By Mark Verber
Item:
Cloudveil
Spinner
Pants
Listed weight:
Weight as delivered:
Price: $135 MSRP
Light weight soft-shell pants designed for summer, spring, fall, and moderate winter use. Only sold through a limited number of fishing stores
Look like standard zip-off hiking pants. Made from a fabric called Inertia Plus which using mechanical stretch rather that lycra. In theory this is suppose to make the pants dry more quickly since lycra absorbs water. When soaked, they do dry more quickly that the Schoeller Dynamic jacket I own, but they dry slightly slower than my basic Ex Officio Explorer pants made out of supplex.
These pants are typical of Cloudveil clothing. Great materials, decent design, and ok quality. Stretchy material. Pants made from Inertia are the only pants I haven't had significant problems with chaffing without using lycra shorts underneath.
I have found these pants to be extremely comfortable with the legs attached 30-55 F when I am active, and acceptably comfortable in warmer weather to 80 F. In hot weather I can turn them into shorts or if I need to protect my lower legs, I can at least ventilated them around the knees by partially opening the zipper. I have been comfortable wearing just these pants down to around 30F. Comfort range could be easily extended down to 0 F with a light base some sort of windproof shell. Below that I can put my rain pants over them, and/or a light weight base under them. With a shell and light base I am comfortable down to 0F.
First generation Inertia was significantly less durable than my ex officio supplex pants as was reported in my Cloudveil Rodeo Pants Review. I have only used these pants for one summer. So far they seem more durable than the Rodeos. Need more time to comment on durability.