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Zhik Hydrophobic pants review... warm water protection

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bmcfiv
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Zhik Hydrophobic pants review... warm water protection

Postby bmcfiv » Sat Sep 29, 2018 9:37 pm

After searching, I found Zhik that specializes in sailing gear. Large market so they have the funds to design properly. There is almost a perfect overlap between high performance sailers and kiteboarders.

I have been looking for pants to provide sun and ocean protection for my legs. I'm always cold so I wanted something that wasn't just nylon / spandex where the evaporation makes 85 degrees chilly. I settled on the Zhik Hydrophobic Fleece pants.

Overall, I like them and believe they are a solid solution, but they aren't perfect. I also thought they would be warmer, but more my issue for not understanding their purpose.

Pros
High quality
Water beads off
Limited water absorption
Comfortable
Cool design

Cons
Not as wind and water resistant as I was hoping
They stretch slightly when wet
There waist has more fabric than I like, so occasionally I have to adjust from my harness

I'm not sure there are other options for this purpose, so in that regard they are good, and the only solution. However, they would be excellent if they could figure out how to

Recommendations
Thinner
Less absorbent
More wind protection
Thinner waist fabric

Image

https://www.zhik.com/hydrophobic-fleece-pants.html

NorCalNomad
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Re: Zhik Hydrophobic pants review... warm water protection

Postby NorCalNomad » Sun Sep 30, 2018 3:45 am

BTW the hydrophobic nature of the pants just comes from a coating. Nylon yarns intrinsically do not have any sort of hydrophobic properties, in fact it's hydrophilic.

Honestly all these are is yoga pants with a non whicking coating...

BWD
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Re: Zhik Hydrophobic pants review... warm water protection

Postby BWD » Sun Sep 30, 2018 4:24 am

Cycling tights may be cheaper, do the same thing. Saved me from a few sunburns and jellyfish....
I’ve looked at the Zhik stuff before. Ok. Yachty prices.
But I f they fit better and feel good to you, go for it I guess
But if you hike out and NEED overalls with a padded ass, they’re as good as other sailing brands...
It’s like boots, you can get $200 dubarry, $90 hunter, or $30 fisherman boots. All keep your feet dry, until they don’t!


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