Fall/Winter pants for day-hikes

[Zig-Zag]

My schedule has changed this year and I am going to be able to get out for 3-4 hour day-hikes during the week this fall and winter.

Due to scheduling (and kids :-) I don't get out very often in the cooler weather and typically layer and deal with the temps. Now that it will be a regular thing, I'd like to find the proper pants for this time of year.

So - what do you folks typically wear int he fall and winter? If these are two different sets of clothing, fall is more important to me since it is coming up

Thanks for any suggestions,

[Spirit Walker]

I wear REI Sahara Convertible pants year around. If it's really really cold, I might wear long underwear underneath, but generally my legs stay warm as long as I'm moving. Most important for me is having a warm head and hands. I do layers for my upper body - long sleeved shirt plus either vest or wind jacket for temps if necessary down to about 40, fleece down to freezing or so, and down jacket for anything below freezing.

[Studlintsean]

I am also from this area and generally hike all seasons but being back in school has slowed that down unfortunately. In the past I have worn shorts until it got real cold (40s maybe) and then I would wear light (maybe mediums or heavy if really cold) leggings and carry rain pants if I needed them (rarely put them on). This summer I wore a pair of REI Non Convertible Sahara pants out in the WRR and really liked them so I will likely wear them this fall and winter.

[egilbe]

I am also from this area and generally hike all seasons but being back in school has slowed that down unfortunately. In the past I have worn shorts until it got real cold (40s maybe) and then I would wear light (maybe mediums or heavy if really cold) leggings and carry rain pants if I needed them (rarely put them on). This summer I wore a pair of REI Non Convertible Sahara pants out in the WRR and really liked them so I will likely wear them this fall and winter.

Can hike a lot cooler than that in shorts. Usually just nylon pants down into the teens, single digits I'll start wearing base layers. It really depends on the wind, though.

[Studlintsean]

Can hike a lot cooler than that in shorts. Usually just nylon pants down into the teens, single digits I'll start wearing base layers. It really depends on the wind, though.

I migh have been a bit off on the 40 deg estimate and agree a lot of different factors can weigh in such as wind, precipitation, terrain etc. In general, long johns with shorts over top has worked well for me in NOVA area. I should also point out that I at first tried the convertible pants before getting the non convertibles. After doing a 30 mile section hike the back of my knees were raw from the zippers on the convertibles so definitely test them out before relying on them for anything more than a day hike.