Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Sporthill 3SP pants

Anyone still like using these pants? They seemed popular until the stretchy soft-shell fabrics came out like Sitka and Kuiu. Just wondering if anyone still uses them and prefers them over soft-shell fabrics.

I do, and I continue to love them. Only downside is they tend to pick up burrs and stick-tights.

I get a fair amount of crap from folks that I'm "hunting in running pants" but I'm alright with that.

They are awesome. I use them for all sorts of activities- very versatile.

And as far as being stretchy- the 3SP are definitely that. Very under rated pant now- but they have a great comfortable fit that cuts wind well ( esp. for not being a soft shell), breathes well, quiet, and they really repel H2O quite well and dry quickly.

One of my all time favorite mid fall to early spring pant. I must have about 6-7 pairs of them.

Do you prefer the XC style with tapered legs and ankle zip, or do you buy the hunting specific one with cargo pockets?

I have one of each pair elel. I use the XC style for running and skiing (season 1 pant) and got the 3sp mountain camo pant for hunting. My favorite pants for either. On the mountain camo pants I love all the zippered cargo pockets for stuff and they were comfortable as hell. Dried quick and kept me warm. I was worried about overheating as I hike a lot but this was not a problem. No binding either. I slept in them one cold soaking wet night. I was hunting end of season in AK and if I needed more warmth I added long underwear. They had them on sale for 100 at sportsmans wearhouse. Only downside is after one season of abuse they were starting to pile and wear. Next season I am going to try to hunt hard enough to need a new pair!

Sollybug above has just about nailed the info I was going to give. I have a few pairs of each ( tapered and cargo style) that I use. I have one pair of the camo cargo and a couple of the brown plain colored cargo ones. I only use the camo for hunting and use the plain cargo for both hunting and hiking, backpacking, and snow shoeing. I use the regular tapered ones for hunting sometimes- but mostly they are my other outdoor activity pant- because I often prefer to have non cargo pants on.

The sporthill pants are amazingly warm for their light weight. And what is nice about them is how well they do in a wet environment- esp. here in the PNW. I usually use them alone, although, I sometimes use gaiters with them and that alone is fine with most rain situations. I have used them under both HH impertech pants and under Cabelas Rain suede pants or bibs. But in those situations you can get almost too warm- so I usually only don rain pants ( in any situation) only if I absolutely have to.

I use the XC for hunting. I prefer the cargo/expedition but the cut is quite a bit different for me. The large is too tight and the XL far too big.

I have two pair of XCs, black and that weird spray-on camo they used to use. Supposedly the same 3sp material, but the black ones are much less durable for some reason--seams tore, the fabric pilled terribly, and the knees are thin. The camo version are my go-to pants for cold weather hunting. Quiet, durable and definitely wind-resistant. Don't know how to explain the wear difference since the spray camo is put on in blotches and doesn't cover seams, knees, etc. In the end, I wear the camos a lot, but only when it's very cold.

I picked up a pair of the cargo camo pants at Skane's recommendation, and am forever indebted to him!

I love these things! I've been using them for about a year, now, and they are pretty much perfect for nearly any hunting situation I find myself in. Sometimes I add a base layer if it's really cold (it gets cold here), but usually just the pants are enough. I was out a couple of days ago, and while the temperature was about 29 degrees F (not too bad), there was a constant 23mph wind whipping across the stubble fields. The pants were warm and cut the wind entirely. My legs felt like they were sitting on the couch at home watching TV. I have a pair of gloves that I find fantastic at cutting the wind, as well.

I'll be buying more of their 3SP pants and other items in the future.

Details on those gloves? I only have about 100 pair of gloves, and I'm still looking for something better...

http://www.sporthill.com/products2011.php?ProductGroup=3440

Thin, light gloves that have great sensitivity and feel, and are perfect in moderately cold temperatures, or as wind-blocking liners under mitts in really cold weather.

http://www.sporthill.com/products2011.php?ProductGroup=3470

This one looks interesting, too, but sensitivity might suffer due to the lining. But it might make a great glove for all-around hunting unless you're in true deep-freeze weather, in which case I like having the Summit as a liner with some thicker gloves or mitts.

Thanks. I've been running polypro liners under the kuiu gloves (and marmot's breathable glove) when its cold/windy. Works ok, but I'm always looking for a better way.

I like liners under mitts for real cold, since you can pull the mitts off pretty quick and still have dexterity with thin liners. Plus your hands don't freeze when you touch something metal.

I got a pretty bad cut on my hand about a year ago, and as a result have one finger that is 95% much numb all the time and has very poor circulation. Really have to watch that one, as I can't really tell when it gets too cold, being numb and all.

Just FYI, these are on sale right now at REI.com outlet for $25, free shipping.....

I figured I'd try a pair since they were so highly recommended....

I've got the same spray on camo pants as you only mine are brown instead of black. I really like wearing these in the winter but they are a bit too warm for early fall hunting. I wore them one time on a late season moose hunt where we had to hike over a mtn and the snow on the other side was 2-3 feet deep. I wore a thin poly bottom underneath and never got cold or wet. By far they are the best winter hunting pants I have ever worn.

I have a pair of the older spray-on camo style and they are still an important part of my goat and sheep hunting clothes.
They really excel in cold weather with merino wool in the high country.

I'm going to buy a pair a Sporthill XC pants online. I'm in between sizes of their Medium (30-33) and Large (33-36). I'm about a 33inch waist in jeans. Can anyone offer suggestions on what size i should get?

Medium.