants is hard to beat.

Link

The problem with filson,is you're paying for a brand name. Truth be known LL Bean probably uses the same mill as filson along with a host of others.

I've got a number of filson clothes and bags.To be honest filson doesn't perform any better then alot of the other brands.But it costs twice as much in some cases.I've got an upland coat,thats tin cloth and its probably been the only filson garment I've bought that was worth what I paid.

I picked up a stormy kromer mackinaw coat for a fraction,what I paid for a filson and its just as good and warm.

When king of the mountain wool took off in the late 80's,I bought some of it,because I had a connection to buy it at cost. Its good stuff,but you're just paying for warranty(I've torn it and had it replaced free of charge).And I've yet to see it out perform the cheap gallatin [bleep] that columbia has for $75.The sleeping Indian brand is about the same quality as columbia,at 3 times the cost.


The secret to using rivers west,is to vent everything before you over heat.Vents are in place for a reason,use them. I've used it on alaskan and canadian fishing trips,20 plus days of big horn sheep hunting last year,with temps ranging from 60 and rain to subzero and snow.Its performed better then any of the wool I've used and I've used wool for the past 30 years.

Wool may insulate when wet,but it also soaks up moisture and under field conditions requires a fire to dry it out properly.Wool is still durable and lasts forever.Wool is also one of those products,that is usually just as good in surplus garments,as it is in designer named garments.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

In fact, I go one further. Where I use my RW gear in very cold conditions, where it excells in addition to very wet conditions, there's usually a big hike into the hunt, and out. Unless it's actively snowing or raining, I just strap my RW jacket to the daypack I'm carrying. That way I am letting heat and moisture move out through my layers of capilene, wool, fleece, whatever. When I get where I am going I wait until I'm almost cold before putting the jacket on. Then I'm groovy all day.

I do wish my RW pants had side vents on the inside of the legs, too. I thought of buying a couple of their waterproof zippers from them and having my seamstress add that functionality but... have4 not done that yet. I also wish they'd put the zippers on the legs such that they zipped UP to close them, down to open. They are the opposite and if there's a foot of snow, say, that means you can't open the vents "a little" because you are starting to open from the bottom. I bet they've fixed that by now. My are first-generation pants.

For me it's wool or RW, pretty much. If things are too gnarly for wool the RW stuff will keep you in the woods all day! And I shoot a lot of my blacktail in the rain.

-jeff

Sledder, overall good reply..this rings particularly true for me:

"Wool is also one of those products,that is usually just as good in surplus garments,as it is in designer named garments."
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WHY pay premium prices for new-designer-top name woolen trousers, coats, vests when for 2 cents on the dollar, quality surplus or used woolen garments can be found?

Must be the "buy a Hummer or new top rated by the gun rags rifle" so your friends think you are top shelf..:) mentality I suppose.
LAYER LIGHTER WOOLENS FOR COMFORT WHEN HIKING-WORKING HARD.
Ya don't wear your heavy stuff until you need it..Do you sleep with three quilts and the heat on in the summer?..:)

BTW, wool does dry pretty fast..

When mine gets soaked( we do hunt in real wet here and often without raingear), the water wicks downward 'cause of gravity..:)..
Without taking the trousers off..use your hands to 'squeegee' the water down and off from the front of the thigh down to the boot tops..Reduces the weight too for heavier woolen trousers.

Even wet tho, wool insulates and keeps ya comfortable.Jim

One reason, and it's a funny one, that more people don't buy surplus trousers is that they can't find them that fit! People used to be a whole lot skinnier than the average American is nowadays, plus those surplus pants were designed to fit 18, 19 year olds, too.

I know, ahem, that MY awesome surplus trousers that I love have been "let out" in every way they can. They were designed to have a "range" of waist size to 'em, but they can't get any bigger around the waist than they are now. So I can't get any bigger eigher! :-)

-jeff

Jeff..I know what you mean..
We have a local surplus place out east of us called Sargent Gator's Post Exchabge and they always seem to have some larger ones.

Thankfully, I still wear the same 33-34" waist & 34-36" inseam I did 40 years ago..:)
It's interesting that trousers and they way they were cut years ago seems different than many are used to in conventional trousers..
(Waist is higher and top is closer to the navel)and they almost all were designed for suspender use and ample seat-crotch for working men.
I have used RIT dye to dye a few pairs medium brown just to break the puke green mil color monotony but most are used just as they are..with the occasional change of adding a HD metal zipper to replace the button fly..Jim

I like the idea of replacing that button fly...

I'm not too far off from you, my ideal pants would be a 35" waist and 35" inseam, but I can work with anything from a 34" to 36" on the waist and same with inseam.

Side note, I was watching a World War I documentary a couple years ago and MAN, they showed this boot camp footage of a bunch of 18-year-old American men in 1917 or whatever it was and they looked like a whole different species, collectively, than if you took a bunch of 18 year olds now. They were seriously lean, whipcord strong, and shorter. They looked like they would kick our modern 18-year-olds collective BUTTS!

-jeff

Jeff,
60-75 years ago, much of America was rural farming, ranching, logging, fishing, mining etc... and the construction trades didn't have the power tools and heavy equipment we see today.

A day's work was VERY different back then than it is for most today.

Shucks, the women of those days would probably kick 2/3rds of the 18 year old men's arses today..:)

Even the young men from the larger cities worked hard in factories, the docks, or larger mills.
Little or no junk food.. and no 'couch time'..I can recall in our farm family of six with hired hands that when dinner was set on the table..grace was said and Dad and Mom were served up first.The rest of us dove in..Never any leftovers..:)

Cars were comparatively few..People actually walked most places..Jim

Thanks for all the replies..right now am considering the "Johnsons Pant Grey Herringbone" item #277...for medium weight wool pants..any opinions??

The Rivers West suit I have is too bulky for backpacking and quite heavy, light woolen clothing compresses well and is lighter. I worked all over BC in forestry, actually planting trees, fighting fires and such fun jobs, NOT "office work" and never found anything that will equal GOOD wool, overall.

BC is the WETTEST region in North America and I worked outside during many winter-spring days wearing ONLY wool in relative comfort. I have never found ANY synthetic that will do this and over 50 years of outdoor activities makes me even more enthusiastic about GOOD wool.

I bought Filson's BECAUSE of their sterling reputation AND because the other gear mentioned here is not available here in Vancouver or elsewhere in BC. Filson's actually ARE as good as they claim to be and Columbia gear is nowhere close in quality.

I have worn wool while solo winter camping at -40*F many times and this was for five day trips, in unheated mountain tents, in BC mountains. I have yet to see a synthetic that will equal this and I have used many of them.

I think that Johnson products are a good product at a fair price. I have owned both the #115 Adirondack Plaid and the #274 Spruce Green pants without any complaints.

I don't recall ever owning any Filson clothing, as the price always put me off.

You might check with www.farm-way.com, www.labonville.com , or Hirsch's Clothing (603-448-2454) for better prices. I have been told, but do not personally know this to be true, that Labonville's sells Johnson 2nds under their own name/house brand.

Jeff

I bought a pair of the Cabelas whipcord wool pants and they have been great. I accidentally threw them in the dryer while in Kodiak last week and they shrunk big time. They are useless to me now. That is the downfall to wool these days- it requires special care beyond the normal laundry and it is hell to dry when camping.

I am going to go to the thrift store and find some wool suit pants and use them.

One very important thing to look for when you purchase wool clothing is the fiber content. 100% wool is, of course, the best choice. Try to stay away from a wool/nylon blend. The "sharpness" of the nylon fibers prematurely wears out the wool. 100% wool will last much longer. Filson is 100% wool. I was sorely disappointed with the last woolrich jacket I bought. It has nylon in it and it is pilling already, an obvious sign something is wearing out.
M

Put me down as another Filson's believer. I have the Mackinaw and the wool pants. Both have been an essential part of my hunting gear for years.

Filson may be expensive but to me it's worth every cent.

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Dennis in AZ:
Don't give up on the wool whipcord trousers that shrunk.
Soak them overnite in warm water.
Remove & drip a bit so they aren't soaking wet.

THEN take them.. and starting with waist band ...and then on to inseam length and leg width, stretch and pull and then lay flat & block out on an old beach towell to dry for a day or so.

You'll be surprised how they restore to proper size with a bit of warm-wetting, stretching and blocking out to dry..Jim

I will have to try that.

Thanks

M- I have no idea what the wool content is on the Cabelas trousers, I will have to look.

Cabelas wool whipcord trousers are indeed 100% wool- maybe I will try to stretch them back out...

Check out the 100% wool items under "menswear": http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/bemidjiwool.php
I've got the 100% wool Voyageurs Jac Coat and the thing is warm and indestructable.

I really like my LLBean wool pants and my Thinsulate lined wool coat from Cabelas, but nothing matches the amazing wear I've gotten from my Filson mackinaw.